Jane Stroud, RMWB councillor and advocate for rural communities, dies

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Councillor Jane Stroud–who represented the hamlets of Anzac, Conklin, Gregoire Lake Estates and Janiver as a municipal councillor–has died. Her death was confirmed Monday morning by Mayor Sandy Bowman.

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“Sometimes it is said that everyone is replaceable. I can say with certainty that when it comes to serving her community, Jane cannot be replaced. We can only honour her contributions and what she meant to many people,” said Bowman in a statement.

Stroud represented the southern hamlets of Ward 4 continuously since 2010. At the time of her first campaign, Stroud was the director of the Anzac Recreation and Social Society. Her campaign focused on getting council to support basic services, or lobbying those who could provide them.

Stroud argued the rural areas outside of Fort McMurray weren’t getting the attention or funding they deserved from the municipality or other levels of government. Her first campaign focused on a need for more recreation opportunities, running water and sewage services, better roads and improved internet access.

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Over four terms, the list of needs grew to include upgrades, pullover lanes and eventually twinning of Highway 881; building wastewater treatment plants; tackling a housing crisis in Janvier and Conklin; and getting more police officers, health care and addictions workers, teachers and job opportunities into the rural hamlets.

“The causes, projects and programs she championed are too lengthy to mention today, and that speaks volumes about how Jane worked with her council colleagues and community members over the years to leave behind a better place than the one she had found,” said Bowman.

Lobbying from Stroud and the Indigenous leaders of the region saw improvements on some of these files. However, Stroud was the first to admit there were still many social and economic challenges facing people in the municipality’s rural south.

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More help was needed from the province, federal government and private sector, she would say at council meetings and in interviews.

“Residents in the rural area are still struggling with the fact that some of these amalgamation principles still need to be met,” Stroud said in a 2015 interview with Fort McMurray Today.

When a byelection was declared in 2018 for the Fort McMurray-Conklin riding, Stroud became the Alberta NDP candidate. She ran again in the 2019 provincial election in what became the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche riding.

Infrastructure, health care and support for rural communities were listed as her priorities during both campaigns. Both times, Stroud finished second.

When she returned to council, Stroud continued representing council at community events and on boards and committees. During her free time she volunteered with Bingo and crib tournaments, and was often seen golfing. She was acclaimed during the 2021 municipal election when no one ran against her.

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Girls Inc. of Northern Alberta named Stroud one of their Women of Inspiration in 2017. The RMWB gave her a Citizen Recognition Award for her work on environmental protection. The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association in 2019 honoured her with an Award of Excellence.

News of her death caused a flood of tributes and memorials from residents, community groups, First Nation and Metis leaders, and current and former politicians.

People in her ward thanked her for her volunteer work and advocacy for everything from recreation centres and water and sewage services to streetlights and a new fire hall.

“Jane was a fighter for rural people in the RMWB. We could always count on her to understand and champion the cause of smaller communities and our specific needs,” said Scott Duguid, CEO of the Conklin Resource Development Advisory Council (CRDAC), in a statement.

“She understood the needs of our communities, and always worked to ensure we were not left behind,” said Valerie Quintal, president of Conklin Metis Local 193.

Stroud is survived by two children, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Flags will be flown at half-mast across the region.

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vmcdermott@postmedia.com

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