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31 Questions with Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland

His trial by wildfire and his advice for municipal leaders

by Crone G
31 Questions with Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland Richard Ireland has been the mayor of Jasper since 2001, when the municipal council was first created. A year after thousands of residents and tourists evacuated as wildfires threatened the town and national park, Ireland talks frankly about dealing with the crisis and what is needed as other communities face wildfires. Photo: Parks Canada / Luuk Wijk | Inset: Parks Canada
Published in July 2025 - Page 16

Jasper National Park in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains is one of the most famous of Canada’s national parks. It includes the Municipality of Jasper, a small community that every year welcomes thousands of tourists from across Canada and around the world.

Richard Ireland, 69, is a practising lawyer in addition to being mayor since 2001, when the municipal council was first created. Previously, as it was in a national park, there had been only a town

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