The Municipal Government Act, Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000, Chapter M-26 outlines the process for notification and engagement on an application for annexation.

Initiation of annexation

116(1) A municipal authority initiates the annexation of land by giving written notice of the proposed annexation to:

(a) the one or more municipal authorities from which the land is to be annexed,

(a.1) the Minister,

(b) the Land and Property Rights Tribunal, and

(c) all local authorities having jurisdiction to operate or provide services in the initiating municipal authority or in any of the municipal authorities from which the land is to be annexed.

(2) The notice for an annexation must:

(a) describe the land proposed to be annexed,

(b) set out the reasons for the proposed annexation, and

(c) include proposals for:

          (i) consulting with the public about the proposed annexation, and

          (ii) meeting with the owners of the land to be annexed, and keeping them informed about the progress of the negotiations.

Direct negotiations

117(1) The municipal authorities from which the land is to be annexed must, on receipt of the notice under Section 116, meet with the initiating municipal authority to discuss the proposals included in the notice and negotiate the proposals in good faith.

(2) If there are matters on which there is no agreement, the initiating municipal authority and the one or more municipal authorities from which the land is to be annexed must, during the negotiations, attempt to use mediation to resolve those matters.

Report on negotiations

118(1) On conclusion of the negotiations, the initiating municipal authority must prepare a report that describes the results of the negotiations and that includes:

(a) a list of the matters agreed on and those on which there is no agreement between the municipal authorities,

(a.1) if there were matters on which there was no agreement, a description of the attempts to use mediation and, if mediation did not occur, the reasons for this,

(b) a description of the public consultation processes involved in the negotiations, and

(c) a summary of the views expressed during the public consultation processes.

(2) The report must be signed by the initiating municipal authority and by the municipal authorities from which the land is to be annexed that are prepared to sign and must include a certificate by the initiating municipal authority stating that the report accurately reflects the results of the negotiations