Blaine Hyggen has announced that he will be running for re-election as Lethbridge's mayor. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Blaine Hyggen running for re-election as Lethbridge mayor

May 15, 2025 | 9:15 AM

The mayor of Lethbridge is seeking another term in office.

Blaine Hyggen announced his campaign for re-election on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

He told LNN that the “greatest honour” of his life has been serving the people of Lethbridge, and he would love the opportunity to continue doing that.

Hyggen says he has put in a lot of hard work over the last 3.5 years as mayor, and two terms before that on city council, to make the community a better place.

A few of his accomplishments from this past term that he wanted to highlight include:

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• Improving public safety and community wellbeing – supporting law enforcement, improving access to mental health and addiction services, and strategies to address homelessness.
• Economic growth – championing small business recovery and attracting investments.
• Responsible spending – ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely with transparency and long-term planning in mind.
• Community collaboration – engaging with residents, Indigenous partners, and local organizations to create inclusive solutions.

However, he says his work is unfinished.

“In municipal government, or any government, these things take a lot of time. Any project, any initiative. So, of course, being able now to start some projects and hopefully finish some of them – although we’ve had a lot of things that start and finish within a term, there’s other things that are a little bit longer,” says Hyggen.

Priority number one for Hyggen, if he were to be re-elected, would be to continue work on advancing the new cardiac care centre at Chinook Regional Hospital.

Cardiac issues are the leading cause of death in southern Alberta, and the mayoral incumbent joked that it is an issue that is near and dear to his heart.

“We’ve been promised that that is coming through, which is great.”

He says he also wants to continue advocating for the recruitment and retention of doctors.

A report in 2021 found that nearly one quarter of residents in the Lethbridge area did not have a family doctor. While those numbers have improved, Hyggen says the issue is far from being resolved.

“You look at those numbers, well, gosh, everyone should have a doctor. Everyone still doesn’t have a doctor. There’s retirements, there’s other things going on. That’s why I mentioned before, there’s so much work still to do, but we’re on the right path.”

READ MORE: Number of doctors in Lethbridge fairly flat in early 2025 after recent increase

Public safety would also be one of Hyggen’s biggest priorities in the next term.

The 2025 municipal elections in Alberta are set for October 20.

Blaine Hyggen’s official campaign website is now live: Hyggen.ca

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