Rocky Mountain House town council participated in two days of meetings with provincial power brokers and networking with other municipalities during the Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis) Spring Leadership Caucus.

The conference — which ran March 26-27 — was time well spent, says Rocky Mountain House Mayor Shane Boniface.

He says council was able to meet with a number of provincial ministers, including a full hour with MLA Jason Nixon.

Among the main concerns brought to Nixon’s attention was the need for senior housing in the community. Boniface says Nixon — the minister of Assisted Living and Social Services — indicated support for the initiative.

“He was very supportive of our idea to build one or two senior facilities,” says Boniface. “We have been assured that there is money from the province — we just need to get our butts in gear and get at it.”

All seven members of Rocky Mountain House town council attends the 2026 ABMunis Spring Leadership Caucus in Edmonton. (Amber Edgerton/Assisted Living and Social Services)

The mayor says it was also a good opportunity to network with other municipal leaders from across the province — many of whom grapple with the same issues as Rocky.

Shared struggles include housing issues such as having shovel-ready land for residential and commercial development, as well as keeping housing affordable for seniors and the wider population. Addressing rising homelessness was also discussed.

“The problems that we have in our community are pretty much shared in every community across the province,” he says.

The next major ABMunis event is the annual fall convention to be held in Edmonton on September 23-25.

At last year’s event, the town successfully brought forward a resolution for ABMunis to lobby the Alberta government to separate the provincial school tax from municipal tax bills. The resolution passed with over 86 per cent approval from delegates.

In a meeting with Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams, council also sought provincial support for expanded recreation facilities in Rocky Mountain House; namely a new field house.

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RELATED

• Rocky Mountain House resolution passes with 86 per cent approval at ABMunis
• Rocky Mountain House accepts new 10-year Recreation Master Plan

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As for the town bringing resolutions to the 2026 conference, Boniface says a number of ideas have been discussed, but nothing has been confirmed.