Grande Prairie City Council

Dylan Bressey

for Alberta municipalities President

Experienced and Engaged.

 
 

From rural villages to our largest cities, I have visited Councils in every corner of our province. I am passionate about being a voice for strong local communities. I possess a deep, working knowledge of all aspects of our Association, and my diverse career has focused on hard work, collaboration, and developing leaders. As our membership elects a Board that will be majority-new members, it is critical that our President understands our organisation and is engaged with all types of members. I'm ready to provide that leadership.

Priorities

Our Board has worked hard to make Alberta Municipalities an even stronger support to your work. We have enhanced Member Engagement and created systems to kick engagement into an even higher gear. We have a talented new CEO with government experience who has helped us reform our approach to advocacy and communications. We have gathered municipal financial data and packaged it into easily understood infographics, making us more prepared than ever to tell the story of local community needs. We have also overhauled the governance of our Business Services to ensure we are providing the best possible and affordable insurance, employee benefits, electricity, and other business services to our members.

I’m proud of this work. As we bring in a Board made up of majority-new members, we need to President who has the experience to keep this momentum going. At the same time, we also need to be pushing to do even better. Priorities I have:

  • Advocacy: seeing the province as a partner, leading with data, and focusing on areas of provincial policy we have realistic opportunities to influence

  • Member Engagement: ensuring that every Board member visits, understands and speaks for all types of municipalities in all areas of the province

  • Member Support & Municipal Governance: creating resources and building professional networks that will help your Council and CAO succeeed

  • Business Services: enhancing the value brought to your municipality and non-profits in your community by Alberta Municipalities electricity, employee benefit, insurance, and other services

  • Public Awareness: helping you tell the story of the good work, hard decisions, and challenges your Council has before it to your residents and your MLAs

  • Board Development: ensuring that the new Board is brought up to speed quickly and resourced to keep up the strong momentum of Alberta Municipalities

Scroll down to learn more about my views on each priority.

Experience

Strong municipalities are essential for Alberta to thrive. I am excited about your work, passionate about telling your story, dedicated to helping you access resources and a professional network, and committed to providing you with high value business services.

I have Chaired the Infrastructure Committee and served on the Municipal Governance Committee. I have also been one of our leads on financial advocacy initiatives, allowing me to take a deep dive into the state of funding and infrastructure in all municipalities. I am a Vice President on our Executive Committee. But most importantly, I have visited Councils from all sizes of communities in all parts of our province. I work hard to understand our members and have been hands on with advocacy work.

But as we elect a majority new Board, we need a President who also understands Alberta Municipalities’ corporate services. These fund our advocacy and have direct impacts on member budgets. Intense work is underway to enhance their value, which requires experienced leadership. I am an entrepreneur and with a professional governance designation who has provided board level leadership to our businesses. I serve on the Alberta Municipal Services Corporation Board and Chair the APEX Pension Board, the Audit & Finance Committee, the Investment Advisory Committee, and the Risk Advisory Working Group.

I am ready to lead all aspects of our Association.

My Experience

I’d love to hear directly from you! What’s happening in your local community and what support would help?

If we haven’t connected yet, please give me a call or text at 780-402-4166. Or email me at dbressey@cityofgp.com. Send me your thoughts. Better yet: let me know how I can find you for a chat at Convention.

Scroll down for more information

Including priorities I see and my experience.

 

My priorities

Now more than ever, Alberta Municipalities members need strong support from their Association. And with a majority new Board coming in, our next President has a big role to fill. Here are priorities I see for the next President:

advocacy

Our provincial government has strong plans that it will continue to implement. But as we enter the time in election cycles when governments pivot their approaches, there is a big opportunity. To get the best possible outcomes for our communities, Alberta Municipalities needs to be seen as a valuable partner. We need to make the case that supporting thriving towns, villages, and cities is crucial to obtaining the prosperity our government is focused on.

Just as we do in our Council Chambers, we need to be prepared to occasionally push back with civility and facts. But in all we do, we must position ourselves as a good faith partner who is the trusted source of information about what is going on at the local level across the province. This isn’t just public-facing work; it also means building strong relationships so we are the first people government comes to when making plans or working on the nuts and bolts of policy implementation.

member engagement

Although they might look very different, our smallest villages and largest cities face many of the same fundamental challenges. We are strongest when we can come together to find joint solutions. To be successful at advocacy, we need a united voice.

This requires strong engagement from our Board and staff. We need to be visiting communities across the province to see their needs first-hand, build consensus, and get feedback on how we can best support the work of local Councils. The President needs to be passionate about engaging personally. More than that, the President needs to challenge and equip the entire Board to engage with our membership. Board members are elected by their own member segments, but each has a responsibility to serve all members. The Board must be a team where listening to the whole membership is the top priority.

member support & Municipal Governance

Alberta needs its municipal leaders—both elected and administrative—to be successful. Alberta Municipalities is here to help, especially those new to their roles.

With many new Councillors, stretched budgets, rapidly changing provincial policy, and a polarized society, the importance of supporting Municipal Governance is more important than ever. For Mayors and Councillors, we must provide world-class training by promoting and enhancing our conferences, webinars, toolkits, and the Elected Officials Education Program. We need to build professional networks so leaders have colleagues in other communities to call for ideas, advice, and encouragement on the tough days. The Board must also be ready to step in directly with knowledge, resources, or advocacy when elected officials face challenges and opportunities.

