Work to begin an annexation process started in 2013. In 2017, the City of Edmonton officially applied to the Province to annex portions of Leduc County to support contiguous urban development. On January 1, 2019, the lands south of 41st Avenue were formally transitioned to the City of Edmonton. Edmonton’s municipal development plan, The City Plan, identifies these lands as a Future Growth Area — land intended to help accommodate Edmonton’s long-term population and housing needs. Planning for the area does not mean development happens overnight. Building new communities is a long process that requires years of planning prior to any houses or new businesses being built. Infrastructure design, approvals and investment take time. That is why decisions to unlock Edmonton’s future land supply need to be made well before the housing is actually needed. Acquiring the land and proactively planning for it is the first step to ensure that Edmonton’s residential and non-residential housing supply is not constrained and can be developed when needed by the market.

In 2022, City Council considered whether planning for the Future Growth Area should move forward or wait until more existing suburban communities were fully developed.

BILD Edmonton Metro (then UDI – Edmonton Metro and CHBA Edmonton Region) advocated for the City to continue planning for Edmonton’s long-term growth needs. Following discussion and advocacy, Council directed City Administration to undertake a comprehensive Servicing Study to better understand how the Future Growth Area could be supported by infrastructure and municipal services. That work began in 2024. City Council is expected to consider the Future Growth Area again in Q1 2027.

Decisions about the lands south of 41st Avenue are about more than where Edmonton grows. They will influence the City’s future housing supply, affordability, infrastructure investment, and economic competitiveness.

Ensuring Edmonton has an adequate supply of planned and serviceable land can help:

• Support housing supply and choice by preparing for the homes Edmonton’s growing population will need.
• Keep housing attainable by maintaining a healthy and competitive supply of land for future communities.
• Provide investment certainty so builders, developers, rural landowners, and businesses can make long-term decisions with greater confidence.
• Plan infrastructure responsibly by giving the City time to coordinate roads, utilities, transportation and public services before they are needed imminently for development.
• Support economic growth by ensuring workers and families can find housing as Edmonton attracts new people, businesses and investment.
• Strengthen Edmonton’s competitiveness as communities across the region compete for residents, jobs, and investment.
• Give more Edmontonians opportunities to live near important employment hubs like the Edmonton International Airport and Nisku.

Edmonton should plan proactively for the lands south of 41^st Avenue so the City is ready for future housing and population growth. BILD Edmonton Metro supports responsible, well-planned growth that considers infrastructure, municipal finances, environmental stewardship, and the needs of both existing and future communities.

Planning ahead for the future does not mean de-prioritizing investment in established neighbourhoods or existing growth areas. We have the collective capacity and responsibility to serve the present and future needs of our community well, at the same time. Edmontonians have unique needs based on their employment, family circumstances, and preferences. We need multiple forms of housing and different forms of growth working together to provide a range of options across the City.

Edmonton is an attractive place to live, work, and play, so the question is not simply where Edmonton should grow today. It is how Edmonton will be prepared for the growth that is coming tomorrow.

BILD Edmonton Metro has advocated on this issue since 2022 through research, presentations to City Council, formal submissions, public commentary and engagement with government and community stakeholders.

In July 2025, BILD Edmonton Metro released its Urban Growth Case Study, examining the economic and fiscal benefits associated with responsible urban growth. Though there are costs associated with all forms of growth, we are now building new communities more densely and efficiently then ever before, meaning that this growth can and does pay for itself.

As Council prepares to revisit plan authorization for the Future Growth Area, as per the City Plan, BILD Edmonton Metro will continue working with elected officials, City Administration, industry, the business community and other stakeholders to support an evidence-based approach to Edmonton’s long-term growth.

Different groups will look at future growth planning through different lenses, but the underlying question is the same: How do we prepare Edmonton responsibly for the people who will call our city home in the decades ahead?

For City Council, this is a strategic city-building decision about housing supply, affordability, infrastructure, fiscal sustainability and Edmonton’s long-term vision.

For City Administration, it is a practical planning question about servicing, infrastructure, growth sequencing, costs and implementation.

For Edmontonians, it is about to housing choices, affordability, taxes, transportation, and quality of life.

For the building and development industry, it comes down to having the certainty and land supply needed to invest, plan and respond to future housing demand.

For the business community, it is about Edmonton’s ability to attract investment and workers — and ensuring those workers have places to live and work.

For community organizations, it is about managing growth responsibly while balancing different environmental, social, infrastructure and community priorities.

The conversation about Edmonton’s growth is bigger than one organization.

How and where Edmonton grows has been the subject of significant public discussion. Housing affordability, infrastructure costs, land supply, infill, new communities and the city’s rapid population growth have all shaped the debate.

Explore news coverage, commentary and different perspectives on Edmonton’s growth and the lands south of 41 Avenue: