St. Albert city councillors are expected to decide whether to become the latest member municipality to leave regional marketing group Edmonton Global at their next meeting, Nov. 5.
Coun. Natalie Joly read in a notice-of-motion to this effect at council’s regular Oct. 1 meeting.
The city would have to give EG two years’ notice and pay its annual dues of about $245,000 in the interim.
The motion also compels city administrators to present the decision for reconsideration in the first or second quarter of 2026.
“I want to give the 2025-2029 Council a chance to decide whether our involvement continues to best meet our needs,” Joly wrote in an email. “I'm concerned about expected rising costs due to municipalities withdrawing their participation and passing this motion now would allow the next council to be more nimble in their decision to stay or leave.”
Edmonton Global is a foreign direct investment (FDI) and international business development agency, a non-profit company funded by its 14 member municipalities that exists to “radically transform” and grow the region’s economy. It was created by what’s called the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board and incorporated in 2017 with 15 members.
As the province's sixth-largest city, St. Albert is safely the most populous member of EG outside Edmonton. Council last considered leaving in 2021, that motion was defeated 5-2.
In late 2023, Strathcona County, Sturgeon County, Fort Saskatchewan, Devon, and Parkland County councils each unanimously voted to begin their own withdrawal processes.
