During the City of Grande Prairie council meeting held on March 11, council approved the 2024 Advocacy Priority List.

The key advocacy priorities for 2024 are:

·         Electricity Distribution Costs;

·         Health Care Supports;

·         Medical First Response Funding;

·         Northwestern Polytechnic Support; and

·         Provincial and Federal Funding for Housing Needs

Other advocacy priorities include:

·         Improved Rail Service;

·         Provincial Changes to Automated Traffic Enforcement; and

·         Immigration Biometric Scanning

“Establishing these advocacy priorities sets the framework for Council as we connect with our fellow municipalities, other levels of government and key stakeholders,” said Grande Prairie MayorJackie Clayton. “From addressing rising electricity costs, housing availability, accessible health care and more, these priorities are based off of what we’re hearing in the community, and what we’ve identified is needed to best meet our residents’ growing needs in our growing community.”

Review of 2023 Advocacy Priorities

In 2023, Council’s advocacy priorities were:

·         Electricity Distribution Costs

·         Attraction and Retention of Health Care Professionals

·         Provincial Support for Industrial Attraction Grant Programs

·         Improved Rail Service

·         Daycare Shortages

·         Provincial and Federal Funding for Housing Needs

·         Local Government Funding Framework (LGFF)

Throughout 2023, many initiatives were undertaken to relay the City’s advocacy priorities to our municipal neighbours, the Province and our federal government. Council is pleased to see action taken on various advocacy initiatives, including

In the Province’s 2023 Budget:

·         $1 million was allocated to explore physician training in Grande Prairie and Lethbridge

·         $119 million for programs to attract and retain rural physicians

·         The Petrochemical Incentive Program received $161 million, a key industrial attraction program that could benefit the region

In the Province’s 2024 Budget:

·         The Affordable Housing Partnership Program increased from $34 million to $62 million, with larger increases planned for 2025 and 2026.

·         $42 million for the Rural Physician Expansion Program – increasing access to medical education with the intent of increasing family medicine and generalist                        physicians in regional and rural Alberta communities.

·         Increase in funding for Physician Compensation and Development –$129 million annual for recruitment and retention of physicians who practice full time in                          underserved areas.

·         Slight increase to LGFF funding resulting in a $0.6 million increase to the City in 2024 and an additional $1.26 million in 2025

In February 2024, the Province also announced improvements to daycare funding arrangements with daycare providers.

Since 2021, City Council has published an annual list of its advocacy priorities. These priorities outline the actions Council would like other orders of government to take to improve the lives of Grande Prairie residents.

More details available at cityofgp.com/advocacy.