Municipal Government Act change management
Resources for municipal elected officials and administrators to support the implementation of changes to the Municipal Government Act
Overview
The Municipal Government Act is the framework for how municipalities operate, and is one of the most significant and far-reaching statutes in Alberta. The act affects every Albertan, the private sector, and every ministry in the Government of Alberta in one form or another.
Since 2012, the Government of Alberta has been working with municipalities, industry and Albertans to determine what changes needed to be made to modernize the act. This review transformed and updated the act and a number of regulations to better reflect the needs of municipalities and Albertans. The majority of the changes came into force on October 26, 2017, and most of the remaining changes will come into force on April 1, 2018.
Changes to the Act
Implementation resources will be added to this page as they become available.
Checklists
The legislative checklist outlines all changes to the act, and lists when new requirements under the act need to be completed.
Implementation fact sheets and guides
The following documents outline the specific changes to the act, and provide additional detail for municipal elected officials, administrators, industry and the general public.
View all MGA implementation fact sheets
Governance
- Advertisement Bylaw - Public Notification Methods
- Public Participation and Public Notification: A Guide for Municipalities was jointly developed by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
- Code of Conduct for Elected Officials
- Councillor Code of Conduct: A Guide for Municipalities was jointly developed by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
- Council and Council Committee Meetings
- Additional guidance on closed meetings can be found in Municipal Affairs’ Closed Meetings of Council (In-Camera) document.
- Council Petitioning Process
- Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks – Arbitration
- Municipal Corporate Planning
- Ombudsman
- The Alberta Ombudsman has published some frequently asked questions and answers to provide additional information to municipalities about the Alberta Ombudsman’s role in the future.
- Orientation Training
- Preamble
- Public Participation Policy
- Public Participation and Public Notification: A Guide for Municipalities was jointly developed by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
- Role of Administration
- Additional guidance on roles and responsibilities of municipal officials can be found on the Municipal Affairs website.
Planning
- Conservation Reserve
- Decision Making Timelines
- Environmental Reserve
- Hierarchy and Relationship of Plans
- Impartiality of Appeal Boards
- Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks
- Jointly Initiated Amalgamations
- Land-Use Policies
- Listing and Publishing of Policies
- Municipal Development Plans
- Off-site Levies
- Subdivision Development and Appeals Board (SDAB) Training Requirements
Assessment and taxation
- Access to Information for Assessors and Property Owners (Matters Relating to Assessment and Taxation or MRAT)
- Assessment Complaints (Matters Relating to Assessment Complaints or MRAC)
- Assessment of Farmland Intended for Development (Matters Relating to Assessment and Taxation or MRAT)
- Incenting Brownfield Development
- Linking Residential and Non-Residential Tax Rates (Matters Relating to Assessment or Taxation or MRAT)
- Sub-classing the Non-Residential Property Class
Contact us
For more information, contact Municipal Affairs at:
780-427-2225 (Edmonton and area)
310-0000 (toll free in Alberta)
lgsmail@gov.ab.ca