Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen delivers his 2026 State of the City Address. (Image Credit: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge must focus on needs over wants, mayor says

Jan 22, 2026 | 2:12 PM

Blaine Hyggen delivered his annual State of the City Address on Jan. 22, 2026, to a packed auditorium at the Lethbridge Trade & Convention Centre.

One of the topics the mayor discussed was the state of funding and how it has been changing.

He says all levels of government are working with strained budgets, and the provincial and federal governments have been providing less money to municipalities.

“Everything is costing more and everyone wants to pay less, so of course, anytime you’re building new infrastructure, operating costs come from taxation. A lot [of funding does] come from grants, but a lot of the grants are lowering now,” says Hyggen.

For example, the Alberta Government replaced the Municipal Sustainability Initiative with the Local Government Fiscal Framework in 2024, which resulted in a 37 per cent reduction in provincial funding to all municipalities.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

The news of this prompted a warning from Hyggen of a “tight” upcoming capital budget – one in which needs would have to be prioritized over wants.

He says it will impact which projects in the current Capital Improvement Plan get funded.

“They’re projects that people want to move forward, and they will move forward when funding comes for them. The problem with that is, currently, there’s not that funding,” says Hyggen. “We’re looking at other levels of government for this additional funding so we don’t have to go to the taxpayers for these different ‘wants’ that I’ll say are in our community – a performing arts centre, a third bridge.”

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge preparing for ‘tight’ capital budget

Overall, he says the city is in a great state, and that progress has been made on a lot of important issues.

Hyggen says public safety is an area in which he is particularly proud.

The crime rate fell by 16 per cent in 2024, while the Crime Severity Index declined by 19 per cent.

Hyggen says there are a number of reasons for crime declining, but the Encampement Strategy and the Community and Social Development team are helping people to get off the streets and access the supports they need in order to turn them away from a life of crime. Back in the summer last year, the City reported a 263 per cent increase in outreach intakes and a 318 per cent rise in referrals.

“Although we’ve got incredible agencies and groups out there that are doing incredible work, there’s those that are struggling either with addiction or are just unhoused that do need the support to get back on track to get into a home and, again, get to a life that I think we all deserve,” says Hyggen.

READ MORE: Crime in Lethbridge down 16 per cent in 2024

READ MORE: Lethbridge’s Crime Severity Index score down 19%

READ MORE: Progress made two years after launching encampment strategy in Lethbridge, City says

Another major success from this past year, he says, is that the City secured $9.2 million in funding for phase one of “critical upgrades” to the Water Treatment Plant.

On peak days, the Plant is between 90 and 100 per cent capacity.

Hyggen reports that the current infrastructure is still in decent shape overall.

With the city’s population continuing to grow, and with major developments planned on the west side, expanding the facility is now more important than ever.

A group of developers announced in November last year that they are planning $300 million worth of developments in west Lethbridge, including residential, commercial, hospitality, and seniors’ living.

READ MORE: $300M in new development planned for West Lethbridge

The mayor touted the organization formerly known as Lethbridge & District Exhibition for meeting its year-end fiscal goals and for successfully splitting into two new groups, Excite Lethbridge and the Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society.

READ MORE: Lethbridge & District Exhibition split into two new organizations

Back in the summer last year, the City launched a bridge maintenance program on Whoop-Up Drive that was supposed to be completed with minimal impacts to commuters. That all changed on Aug. 6 when a flatbed trailer carrying a piece of heavy equipment struck the underside of the bridge, resulting in damage to four of its six steel girders and months of traffic delays.

“Somethings are just out of your hand and out of your control, so when that happened, you do with what you’ve got,” says Hyggen.

He commended the work of city staff, repair crews, and bridge experts who were called in from around the world for making the best of a bad situation.

One lesson he learned from all of this is the importance of communication and keeping the public updated.

“When something like this happens, you can never communicate enough. If you communicate five mintues after and say, ‘We got six more bolts with this bridge here, they came in and we put ’em up’, if that’s what you need to do to communicate – people are wanting to know reasons to why things have happened.”

READ MORE: LPS charges truck driver who damaged Whoop-Up Drive

READ MORE: Damage to Whoop-Up Drive a bit worse than thought, but still safe

Hyggen concluded his address by reminding attendees of the Community Conversation on Jan. 29 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

City staff will be on hand to provide information on 40 projects, programs and services, while also hearing feedback from the public.

Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen delivers his 2026 State of the City Address. (Image Credit: Lethbridge News Now)