ARCC aims to ensure candidates are prepared to address small businesses' needs

The Airdrie Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) is once again hosting candidate forums ahead of the municipal elections in Airdrie and Rocky View County scheduled for October 20, 2025.

The online Airdrie Municipal Candidates Forum will be held on Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m., which could possibly run as late as 9:30 p.m. depending on how many candidates should announce. 

The online Rocky View Council Candidates Forum will be held on Oct. 1 starting a 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

"Rocky View County is actually a greater focus of ours now because it may be the only [form of forum] available in the count, so it's an opportunity for the residents and businesses in Rocky View to learn more about their council candidates," the Executive Director of ARCC Marilyne Aalhus said. 

This is the first time ARCC is hosting an online candidate forum in Rocky View County. 

The link will be emailed and posted on ARCC's event page by Sept. 26. 

In addition to hearing a short introduction from each of the candidates, the ARCC will be asking candidates prepared questions based on their business platform. 

Upon registration, people will have the ability to add questions in advance by adding it to the comments section of their registration. 

 

No questions will be taken from the floor during the live event. 

"In order to keep things on track, we will be asking starting with business questions that pertain directly to our membership, an then questions from the audience that were submitted in advance," Aalhus said. 

Additionally, the event will be recorded and a link will be posted to www.airdriechamber.ab.ca. 

On another note, Aalhus shared some expectations that ARCC hopes the new council elected on Oct. 20 look after. 

 

"We've grown very quickly, which has a lot of positives, but also [adds] a lot of stress on residents and small businesses," Aalhus said. "So, we will continue to advocate for business support programs within the region from both Airdrie and Rocky View County." 

While ARCC is fortunate to have good relationships with all members of council from both the city and the county, Aalhus says, we work closely with government on setting priorities for small business and businesses in our region. 

"If there is a new elected position, we will be working carefully to build a relationship with those individuals, making sure that the voice of business is heard," Aalhus said. 

That said, Aalhus emphasized on the fact that chamber is very much the largest voice of businesses in the region. 

 

Most importantly ARCC hopes to have open dialogues before decisions are made. "For example, when licensing fees are going up...," Aalhus said. 

She explained that they often collaborate with the city administration—and hopefully in the future with the county as well—to discuss whether licensing fees are sufficient. They also consider whether any potential fee increases would come with additional support services for small businesses.

"Obviously, the city does great work in their economic development program, but we also have opportunities as a chamber to do more for those businesses as well," Aalhus said. 

While the chamber does not represent the government, Aalhus does expect candidates to reach out to the local Chamber of Commerce to learn more about what their values are, and to learn more about how they can support local businesses.