Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government and municipalities have to work together to succeed. .“When we work together, when our province faces significant challenges, we can only address them through collaboration based on genuine respect and open communication from both sides,” said Smith in a Friday speech at the Alberta Municipalities Convention and Trade Show. .Smith praised Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver for building relationships with municipalities. From the Alberta government, she said people can expect collaboration on important files. .Over the last year, Alberta’s economy has outperformed Canada's with job gains. Since December, it has added almost 100,000 full-time jobs. .Many economic forecasters and banks expect Alberta will continue to lead Canada in growth over the next two years. She said this success comes with challenges, especially the pressures from rapid population growth. .So far this year, Alberta has seen a net gain of 30,000 people arrive in the province and tens of thousands from around the world, exceeding the previous high it saw in 2006. These new arrivals are putting pressure on available housing. .She said this is why the Alberta government will be prioritizing affordable housing and housing affordability. Alberta Seniors, Community, and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon has been doing that by working with its partners to build affordable housing. .Over the next 10 years, Alberta will spend more than $9 billion with its partners for housing low-income people. This translates to 25,000 new affordable housing units by 2031. .Work has begun to build affordable housing. Four-thousand-five-hundred affordable housing units have been built since 2019, and 1,100 are almost ready. .When it comes to housing affordability, she said the Alberta government “will not abandon the dream of homeownership in our province.” To do that, all governments have to take action in communities to ensure housing is attainable. .Her government will remove barriers and red tape, create financial tools to stimulate construction, and find innovative techniques to increase supply. The main reason she said she is doing this is to avoid the problems in Ontario and British Columbia that are hurting communities and stagnating economies. .She has asked McIver and Nixon to support municipalities in removing obstacles to housing construction. If people want affordable housing, it cannot be done alone. .Alberta’s real estate market was positioned to perform better due to more affordable housing and increased interprovincial migration, according to a 2022 study conducted by Zoocasa. .READ MORE: THOMAS: Edmonton, Calgary house prices to benefit from flood of migration.“Generally speaking, Alberta hasn’t experienced many of the peaks and dips that some other Canadian provinces have faced,” said Zoocasa. .“As housing markets cooled at the end of summer, real estate activity in Calgary has remained relatively flat.” .Smith concluded by saying the waves of new Albertans are “likely to keep coming, because our push to create jobs and prosperity will only grow.” .“So you can expect our government to continue working to make the province a better place to do business as well as ensuring we’re working with you to challenges facing your communities and residents,” she said. .“My promise to you is that our doors and our ears are open.”
