Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)
Agricultural societies play a crucial role in the province’s rural communities. They bring people together, organize and run events and improve the overall quality of life for residents in their communities.
Alberta has more agriculture societies than any other province with 292 organizations. Alberta’s government is helping regional agricultural societies weather increasing costs and plan ahead with a one-time cash injection of more than $7.4 million.
“It’s hard to overstate the impact regional agricultural societies have on rural Alberta. From event organizing to infrastructure upkeep, they energize folks and bring communities together. This funding will ensure our regional agriculture societies are able to keep up their good work and continue to be pillars of their communities.”
New funding includes $4.03 million in one-time supports distributed among the seven regional ag societies to help them manage cost pressures and allow them to plan for the future, including achieving more sustainable operational models. It also includes a one-time investment of $2.87 million to support business transformation projects and funding set aside for a third-party consultant to help with those efforts.
This is on top of the continued annual total funding of $2.8 million for regional agricultural societies through the Agricultural Societies Grant Program.
In 2024, Alberta’s government hired Deloitte to conduct a sustainability assessment of the societies and provide recommendations to address their financial struggles. Those recommendations helped inform this funding and the next steps.
“On behalf of the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede, I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the province for the generous funding provided to us. This support is instrumental in helping each regional fair achieve its goals and make a positive impact in its community. Thank you for your commitment to fostering growth and development.”
“Thank you to the Government of Alberta for its continued support of Regional Agricultural Societies and Lethbridge & District Exhibition (LDE). Ag Societies benefit the communities they serve, enhancing the quality of life for Albertans, while supporting the critical role agriculture plays in our economy. This strong support from our provincial government allows LDE to improve and evolve, while supporting the programming needed to cultivate the agriculture community. It’s this partnership that will help to make us successful and sustainable for another 100 years”.
Quick facts
- Agricultural societies are volunteer-driven and collectively host more than 39,000 events and activities each year.
- Alberta’s seven regional agricultural societies are in Camrose, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Olds, Medicine Hat and Red Deer.
- Regional is a long-standing historic designation for these seven agricultural societies.
- Each regional agricultural society currently receives total annual funding of $398,853, including a base grant of $298,853 and an operating grant of $100,000 to support agricultural event days.
Related information
- Alberta Agricultural Societies Program
Related news
- Charting a path for regional ag societies (July 31, 2024)