St. Albert in 2002. Leduc County and Beaumont A proposal to annex land from Leduc County, including the Edmonton International Airport, emerged in 2004 during Bill Smith's final term as mayor. A similar proposal resurfaced in 2008, which was reported to include the airport and a portion of the Nisku Industrial Park. The possibility of annexing land emerged again in October 2011, when Mayor Stephen Mandel indicated to the Edmonton Journal the city's need to work cooperatively with its neighbours, including Leduc County, to address Edmonton's future land needs. Negotiations between Edmonton and Leduc County commenced in April 2012. In November 2012, the Town of Beaumont unveiled a proposal to annex twenty-four quarter sections (560 ha) from Leduc County including twelve quarter sections to the north, eight to the west and four to the south. Four months later in March 2013, after Edmonton's city council voted 11-1 in favour, Mayor Mandel announced the city's intent to annex approximately of land from Leduc County along the entire length of the city's southern boundary, including the Edmonton International Airport (EIA). The area included eight of the twelve quarter sections previously identified for annexation by Beaumont. Two months later in May 2013, Beaumont amended its notice of intent to annex after consulting with the public and conducting negotiations with Leduc County, which changed the configuration and reduced the amount of quarter sections to its north. The amendment reduced the overlap from eight to five quarter sections. Nearly a year later, Edmonton expanded its notice of intent to annex in April 2015 to include lands adjacent to Beaumont's northern boundary, increasing the overlap from five to nine quarter sections. A merit hearing before the Municipal Government Board (MGB) was conducted in June 2016 on Beaumont's annexation application, after which the MGB recommended to the provincial government to approve the application. The provincial government approved Beaumont's annexation application in November 2016 with an effective date of January 1, 2017. On November 30, 2016, Leduc County and Edmonton announced a framework for an agreement on Edmonton's annexation proposal, a week after the province's decision on Beaumont's application. The western portion of Edmonton's annexation area was reduced to exclude lands west of the EIA and south of Highway 19 as well as the EIA itself, though a potential remained to include the EIA upon further negotiations. This western area, now bounded by Edmonton to the north, Highway