Kara Westerlund, Rural Municipalities of Alberta president, discusses her organization’s biggest priorities for 2025 with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Michael Higgins: Let’s start on Donald Trump returning to the White House and the hyper focus on his threat of a 25 per cent tariff. The federal and provincial governments are rolling out a rapid response. Where does this register on the radar of your member municipalities?
Kara Westerlund: I definitely would have to start out by saying, and acknowledging, that it’s certainly a concern with our members and our municipalities based on the possibility of the impacts on all of Alberta’s resource industries who are incredibly active in the rural communities and the rural landscapes.
I think it’s worth saying that we want to be partners in seeking solutions to reduce industry costs and support the diversification, but that it’s important to note that municipal assessment taxation changes is not the reasonable solution …