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Malcolm Bruce, the board’s CEO, says that meeting marked a turning point. Regional mayors truly realized just how self-defeating the “Capital Region” marketing strategy was. And now, two years later, the “Capital Region” is gone.

“It is a huge milestone in the maturity of the political culture in this region,” says Iveson. “With a global economy even more fiercely competitive than it was four years ago, there is a sense of urgency with all of the mayors to put the best foot forward for the region.”

But this is about more than changing mayoral minds.

Back in 1995 or 2000, it felt almost as if our regional neighbours despised this city and didn’t want to be associated with it, any more than they could possibly help.

Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia

Now that Edmonton has recovered its amour propre, its self-confidence, and feels more prosperous, more hip, more cosmopolitan, I think people in nearby suburbs feel a greater buy-in.

Maybe it’s just a little bit more cool to associate yourself with Edmonton than it used to be.

And I think there’s a greater sense of cohesion throughout the region. Some of that has to do with the completion of the Anthony Henday ring road, which links us in new ways. Today, more people are commuting back and forth, living in Morinville or Fort Saskatchewan or Spruce Grove and working in Edmonton or Nisku.

More Edmontonians are exploring, too, heading to Beaumont for French cuisine, to St. Albert to the outdoor market, to Sherwood Park for a show at Festival Place, to Enoch for a concert at River Cree.

Perhaps, today, we all feel a little bit more integrated, part of a larger community.

“There’s just a broader pride in the city and the region,” Iveson says. “I think the whole region can trade on that.”

You might even say we could … capitalize on it.

psimons@postmedia.com

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