City Council supports new Economic Development Strategy

Agrifood, advanced manufacturing, transportation and logistics are all priority sectors for the City of Lethbridge. They are also all part of an updated Economic Development Strategy, approved by Lethbridge City Council on Tuesday, which outlines a targeted approach to building a resilient, inclusive and opportunity-rich local economy.

The City developed the strategy through detailed market research, targeted stakeholder engagement, analysis of several important community and business surveys, and ensuring alignment with Council’s recently approved 2026-2029 Strategic Plan. They also considered existing reports produced by Economic Development Lethbridge, Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Lethbridge and others to identify gaps and focus areas, followed by an economic baseline analysis of local labour markets, industries, macroeconomic trends, infrastructure and transportation.

“City Council is committed to growing the local economy and this new strategy will help guide our decisions and maximize future opportunities,” says Mayor Blaine Hyggen. “As our City motto says, Lethbridge is the Gateway to Opportunity and the hub for agri-business, advanced manufacturing, higher education and logistics in southern Alberta.”

Some of the key findings in the Economic Development Strategy are:

• Lethbridge already functions as an export-oriented regional economy
• Growth momentum is evident
• Lethbridge benefits from strong growth in service sector businesses

“We are working to ensure Lethbridge continues to grow as a vibrant opportunity-rich community anchored in agrifood that offers a supportive business environment, a high quality of life and strong regional leadership for southern Alberta,” says Bridget Mearns, Investment and Growth Officer for the City.

The project team conducted targeted stakeholder interviews with 51 individuals representing 43 different organizations across a variety of organizational types. This included Provincial, Federal, and Indigenous government agencies, public/community organizations and not-for-profits, post-secondaries and local industry.

In line with the strategy and the City’s focus on being responsive to the needs of the existing business community, Council also approved updates to their Business Development, Expansion and Retention (BDER) grant program. The BDER program was initially approved in May 2025, and focused on supporting investments in key sectors, such as trade and logistics, agri-business, manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy.

The changes to the policy reduce the minimum financial investment requirements for expansion projects, benefiting businesses that are already invested in the City and contributing to our shared economic resiliency, while also prioritizing job growth. The policy updates also bring clarity for prospective applicants on eligible costs and project timelines. 

There is no current financial impact to the adoption of the Strategy. All financial considerations related to its implementation will be brought forward to Council through business planning, service level discussions and at the 2028-31 Operating Budget deliberations in late 2027.

As part of Tuesday’s approval, City Council has directed the City Manager to update Council on the strategy, through the Community Issues Committee, by end of 2026, with expected results of the actions and a process and timeline on reporting back.

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