Who decides what can be built on the borders of our cities? Picture a future when our region becomes a large metropolitan area, and imagine what appears on either side of an invisible boundary: on one side, homes, and on the other, perhaps heavy industrial? Not ideal.

To plan for a growing Alberta, the provincial government has mandated Growth Management Boards for the Calgary and Edmonton regions in the revised Municipal Government Act (MGA). The MGA defines how Alberta’s 349 municipalities are governed, funded and developed. You can learn all about the MGA by watching our video, but the idea of the Growth Management Boards is to ensure collaboration and coordinated decision-making in planning for the future.

If it’s hard for you to imagine such a time when we’ll be built to our municipal boundaries in Alberta, consider:

• The conference Board of Canada predicts our GDP to have grown by 6.7% in 2017.
• According to Maclean’s magazine, 8 out of 10 of the country’s fastest growing cities in 2017 are in Alberta, including Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane and Okotoks.

We may have slowed down, but we are still growing significantly.

“The province has recognized that ongoing growth in Alberta’s metropolitan regions will generate increased demand for services and infrastructure, put pressure on the natural and built environments, and create opportunities for economic prosperity.”

– Government of Alberta, Municipal Affairs website

The mandate of the Growth Management Boards is to:

• Promote the long-term sustainability of the region
• Ensure environmentally responsible land-use planning, growth management and efficient use of land
• Develop policies regarding the coordination of regional infrastructure investment and service delivery
• Promote the economic well-being and competitiveness of the regions
• Develop policies outlining how the Board shall engage the public on the Growth Plan and Servicing Plan

In the Calgary Region, this is the first provincially mandated board for managing sustainable growth. The ten board members come from:

• City of Airdrie
• City of Calgary
• City of Chestermere
• Town of Cochrane
• Municipal District of Foothills
• Town of High River
• Town of Okotoks
• Rocky View County
• Town of Strathmore
• Wheatland County

The Calgary Metropolitan Region Management Board came into force on January 1, 2018. Stay up to date on their development and activities by subscribing to our newsletter.