Mayor and council celebrating the City of Lethbridge surpassing 100,000 residents in 2019. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge’s population officially reaches 101,482

Jun 24, 2019 | 3:40 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – As of the 2019 City of Lethbridge Census, which counts up to April 1st, 2019, the city is only the third in the province to reach six digits.

Over the last year, Lethbridge’s population grew by 1,713 people.

“It’s so exciting that we continue to grow at a regular pace,” says Mayor Chris Spearman. “We’re seeing Lethbridge grow at 1.5-2 percent a year on a regular basis and I think that provides a lot of confidence to potential investors and businesses that the city continues to grow.”

Spearman joked that Lethbridge is now the largest city in Alberta – aside from Calgary and Edmonton – but it does mean that Lethbridge is now starting to become a “big city”.

He hopes, however, to maintain a positive balance between big city retail and entertainment options and having a smaller community-style quality of life.

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All three sections experienced growth over the last year, but with an increase of 938, the west side grew the most.

The mayor says that Lethbridge’s growth has been stable and reliable and he believes it will stay that way going forward.

“The types of industry and employment we have here are ones that grow at that pace, we don’t have the boom and bust of the oil and gas sector. Our population doesn’t fluctuate like many cities do in Alberta.”

According to the census, there are now 42,022 dwellings in Lethbridge with an average of 2.41 people per residence.

The vacancy rate has stayed relatively the same at approximately five percent.

The average age is 38.4 years, rising slightly from 38.1 last year.