Webinar explores how population changes affect municipalities

Kevin McQuillan, author of the recently published Future of Municipal Government paper, Population Growth and Population Aging in Alberta Municipalities, shared his observations on demographic trends with ABmunis members and staff in a virtual seminar on June 20.

Three of his key findings are: 

• The province’s low birth rate is well below replacement levels – a situation many places around the world are also experiencing.
• Alberta's labour force continues to shift towards the service sector – a significant factor that is contributing to increased urbanization.
• Migration from other parts of Canada and immigration from abroad are key factors in the growth and stability of Alberta’s communities.

Professor McQuillan also described how new developments like working from home, rising housing costs and increased retirement migration will affect municipalities. 

A “question and answer” session followed his formal presentation. Topics such as the accuracy of census data, the importance of broadband Internet service and the provincial government’s use of demographic data to determine how much funding municipalities receive were discussed with online participants for nearly 20 minutes.

A recording of the June 20 webinar is available on ABmunis' video channel.

You can join the conversation by providing feedback on how able your municipality is to respond to demographic shifts. Our survey is open until July 15.

Alberta Municipalities will continue to explore how to best help municipalities build thriving communities through a variety of projects and initiatives, including;

• Future of Municipal Government (FOMG) project
• Broadband Internet advocacy
• Welcoming and Inclusive Communities (WIC) initiative.