By: Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Lakeside Leader
The M.D. of Opportunity is officially changing its political boundaries and reducing the number of politicians at the council table.
During the June 8 regular meeting, council gave the first and second readings to Bylaw 2026-08.
The new bylaw will shrink the council from 11 members down to nine, and reduce the number of electoral wards from seven down to five.
The municipal map is being redrawn following a major land transfer to a local First Nation.
The federal government officially designated lands in Peerless Lake and Trout Lake as an Indian Reserve on March 23, 2026.
In an official letter sent to Chief Gilbert Okemow, Jamie Brown, the regional director general for Indigenous Services Canada, says the historic land transfer created the Peerless Trout Indian Reserve No. 238 and the Twin Lakes Indian Reserve No. 238B.
Brown says this fulfills a treaty agreement originally signed in 2010. The recent transfer included roughly 16,753 hectares (about 39,916 acres) of land. Combined with previous transfers in 2016 and 2025, the First Nation has now received over 26,622 hectares of land.
The newly transferred lands also include the rights to underlying mines and minerals. While this massive handover fulfills the bulk of the 2010 treaty agreement, Brown notes that a few small parcels of land still remain under the control of the province of Alberta.
However, the federal government expects those remaining pieces to be officially transferred and added to the reserve at a future date.
“My profound congratulations to you and all members of Peerless Trout First Nation on this incredible accomplishment,” Brown says in the letter. “We are excited to continue working with you towards even greater prosperity for your members.”
Because those lands are now federally recognized reserves, administration says the municipal ward boundaries must be amended to remove Peerless Lake and Trout Lake.
Under the proposed changes, the old Ward 4 for Peerless Lake and Ward 5 for Trout Lake will be completely removed.
The two councillor seats representing those communities will also be eliminated.
The new electoral map will feature five wards instead of seven. Under the proposed breakdown, Ward 1 in Wabasca will elect four councillors.
Ward 2 in Calling Lake will elect two.
The remaining three regions will each elect a single councillor, representing Sandy Lake in Ward 3, Red Earth Creek in Ward 4, and Chipewyan Lake in Ward 5.
Chief Administrative Officer Chad Tullis presented the bylaw to council, noting that it aligns with provincial election rules.
The provincial Municipal Government Act says any bylaw that amends the number of councillors or alters ward boundaries must be passed by Dec. 31 of the year before a general municipal election.
However, the M.D. cannot make the new map official right away. Provincial law requires the municipality to advertise the proposed changes to the public first.
To ensure residents have a chance to review the redrawn map, copies of the proposed bylaw are now available for public inspection at the M.D. administration offices in Wabasca, Calling Lake, and Red Earth Creek.
Residents now have 60 days to launch a petition if they want to force a public vote on the boundary changes. To be valid, the petition must be signed by at least 10 per cent of the M.D.’s population.
If enough people sign the petition, the new map will go to a public vote.
If no valid petition is submitted during the 60-day window, council can pass the final reading of the bylaw to make the new map official.
Lakesideleader.com