Prince Albert City Council has approved a 10-year funding agreement with the Prince Albert Historical Society, giving the organization stable, predictable support to operate the city’s museums.
The agreement moves the Historical Society out of the city’s external agencies list and into the Parks, Recreation, and Culture department’s annual budget, with a 3.5 percent increase each year starting in 2026.
“This allows for a consistent, effective funding model for a really valuable organization full of volunteers,” said Coun. Dawn Kilmer, who moved the motion. “It lets the council predict the spending it takes and gives the Historical Society the ability to make a strategic plan over the next 10 years.”
Some councillors were hesitant to commit future councils to a decade-long agreement. Councillors Daniel Brown, Bryce Laewetz, and Tony Head argued for a three-year term, warning that the council cannot predict economic conditions or future budgets.
Mayor Bill Powalinsky supported the longer term, calling it consistent with the city’s long-range planning.
“Our official community plan looks 35 years ahead,” Powalinsky said. “It’s important to look at what’s best for the city, not just what’s best for us personally as politicians. This provides stability and avoids creating unnecessary uncertainty for the organization.”
Stable funding for museums
Historical Society president Michael Gange said the agreement means the organization no longer needs to make yearly budget presentations or wait to find out how much funding it will receive.
“This new agreement puts us in the parks and recreation budget, so we no longer have to go and beg for money,” Gange said. “We know how much we’re getting every year. It’s got a stable increase of 3.5 percent per year, which covers the cost of living. That allows us to give cost-of-living increases to our employees and to help run the museums.”
The Historical Society operates four museums in Prince Albert: the Historical Museum, Evolution of Education Museum, Police and Corrections Museums, and the John and Olive Diefenbaker Museum along with the Bill Smiley Archives.
“We are run by volunteers,” Gange said. “Our board is volunteer; our events are run by volunteers. We have three staff members, but only one of them is full-time. Everything else is run by volunteers.”
Planning for the future
Gange said the Society’s top priorities include accessibility work at the Historical Museum, exploring an elevator addition, and continuing to grow its online presence.
“Currently, the Prince Albert Historical Society has a larger online presence than the entire Western Development Museum in Saskatchewan,” he said. “We’ve worked very hard at getting people engaged and involved.”
He added that the Society hopes more residents will visit and become members.
I’m still, to this day, amazed when I run into people that say, ‘We have a museum?’ when in fact we have four,” Gange said.