For our CAOs, we must continue ensuring Alberta Municipality staff have the capacity to be their available, knowledgeable, and trusted go-to resource.

 
 

Business services

Insurance. Pensions. Benefits. Procurement. These can be dry topics, but they are-hugely important to municipal operations.

Through AMSC (Alberta Municipal Services Corporation), Alberta Municipalities provides corporate services that many municipalities rely on. These services provide direct value to our members and also fund approximately one-third of Alberta Municipalities advocacy efforts.

Given the inflationary and other budget challenges facing our members, having sustainable, flexible, and affordable business lines is more important than ever. Over the past two years, the Board has initiated significant governance changes to enhance AMSC’s value. We are now at a critical phase of that work. Our next President needs a deep understanding of AMSC to help lead it toward providing even better service to members.

Public awareness

Despite delivering the government services residents rely on the most, too many Albertans are unaware of or misinformed about the important work of Councils. This can lead to low voter turnout and makes it challenging to get productive feedback from residents or gain public support for our advocacy work.

The next President must be focused not just on telling municipal stories to provincial politicians, but also on raising the public profile of Alberta Municipalities and our members. We need to make a clear, understandable, and visible case for local community funding and for municipal input on provincial decisions.

board development

Our Board is facing significant turnover: at least eight of our 15 members will be new, and several of them are likely to be brand-new Councillors. I have great confidence that our membership will place strong, smart, and dedicated people around our table. However, they will have a steep learning curve. With all the work before us, we need to equip them to hit the ground running. Furthermore, Board members serve the entire membership, not just the communities that elected them. We must help our new Board members quickly understand and become passionate about the issues in communities of all sizes and in every part of the province.

The President must be passionate and capable, ready to work closely with new members to help them develop the experience, knowledge, and skills needed to serve our entire membership.

 

EXPERIENCE

Alberta Municipalities
With a majority new Board, it is more critical than ever that our next President understand how Alberta Municipalities works. Over the past four years, my most important experience has been visiting municipalities of all sizes across the province to hear about their needs and best practices. I have also served on the following committees:

  • Executive Committee

  • Infrastructure Committee (Chair)

  • Municipal Governance Committee (Vice Chair)

  • Audit & Finance Committee (Chair)

  • Investment Advisory Committee (Chair)

  • Risk Management Working Group (Chair)

  • APEX Pension Plan (Chair)

  • Alberta Municipal Services Corporation Board of Governors

  • Municipal Fiscal Health Working Group

  • Local Government Fiscal Framework Negotiating Committee

  • MUNIX (Municipal Insurance Exchange) Advisory Board

  • Minister’s Awards of Municipal & Library Excellence Panel

  • Representative to Northern Alberta Elected Leaders

  • Representative to RMA District 4

Local Council Experience

We all bring experience and knowledge from our local Councils to the table. I have been entrusted by my Council with a variety of roles that have given me a broad experience, including working collaboratively with other municipalities. Some of my local roles have included:

  • Protective & Social Services Committee (Chair)

  • Community Opioid Response Task Force (Chair)

  • Investment & Strategy Committee (Chair)

  • Infrastructure & Economic Development Committee (Chair)

  • RCMP Police Advisory Committee (Chair)

  • Grande Prairie Police Service Commission

  • Joint [Regional] Emergency Management Committee

  • Inter-municipal Collaboration Framework Negotiating Committee

  • Inter-City Forum on Social Policy

  • Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance

I have extensive governance experience in municipal, private, and non-profit organisations. I have also worked to better my governance practice by learning from others. In addition to formal academic work, have invested in a number of professional development opportunities including obtaining a professional governance Designation (ICD. D. from the Institute of Corporate Directors and University of Toronto).

You can click here to read more about my Alberta Municipalities, Council, and other professional experience.

About Dylan

Prior to being elected, I had a career in the non-profit sector. I built and directed youth resiliency programs. These days, serving on City Council is my primary employment. Most times, it also feels like my biggest hobby. But when I’m not doing Council work, a lot keeps me busy:

  • I’m a husband to Naomi and father of two young boys.

  • I’m a co-owner of several local companies (but am moving out of all operational roles)

  • When I moved to Grande Prairie, I brought disc golf to the Peace Country. I spend time building courses, developing clubs, and running events in our corner of Alberta. I even occasionally get to lose a tournament.

  • I serve on the United Way Alberta Northwest Board, where we are working at developing connections in communities across our region.

  • I chaired the Ambassador program for the 2018 Alberta Summer Games and am chairing it for the 2024 Alberta Winter Games

Help dylan!

To become President, I need your help at Convention! Ways you can help:

  • Stickers: I will have “Dylan Bressey” stickers to put on your nametag or chest. Pick one up and put it on. Better yet: get a few friends to wear one with you!

  • Introduce Me: Help me touch base in person with with Mayors and other Councillors.

  • Talk to Colleagues: Describe the importance of experience for our next President

  • Flyers: Help me put out flyers on the Convention Hall tables. Touch base with me to arrange a time.

  • Vote: Make sure you you come out at 8am on Friday morning!