Alberta municipal leaders say local services and infrastructure are taking priority over the separation debate as a referendum approaches that will ask whether the province should remain in Canada. At the annual Alberta Municipalities’ Convention and Trade Show in Edmonton on Wednesday, Premier Danielle Smith told 1,500 mayors and councillors that Alberta and Ottawa are moving in the right direction, while local officials called for less provincial oversight of their work.

“Alberta today is in a strong and stable position,” Smith said. “For the first time in many years, Alberta and Canada is working.” Her remarks came as municipal leaders described pressure to deal with issues in their communities and argued that time spent on provincial oversight and separation debate takes attention from local priorities.

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack, who has consistently encouraged voters to choose to stay in Confederation, said continuing to entertain the separation discussion harms both Alberta and Canada. “I think any decision to even continue entertaining this conversation hurts our province and it hurts our country,” he said.

Knack also said municipal governments need room to focus on matters residents want them to address. “When we are busy micromanaging how local governments operate, when they are democratically elected by the people they serve, that’s when you’re not spending the time you should be on things Albertans want us to focus on,” he said.

Gerald Aalbers, mayor of Lloydminster, said the upcoming referendum was not among his immediate concerns. “I’ve got enough issues on a daily basis, from homelessness to trying to grow our economy in our community, trying to stay focused and in our lane,” Aalbers told CTV News Edmonton.

Alberta Municipalities vice-president Dylan Bressey said local leaders want fewer provincial constraints so they can build roads and repair existing infrastructure. “It’s frustrating for our local leaders because they just want to get on with building strong cities, towns and villages,” he said.

During question period after her address, Smith said she would consider amending the Municipal Government Act to make municipal processes easier. “If there are problems with the act, let’s fix it,” she said. Smith said one option under consideration would allow municipalities large enough to do so to hold private meetings for briefings, followed by public debate. “Some of the municipalities are large enough that maybe you should be operating a little bit more like we do, where you’re allowed to have private meetings for briefings, and then you do your debate in public. That’s one thing we’re contemplating right now.”

Bressey welcomed streamlining but said municipal staff need time to adjust to amendments passed in the spring. He told reporters after the question period that, over the longer term, municipalities would like parts of the act updated for a modern context. “The challenge for us is, especially at the administrative level, our people have had to deal with so many changes over the last few years that we really need them to focus on the day-to-day work of good governance and infrastructure and core services in their community, not dealing with rapid changes that are coming at them every single legislative session.”

This year’s amendments include a councillor accountability framework, housing-related planning changes, transparency measures and taxation amendments. The United Conservative Party government also changed the act in 2024 and 2025. No amendments to the Municipal Government Act are expected this fall. CTV News Edmonton’s Chelan Skulski contributed to the report.

Based on reporting by CTV News Edmonton.