A new report shows per capita spending in Alberta municipalities. (Image: Fraser Institute)

By David Opinko

‘Context is important,’ as report shows high per-capita spending in Lethbridge: City

Aug 8, 2025 | 1:17 PM

The City of Lethbridge says it is important to look at the wider picture with reports like this one from the Fraser Institute.

The think tank published its study on per-person spending in 26 Alberta municipalities.

It found that, among Alberta’s 10 largest communities, Lethbridge’s municipal government spent the most amount of money per resident in 2023 at $4,423.

The City says in a statement to LNN that context is important with these kinds of analyses, and that there is not one universal data source to directly compare all communities.

“Showing just total expenses and spending is only one piece of the puzzle and does not incorporate different services and service levels in different municipalities, nor does it incorporate growth rate,” says the City of Lethbridge.

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When you include all of the 26 municipalities, Lethbridge is ranked third, with Grande Prairie County ($5,413 per capita) and Red Deer County ($4,619 per capita) topping the list.

The actual number one, however, could have been the City of Medicine Hat, as it spent a total of $8,081 per resident in 2023,

The reason that the Fraser Institute did not include Medicine Hat on the ranking was that it is the only municipality in Alberta that operates all local utility services in the community, which adds a greater cost for taxpayers.

The City of Lethbridge runs an electric utility service, and had the costs of that been excluded as well, the per capita amount would have been $3,287, moving Lethbridge down to 11th place.

Lethbridge had a smaller growth in inflation-adjusted municipal expenses between 2009 and 2023 than 10 other communities. It also experienced a higher-than-average growth in municipal revenues per person.

In late July, the City of Lethbridge released its own comparative analysis for affordability in 23 Alberta communities. It showed Lethbridge had the:

• Lowest annual residential combined utility charges
• 10th highest average cost for a single-family home
• 14th highest annual property taxes on median value single-family homes

“The combination of these factors makes the cost of living in Lethbridge very attractive,” says the City of Lethbridge.

An infographic from the City of Lethbridge shows where your municipal property tax dollars go, for every dollar you are taxed:

• Police: 16¢
• Community Services: 15¢
• Fire & Ambulance: 12¢
• Transit & ACCESS-A-Ride: 6¢
• Streets & Roads: 6¢
• Parks: 5¢
• Debt and Pay-As-You-Go Capital: 5¢
• Corporate Services: 5¢
• Governance & Community Development: 3¢
• Infrastructure Services: 2¢

The full report from the Fraser Institute can be accessed here.

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge approves 5.1% property tax increase

A new report shows per capita spending in Alberta municipalities. (Image: Fraser Institute)

An infographic showing where your municipal tax dollars go in Lethbridge. (Image: City of Lethbridge)

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