Premier Jason Kenney has shuffled his cabinet, and MLA for Drumheller Stettler Nate Horner has been added.
On July 8, Horner was appointed Associate Minister of Rural Economic Development.
“It is a different role and challenge,” Horner told the Mail. “The Associate Ministry will be within the Ministry of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation, under Minister Doug Schweitzer. This is a new Associate Ministry and brought on because of the place and time we are with the economic relaunch. Coming out of COVID here, we are hoping to direct resources and energy into the relaunch.”
He says while the traditional rural industries of agriculture and energy are important for economic development, he also says diversification is paramount.
“I think a lot hinges on the big rural broadband status, and I hope we’ll have something big to announce over the next term regarding rural internet, which we think is the real linchpin that links all of those opportunities,” he said.
“There are people that believe it could actually change the migration direction, with those going from the big cities to smaller towns as long as there is good enough quality internet to run their businesses from home.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an eye-opener for companies and workers, and the ability to work from home.
“COVID brought back some appreciation for small-town living,” he said. “There is a lot of people trapped in condos in concrete. I think a little more space and slower pace may be sought after in a real way.”
He is comfortable in the new role.
“I think I am fortunate when I look around at the other portfolios that people are passed with. I think this is really right in our wheelhouse, there are things that I campaigned on and ran on in this initiative, and even more broadly speaking, it is needing someone who can be a bit of a fixture in rural Alberta. It is hard to have thriving economic communities in Alberta if you are lacking in regard to healthcare. Hopefully, we can encompass lots of ministries and try to work to make rural work a little better for people.”

The Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver appointed an official to determine the sufficiency of a petition by Drumheller residents.
The Mail reported in May of this year residents began a petition for an inspection by Municipal Affairs as it related to “1) full disclosure of the flood mitigation plan to the public as a whole including the buyout prices of property, 2) whether the tendering process and award of all contracts have been fair and unbiased (including the contract to Scott Land and Lease and Darwin Durnie Contracting) and 3) whether the grant dollars from the Federal and Provincial governments have been expensed appropriately including those dollars contributed from the municipality’s taxpayers.”
On June 29, the town received a letter from Assistant Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs, Gary Sandberg, informing the town the Minister had received the petition on June 15. A Ministerial Order designated Katie Neufeld to carry out the duties of a Chief Administrative Officer with respect to the petitions.
“The Municipal Government Acts says the CAO is responsible to determine the validity of the petition. Because this was sent to Municipal Affairs about a municipality, they have to assign a CAO,” explains Town of Drumheller CAO Darryl Drohomerski.
He said Neufeld has received from the Town of Drumheller a listing of all of the property owners and utility customers in the Town of Drumheller to determine residency of those who signed the petition.
If the petition is deemed sufficient, and they determine an inspection is necessary, they will issue a directive to the municipality and they could appoint an officer to undertake the inspection. The municipality would be responsible for the expense.
The Town of Drumheller sent a letter to The Minister of Municipal Affairs inviting the ministry to review its program. As of press time, the town has not received a response.