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Not A One-Size Fits All Approach: Alberta Municipalities


Today, we are taking a closer look at infrastructure, housing, and the growing tension between good intentions and real-world consequences.


In its 2025 budget, the federal government announced the new Build Communities Strong Fund, promising major investments in local infrastructure — roads, transit, water and wastewater systems, and community facilities — all aimed at unlocking housing supply and improving affordability.


It’s a commitment that Alberta’s municipalities welcome.


But there’s a catch.


Access to the fund’s provincial and territorial stream is tied to conditions that require municipalities to substantially reduce development charges — known in Alberta as off-site levies. Alberta Municipalities warns that this one-size-fits-all approach could actually undermine the infrastructure needed to support growth in this province.


Municipal leaders argue off-site levies are already used responsibly and transparently to ensure that growth pays for growth. Reducing them, they say, would shift costs onto local taxpayers, slow project delivery, and erode municipal autonomy — all while putting Alberta at risk of missing out on significant federal infrastructure dollars.


The concern is stark: while the fund may help address housing affordability elsewhere in Canada, it may not be effectively deployed in Alberta at all.


At the same time, housing pressure continues to mount.


Nationally, housing starts rose 5.6 per cent in 2025, driven largely by rental construction — but still well below what the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says is needed to restore affordability.


Here in Alberta, the province reports 53,000 housing starts in 2025, a 14 per cent increase from the 46,000 starts in 2024. Strong numbers — but are they enough to keep pace with population growth, and do municipalities have the infrastructure funding they need to sustain that momentum?


And with less than a month until Alberta’s anticipated provincial budget, municipalities are watching closely. What role should the province play in supporting housing-enabling infrastructure? What are local governments looking for when it comes to predictable funding, respect for municipal decision-making, and keeping communities livable as they grow?


To discuss all of this, we’re joined by Alberta Municipalities President Dylan Bressey, representing 264 municipalities across the province.


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