There will likely be more of a focus on existing capital projects in Lethbridge in the coming years than building new infrastructure. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

City of Lethbridge preparing for ‘tight’ capital budget

Mar 12, 2025 | 8:48 AM

Residents of Lethbridge might not see as many new infrastructure projects in the years ahead.

Lethbridge City Council was provided an update from administration during its meeting on Tuesday as early planning for the 2027-2030 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is underway.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen says they were told that there are “many, many more” projects than there is funding.

“We want to be upfront with our residents and our community partners about this reality. Based on what we know today, the next City Council will be extremely limited in the CIP projects they can approve,” says Hyggen. “Because of this, we won’t be going out looking for new projects but rather trying to address the things we already have in the queue.”

The CIP supports major capital needs for Lethbridge outside of day-to-day operations with the majority of funding coming from the provincial and federal governments. Therein lies the problem.

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The Alberta Government replaced the long-utilized Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) in 2024 with the new Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF), bringing with it a 37 per cent reduction in funding to all municipalities.

The City of Lethbridge says the reduction in funding, combined with other financial challenges such as the needs of the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre, have created financial pressures.

They say there is expected to be upwards of $900 million in projects between unfunded projects from previous CIPs, projects in City Master Plans and those in asset management plans.

For the 2027-2030 CIP, the municipality is anticipating having $107 million in funding over the course of four years, but once the already-existing capital projects are considered, that will leave just $40 million.

Administrative staff have advised city council that the focus for the upcoming CIP will have to be completing the existing capital projects rather than building new infrastructure.

City council will deliberate on the next CIP in fall 2026.

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