Lethbridge Minute: Issue 295

Lethbridge Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Lethbridge politics

📅 This Week In Lethbridge: 📅

• City Council meets tomorrow at 12:30 pm, and one of the items on its consent agenda is approval to spend up to $1,141,059.59 from Public Safety Canada's Building Safer Communities Fund. The federal fund supports municipal projects that aim to prevent gang and gun violence, and the grant would be spread over three fiscal years from 2026-27 to 2028-29, at roughly $380,000 a year. It would continue and expand programs developed by the Lethbridge Police Service and City Administration, including case management and education services, with the police as the main source of referrals. The City previously received $665,618.10 from the fund for 2023-24 and $1,045,971.30 for 2024-25 and 2025-26, and the program was set to end on March 31st, 2026, before the federal government extended the fund. Administration claims the grant carries no additional municipal tax impact, though the agreement still needs approval from Alberta Municipal Affairs under the Provincial Priorities Act. The Community Issues Committee recommended approval 9-0 on September 8th.
  
  
• Parallel Church and MyCityCare broke ground on September 21st on a 115-unit housing development in north Lethbridge, next door to MyCityCare's Lethbridge office. The units are intended for single parents and their families, seniors, and newcomers to Canada. The project is expected to cost between $50 million and $60 million, and MyCityCare is paying for it through private donations and loans, with donations helping to offset residents' cost of living. MyCityCare approached the City to ask what Lethbridge needed most, and the City pointed to housing. Mayor Blaine Hyggen said projects like this are tough for the City to take on "on the backing of taxpayers", and credited the group's donations and outside grants with stretching the dollar. The first 28 units are expected to be finished by summer 2027.
  
  
• The City has begun installing new traffic signals and curb extensions at the intersection of 5 Avenue South and 6 Street South. Work started on September 22nd as part of the City's 2026 Intersection Improvement program and is expected to be finished by October 16th, weather permitting. The City claims the curb extensions will make pedestrians more visible and shorten crossing distances, while the signals will help pedestrians and vehicles move through the intersection safely and efficiently. Drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists are asked to obey the posted signage through the construction zone. 
  
  
• The Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce announced at its annual general meeting on September 24th that it will take over leadership of Team Lethbridge, a regional advocacy effort. The group brings together business, industry, local government, and community organizations from the region to build relationships with the provincial government. Economic Development Lethbridge created Team Lethbridge in 2008, and it has made eight missions to Edmonton since then to meet with provincial ministers and government officials. Chamber CEO Cyndi Crane thanked Economic Development Lethbridge for establishing the group and said planning for the next mission is underway. The handover comes after Administration recommended that the City stop paying Economic Development Lethbridge to deliver its economic development services and build an in-house department instead, which it estimates could save $457,000 to $545,000 a year.
  
  
• The University of Lethbridge is doubling the size of its Bachelor of Education in Early Years program from 40 to 80 seats, starting with the fall 2026 term. The expansion is funded by Alberta's Ministry of Advanced Education through its Targeted Enrolment Expansion. The four-year program, introduced in 2024, prepares students to teach kindergarten to grade three. Students in the program spend 27 weeks learning alongside mentor teachers in real classrooms, the same field experience as every other education student at the university. Faculty of Education Dean Lisa Starr says demand for qualified teachers is high, particularly in the early grades. The announcement did not say how much the Province is spending on the expansion.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

The City is holding its City Showcase today from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm in the foyer at City Hall.

The drop-in event puts 20 City projects and programs on display, and residents can ask City staff and members of Council directly about how public funds are invested, major infrastructure projects, and planned changes to City services.

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

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