All four major Alberta political party leaders, including Premier Rachel Notley, will be in Cochrane to address the Mid-Sized Cities Mayor's Caucus on Jan. 31.

Notley, the UCP's Jason Kenney, Liberal David Khan and Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel have confirmed they will be here to provide insight on their platforms and answer questions of the 22 mayors expected to be in attendance.

UCP leader Jason Kenney

Genung, who will be chairing much of the two-day caucus meeting that begins Jan. 30, says he expected both days will focus almost entirely on the provincial leaders.

"We have things to bring up, like MSI funding, and we want to hear from each leader what they would do if elected. So it's pretty much all tuned in on the speeches of the next day."

What the future holds for Municipality Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding from the province is of grave concern to municipalities. They have been seeking a commitment for long-term stable and equitable funding from the province. Alberta municipalities rely heavily on MSI funding for capital projects.

Alberta Liberal leader David Khan"The province has just come out with the city charters for Edmonton and Calgary and have given them long-term confidence in funding from the province through this charter. We're eager to hear what they're going to announce for the rest of us."

When securing Cochrane as the location for the meeting, Mayor Jeff Genung set the goal of having all the major leaders attend because of the upcoming spring election.

As a group, the participating municipalities represent almost one million Albertans and are part of 35 provincial constituencies, Genung says they almost consider themselves as the third major Alberta city and believe it's a golden opportunity to raise their profile.

It's also great for Cochrane.

Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel

"The next premier will be in Cochrane next week, regardless of the outcome of the election," says Genung. "So I think we're really putting ourselves in a great position for our council, our administration and our community to at least be known and recognized at a high political level. I'm pretty excited about that."

Genung doesn't take all the credit in making it happen, although raising Cochrane's profile has been a priority for him since he ran for mayor.

"I couldn't have pulled this off by myself. I've had a lot of hard work from the staff to help put this together. The idea of having this and putting Cochrane on the map and elevating our presence in the province is something that I spoke about during the election."

Municipal Affairs minister Shaye Anderson is also scheduled to attend.

Following the opening day meeting, an evening tour will showcase Cochrane to the visiting delegates.

Cochrane a Political Hot Spot on Jan. 31

January 31 seems to be the day to be in Cochrane for Alberta politicians.

That evening, Jason Kenney will be speaking at a UCP fundraiser at the GlenEagles Golf Course clubhouse. The Airdrie-Cochrane NDP constituency association is holding its nomination at the Frank Wills Memorial Hall the same evening, where Steve Durrell is expected to be named their candidate in the upcoming provincial election.