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business elite canada
H
APRIL 2016
classified as one of Alberta’s specialized
municipalities, which see urban and ru-
ral areas existing within a single electoral
district. Wood Buffalo is one of five such
municipalities, allowing local government
to operate in a more streamlined fashion
with one mayor and one budget, and divvy
up the region’s wealth based on the needs
of each community, from the largest city
to the tiniest hamlet. That’s been a boon
to Wood Buffalo where the prosperity of
the oil sands and subsequent success of
oil companies has delivered a wealth of
revenue to the area.
“All of the wealth that comes from that
distribution within the region then set-
tles into one pool of funding distribution,”
Mayor Blake explained. “It is probably the
only way that we would have been suc-
cessful in managing this incredible period
of growth that we’ve experienced. We’re
in really good shape as far as getting our
financial house in order.”
NEW PROJECTS IMPROVE
QUALITY OF LIFE
A range of projects designed to enhance
life for the region’s residents are either
