Portage la Prairie's Mayor says the weekend's meeting of mayors, reeves, and councillors from across Canada was encouraging. Irvine Ferris was in Winnipeg for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference, which saw about 1,600 municipalities represented. Ferris says many of the discussions were reassuring, given that a majority of Canadian communities are facing similar situations.

"We have a lot in common with most other communities across the country. The issue we face are very common in other communities also. That's kind of reassuring, and it's also interesting to talk to people and hear what other communities are doing to deal with issues and to take advantage of opportunities."

One of the hot topics for those across the country was infrastructure. Ferris says part of the conference focused on how municipalities can access federal funding, which was outlined in the 2016 federal budget.

"There was lots of talk about infrastructure. I know people have heard a lot about this, but this is an issue for every single community, large and small, across the nation, and it is for us to. I also attended a workshop on the budget, and how to access funding, what the time-frames are, as they say, the devil's in the details."

The three day event also saw the federal political parties represented. Ferris notes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's keynote address was well-received, given the recognition of local government's importance.

"It was really good to hear the prime minister reiterate his support for municipal government, his recognition that municipal governments are the best levels of government to make decisions around infrastructure in their communities. He reinforced that, and it was refreshing to hear that, and it was definitely a crowd-pleaser in the keynote speech that he gave."

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, and Conservative member Dianne Watts, who's the MP for South Surrey/White Rock, also presented at the conference. Ferris notes it's always great to see the dialogue with the federal level, noting they're a major partner on many projects for Canadian municipalities.

Ferris notes there was also some excited news regarding the FCM executive, as Winnipeg City Councillor Jenny Gerbasi was elected first Vice-President. Ferris notes that will mean she's the president for the FCM next year, and it's been quite some time since Manitoba had a representative at that level.