COLD LAKE — Scott Cyr’s familiarity with Canada’s military has largely been shaped close to home at 4 Wing Cold Lake. His newest provincial role is now taking him beyond the fighter base and into conversations with military leaders across Alberta.

Since being appointed Alberta’s Military Liaison on June 12, the Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA has been meeting with senior Canadian Armed Forces leaders as he works to better understand the needs of serving members, veterans and military families throughout the province.

Cyr said his early work has been alongside Deputy Premier Mike Ellis, focusing on strengthening the relationship between Alberta’s government and its military communities.

“Having 4 Wing Cold Lake in my constituency, I have naturally had greater familiarity with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the important role it plays in our region and across Canada,” Cyr said.

The new role, he said, is giving him an opportunity to broaden that perspective, particularly through the Canadian Army.

Alberta has a substantial military footprint that includes 4 Wing Cold Lake, 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton, CFB Wainwright, CFB Suffield and Reserve units in communities throughout the province.

Since taking on the position, Cyr has met with a number of senior Army leaders, including Major-General L.W. Rutland, Commander of 3rd Canadian Division and Joint Task Force (West); Colonel Robert Tesselaar, Commander of 3rd Canadian Division Support Group; Lieutenant-Colonel J.P. Southen, Base Commander of CFB Edmonton; and Colonel Kyle Clapperton, Commander of 41 Canadian Brigade Group.

He has also met with Chief Warrant Officer Ted Coderre and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Bradley.

Cyr said the conversations have given him a better understanding of both the Regular Force and Reserve presence in Alberta, as well as some of the challenges military members and their families experience outside the gates of a base.

That distinction is an important part of what Cyr says he wants the liaison position to accomplish.

While defence and the Canadian Armed Forces fall under federal jurisdiction, many parts of everyday life for military families intersect directly with provincial responsibilities.

“My role as Alberta’s Military Liaison is not to duplicate the responsibilities of the federal government or the Canadian Armed Forces,” Cyr said. “It is to listen, build relationships and identify issues affecting military members, veterans and their families where Alberta has a role to play.”

Those areas can include healthcare, housing, childcare, education, employment and infrastructure.

For Cold Lake and the surrounding region, those conversations have added significance as 4 Wing prepares for major growth and the transition to Canada’s F-35 fighter fleet.

Military members do not arrive in a community alone. Their spouses need employment opportunities, their children need schools and childcare, and their families rely on housing, healthcare and other local services.

Those are issues Cyr has increasingly highlighted as northeastern Alberta prepares for the changes expected around 4 Wing.

The MLA said his initial meetings with military leadership are just the beginning.

He plans to continue visiting military installations and units throughout Alberta and wants to hear directly from serving members, veterans and their families about where provincial policies or services could better support them.

“Building strong relationships begins with listening, and I look forward to continuing that work,” Cyr said.

For Cyr, it means taking a relationship with the military that has long been part of representing Cold Lake and expanding it province-wide, while keeping the focus on the people behind the uniforms and the families who serve alongside them.