Lethbridge City Manager Bramwell Strain

By Lara Fominoff

Lethbridge City Manager Bramwell Strain resigns

Dec 10, 2019 | 3:30 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – After less than a year and a half in Lethbridge, City Manager Bramwell Strain has handed in his resignation “due to personal circumstances.” He will remain on the job until Jan. 13, 2020 and will relocate after that.

Strain says he’s leaving for personal reasons and does not want to divulge any potential plans at this point.

“It’s got nothing to do with controversy or push back. In fact, in this type of job, that happens. That’s part of it. I actually think the community has been very respectful in terms of pushback from those folks who don’t agree with some of the things that we’ve done in the past 16 months, so by no means is that the reason.”

He says City Council has been “incredibly supportive” of him as a professional and in terms of confidentiality regarding his reason for leaving.

Bramwell Strain (3rd from right), poses with members of Lethbridge City Council and Mayor Chris Spearman Tuesday afternoon

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That doesn’t mean the news didn’t come as a shock to them and to Mayor Chris Spearman.

“We were surprised and disappointed,” said Spearman. “We thought things were going well and they are going well. This is a personal decision; a private decision and we respect that.”

Spearman says it’s still “full steam ahead” regarding current and future projects with respect to the first phase of the Fiscal and Operation Review, which was made public in mid-November. The second phase of the review will also go ahead as planned.

“The second phase of the Operational Review is due in May and we anticipate acting on those,” says Spearman. “And there may be additional opportunities beyond the first two operational reviews with respect to organizations that are affiliated with but are not directly departments of the City of Lethbridge.”

Strain came to Lethbridge from Winnipeg, Manitoba in July 2018. He was picked from a pool of more than 100 candidates across the country who applied for the position.

He served as a deputy minister in the Manitoba government, including portfolios in infrastructure, education, training and immigration.

Prior to that he was assistant deputy minister for Western Economic Diversification, responsible for the Manitoba/Saskatchewan region, and was a regional director-general for the federal department of citizenship and immigration.

For now, Strain says he believes the city is on the right track with regards to the reviews and actions it is undertaking.

“It is about efficiencies, it’s about doing things right, it’s about respecting the wishes and wants of the community and council. The direction’s set. Keep going. Take it to the next level.”

A committee has been formed to recruit a new city manager made up of Mayor Chris Spearman and Councillors Belinda Crowson, Jeff Coffman, and Joe Mauro. Prior to his departure, Strain will appoint an interim city manager to take over his position and to lead the second part of the city’s Fiscal and Operational Review.