Share your support for National Urban Parks

Do you love Edmonton’s River Valley? The North Saskatchewan River Valley in the Edmonton region has the unique opportunity to join a National Urban Park Network.

Email your MLA to let them know you support National Urban Parks and would like to see Alberta be a part of a national network of urban parks. The Edmonton region has been chosen as one of the six initial potential sites, but other opportunities could arise across the country, if local communities express their interest and make a case for the national significance of an area.

People are increasingly seeking accessible ways to connect with nature, especially if they are located within, or near, an urban centre. A national urban park can present a lot of opportunities for a region: for nature conservation, to contribute to reconciliation, to connect communities, and to increase accessibility to nature.

The process of creating a National Urban Park would include many opportunities for public engagement, a fact that has been obscured with misinformation in the reasoning for the passing of Bill 204.

Your voice is needed to express your support for a potential National Urban Park in Edmonton to keep the momentum going for this initiative.

Your letter will be sent to your MLA based on your provided postal code. A copy will be sent to the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, the Minister of Forestry and Parks, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the Premier of Alberta, the City of Edmonton and Bill 204’s sponsor, MLA for Leduc-Beaumont.

{contact_data~salutation},

I am writing to express my support for National Urban Parks and the process to explore the possibility for a national urban park in the Edmonton region.  
 
The process of a National Urban Park designation, which is still in its early stages in Edmonton, would require multiple rounds of public engagement. I encourage the Government of Alberta to continue to engage in discussions with the City of Edmonton, Parks Canada, Indigenous representatives, and stakeholder groups on the potential establishment of a national urban park in the Edmonton region.  
 
National Urban Parks are a newer concept and there are many avenues for how they can be managed. National Urban Parks do not require ownership of the land by the federal government, and can be managed in partnership among various entities, not solely Parks Canada. I am concerned that the basis of the recently passed Bill 204 has clouded the fact that community needs and voices are at the heart of forming national urban parks.  
 
A National Urban Park is an excellent opportunity within the Edmonton region to protect nature and to foster connections to nature among Albertans. Future proposals and agreements could be beneficial to other municipal regions for reasons that include community well-being and as a helpful tool to combat the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.  
 
I support a National Urban Park in the Edmonton region and want to see the Government of Alberta engage in a way that also supports this initiative.

Kind regards,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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