The organization representing Saskatchewan’s urban municipalities is returning to its old name.
The Municipalities of Saskatchewan will soon be known again as the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA).
From June 1 to 3, an electronic vote was held on the matter by urban municipalities.
“As a member-focused association, our members will always have the final say on important decisions,” said Rodger Hayward, the president of the organization. “We respect the decision that has been reached through an open and transparent membership vote.”
Each municipality was afforded a number of voting delegates based on population. In total, 364 votes were cast, with 90 in favour of permanently changing the name to the Municipalities of Saskatchewan moniker and 274 opposed.
The name change to Municipalities of Saskatchewan was announced in February 2020 during its convention, to the surprise of many of the delegates there.
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) was upset at the name change.
“The name ‘Municipalities of Saskatchewan’ implies that SUMA represents all municipalities in the province,” said Ray Orb, SARM’s president, in a May 3 letter sent to urban municipalities.
“The name change has only divided our memberships and our associations.”
Orb pointed out that neither urban or rural municipalities have any interest in merging their two organizations. The urban municipalities defeated a resolution at their 2020 convention to begin merger discussions, while the rural municipalities passed a resolution stating they had no interest in any such discussions.
At their 2021 convention, 98 per cent of SARM delegations voted to ask the urban municipalities to not use Municipalities of Saskatchewan as their name.
Don McMorris, the province’s government relations minister, also asked the urban municipalities at their February 2021 convention to reconsider the name change.
The urban municipalities association will be transitioning back to the SARM name over the coming weeks.
“No matter our name, our values and principles remain the same,” Hayward said. “We continue to represent the interests of Saskatchewan’s hometowns – the cities, towns, villages, resort villages and northern municipalities that more than 80 per cent of Saskatchewan’s population call home.”
