Year in Review 2025: Rural Municipalities of Alberta
- Municipal Affairs
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
We’re taking a deep dive into a year that has been anything but ordinary for rural Alberta.
Over the past twelve months, Rural Municipalities of Alberta have found themselves at a crossroads — balancing real challenges with emerging opportunities. It’s been a year marked by sweeping legislative change, growing financial pressures, and a renewed spotlight on the essential role rural communities play in the province’s economic and social fabric.
From the passage of Bill 50 — which reshaped municipal governance and swept away long-standing codes of conduct — to the sobering reality of more than a quarter-billion dollars in unpaid oil and gas property taxes, rural municipalities have been navigating a landscape where stability can feel increasingly uncertain.
Add to that a rural infrastructure deficit now measured in the tens of billions, and you begin to see the scale of what local leaders are confronting: aging roads and bridges, stretched operating budgets, and the constant pressure to do more with less.
At the same time, these communities continue to demonstrate resilience. New provincial funding streams, targeted infrastructure investments, and collaborative work on tax accountability show that momentum is building in some areas.
And rural Alberta remains at the heart of agriculture, energy, and transportation — sectors that not only drive the provincial economy, but define Alberta’s identity.
Yet the year wasn’t only about policy and finances. Extreme drought conditions forced some municipalities to declare agricultural disasters, reminding us how vulnerable rural economies are to the shifting climate — and how urgently governments must respond.
So today, we ask: Where does rural Alberta go from here? How do municipalities strengthen governance, secure stable funding, and ensure their communities continue to thrive? And what opportunities lie ahead in 2026 and beyond?
To help us untangle these questions, we’re joined by someone who has been at the centre of these conversations: Kara Westerlund, President of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta.
Stay with us, as this is Municipal Affairs.
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