With artificial intelligence moving from buzzword to everyday tool, a big question is facing local governments everywhere: are municipalities ready for the rise of AI? Are they leading the way in innovation, or quietly falling behind? Across council chambers and municipal offices, AI is beginning to influence how services are delivered, how decisions are made, and how limited resources are stretched further than ever before. But with opportunity comes risk — and the need for

Welcome to the Political Trenches: Local Government at Work. Today, we welcome Brenda Orchard, who is the Chief Administrative Officer of Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, with more than 25 years of experience in senior municipal administration, including 16 years as a CAO. Over the course of her career, she has worked closely with municipal councils in three provinces—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario—across both urban and rural communities. Last May, Brenda became

Rural municipalities across Alberta own and operate most of the province’s roads, bridges, and utility systems. These are the assets that connect communities, move goods, and support the resource-based and emerging industries that keep Alberta competitive. But for years, those same municipalities have been asked to do more with less—facing chronic underfunding, rising construction costs, aging infrastructure, and increasingly constrained budgets. This week, the Rural Municipa

It’s a new year—and with it comes new challenges, new obstacles, and new problems to solve. But a new year also gives us a moment to pause, to reflect on where we are today, and how we got here. Municipalities are complex, multi-pronged organizations. From cleaning the streets, to keeping the water running when you turn on the shower, municipalities are truly the front lines of government services. They’re the level of government people interact with every single day—often wi

(Photo Prime Minister of Canada Facebook Page) After months of uncertainty for farmers and producers across rural Canada, there may finally be some relief on the horizon. On Friday, Ottawa announced a new trade agreement with China following a high-level meeting in Beijing between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The deal is expected to roll back some of the steep tariffs that have weighed heavily on Canadian agriculture and seafood exports—tariffs

It’s shaping up to be one of the busiest municipal election seasons Canada has seen in years. In 2026, a majority of Canadians will head to the polls to choose a new generation of municipal leaders—councillors and mayors who will help shape their communities for the next four years. That election season begins right here in New Brunswick. On May 11th, the province will be the first in the country to head to the municipal polls, with nominations opening at the end of March. Bu