INNISFAIL – The Town of Innisfail will be getting more than half a million dollars to address infrastructure needs in 2024 from the first year of a new 10-year deal for the federal Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) between the governments of Canada and Alberta.
The municipality also received notice on July 23 it’s receiving $438,961 under recreation and library agreements it has with Red Deer County.
“These payments exemplify the strong intermunicipal relationships between Red Deer County and the Town of Innisfail,” said county mayor Jim Wood in a letter to Innisfail officials. “As always, we value the partnership we have developed over the years to ensure residents of both communities have access to these services.”
The new CCBF agreement was reached in July and will continue until March 31, 2034.
Under the agreement, Alberta will receive more than $1.3 billion over the first five years with $265 million coming in 2024.
“Alberta communities rely on predictable, stable funding from all levels of government. We have worked with our federal partners to ensure CCBF funding continues to meet the ongoing needs of municipalities and Metis Settlements,” said Ric McIver, Alberta’s minister of Municipal Affairs in a media release. “This flexible funding program will enable Alberta communities to achieve their local infrastructure priorities, and help to address housing challenges with support for local roads and waterlines for housing projects.”
In a July letter to the Town of Innisfail, McIver said Innisfail’s CCBF allocation for 2024 will be $515,183.
Innisfail mayor Jean Barclay was pleased to see notice of CCBF funding coming to town following an earlier ministry letter saying the vitally important federal funds might be delayed by ongoing negotiations for a new deal between the Alberta and federal governments.
“I am pleased to see (the CCBF announcement) come when it did. We weren’t sure with the previous communication when it would arrive,” said Barclay. “We’ve already allocated that money in the budget, so it’s good that it is here and we can move forward.”
The federal money is in addition to the $1,109,729 in capital infrastructure funding Innisfail received in 2024 under the province’s new Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF).
In addition, Innisfail received $130,080 in operating LGFF funding for 2024.
In 2023, the Town of Innisfail received a $491,235 allocation from the CCBF, funds that supported $977,186 of total provincial infrastructure money from the old Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) program.
McIvor said CCBF payments to municipalities are anticipated to go out by the end of summer as communities meet the payment criteria.
He said community allocations reflect an updated allocation formula under the CCBF agreement, which ensures base funding for all local governments, with the remainder of funds allocated on a per capita basis.
His letter also said the renewed CCBD agreement comes with several other changes, including to local government reporting and new housing-related reporting requirements for larger local governments.
McIver said his ministry will soon share the updated CCBF program guidelines that reflect the changes.
