Last week, our community made provincial headlines when the Town of Cochrane opened the doors to the Cochrane RancheHouse to host the Alberta Mid-Sized Cities Mayors’ and CAOs’ caucus.
For two days, Cochrane was in the spotlight as the gathering point for Mayors and CAOs from 22 urban centers, 35 provincial constituencies, representing nearly one million Albertans. Collectively, the caucus develops strategies to respond to matters of mutual concern and advocates for the needs of Alberta’s mid-sized municipalities.
All provincial eyes were on our community when the caucus was addressed by Premier Rachel Notley, United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel and Alberta Liberal Party leader David Khan. The four party leaders each addressed the caucus and then joined the meeting to respond to questions from caucus mayors.
Hosting the meeting was significant for Cochrane on several fronts. First, Alberta’s next premier was in our community. By visiting Cochrane and responding to our questions, the next premier is more likely to have Cochrane’s issues top of mind when he or she forms the next government.
Second, having had an opportunity to experience Cochrane, each leader, regardless of who forms the next government, is more likely to have a long-lasting awareness of our community overall. When we appear before the next provincial government with funding requests for highway improvements for example, we hope that memory will help us stand out among a crowd of similar requests.
Hosting this event also catapulted Cochrane to an even higher level as our community was showcased before the Alberta media that came to cover the party leaders, and thus their audiences.
I am very proud of what was achieved by hosting the caucus. A great deal of gratitude goes to the many staff involved in orchestrating the event.
Thanks are also owed to community partners who made it possible to host this milestone event at no cost to the Town. The reception and caucus meetings were presented by: TransCanada and Urban Systems (platinum sponsors), with support from Caron & Partners LLP (gold sponsor). Southland Transportation provided ground transportation services.
