Speaking to a crowd of 700 rural leaders Tuesday in Edmonton, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith outlined her government’s priorities, including updating the province’s bill of rights and fighting the federal government over the carbon tax and emissions cap.

But Paul McLauchlin, outgoing chair of Alberta Rural Municipalities, says affordability should be the premier’s number one issue, suggesting her attention has shifted elsewhere.

“I think there’s been a huge distraction because of the leadership race,” McLauchlin said Tuesday, referring to last weekend’s vote by members of the ruling United Conservative Party on Smith’s leadership .

The first received 91.5 percent approval during the UCP’s annual general meeting on Saturday in Red Deer.

“What Albertans want is to be able to put food on their table,” McLauchlin said. “They want to be able to keep their lights on and heat their house.”

With the leadership review now complete, McLauchlin hopes the province will focus on investing in aging infrastructure and reforming municipal funding.

Other leaders attending the Alberta Rural Municipalities fall conference at the Edmonton Convention Center say they just want to understand provincial decisions, like the government’s plan. expand the role of sheriffs.

Warden Terry Ungarian, reeve of Northern Lights County, said he is “basically calling for accountability for this independent police agency that was established by the province.”

Its resolution is one of 21 resolutions debated during the four-day convention.

That’s what one Ungarian says is necessary after rural Alberta strongly opposed the idea of ​​a provincial police force.

“Really a lack of consultation, a lack of information and sort of a lack of mandate for this new independent police force,” said Ungarian, whose northwest Alberta county is headquartered in the town of Manning.

Smith told media Tuesday that municipalities “don’t have to do anything they don’t want to do” on the issue of policing.

“We’re just enabling. A lot of municipalities want to look at other options when it comes to policing,” Smith said, citing the example of Grande Prairie, which created its own municipal force earlier this year.

“They realized they could hire more officers and save $8 million. That’s a pretty big advantage, and that’s why they’re moving toward a standalone municipal police force and away from the RCMP.”

The Grande Prairie police force will take over entirely from the RCMP in this northwest city of 60,000 inhabitants in 2028.

Naheed Nenshi, leader of the Alberta NDP official opposition, says the government’s focus on strengthening provincial police powers is further proof that the premier refuses to listen to regional voices rural Alberta that he hopes to fly in 2027.

“Last week, I was in the riding of Morinville-St. Albert, talking to people about their concerns, and it’s very clear that this government is taking them for granted and assuming that they accept that rural Albertans are going with their radical right proposals,” Nenshi told media Tuesday.

“The best example is the Alberta Police Service. Nobody wants it. No rural organization said, “Please give us this.” Instead, they said, “Focus on the real problems of rural crime,” and the UCP has shown no desire to do that. »