On Dec. 19, Minister of Municipal Affairs (MA) Diana McQueen announced that on Jan. 1, Chestermere will join the likes of Calgary, Edmonton and Airdrie and become Canada’s newest city.
“Today’s historic announcement is monumental for our community,” said Mayor Patricia Matthews in a press release.
“It provides us with opportunities to attract investors to offset our residential tax base and gain more recognition provincially for our community.”
The bedroom community will be Alberta’s 18th city and the first new city in 10 years with Brooks, Alta., being the last incorporated city in September 2005.
The Town’s council voted 6-1 in favour of applying for city status in a special meeting on Sept. 29, with only Councillor Stu Hutchison opposing. As reported in the Oct. 6 edition of the Rocky View Weekly, Hutchinson said he didn’t think it was necessary to be a city to gain more commercial business.
Jean-Marc Lacasse, Chestermere’s enterprise facilitator, said investors are already impressed by the soon-to-be city status. The town currently has a non-existent business tax, which officials said is a great temptation for businesses wanting to put down roots.
Before the application was even sent in to MA, the Town solicited comments from residents via comment boards, online comment forms, informal and formal meetings and social media.
In a report regarding comments from residents, the Town said not everyone is on board with the change, but the majority of people were either in favour or neutral about the idea. After reading the comments in the Sept. 29 meeting minutes, most dissenters stated their fear was losing the small-town, lake-community feel they moved to Chestermere for.
“I moved away from Calgary ‘city’ to be away from the ‘city,’” states one comment in the report. “I would have just stayed there if I wanted more amenities.”
According to the Town, being a city is an administrative change in title and any future tax increase would not be a result of a title change.
Chestermere was first incorporated as a summer village on April 1, 1977 and changed its status to a Town effective on March 1, 1993. According to MA, Chestermere was eligible for city status in 2007 when it hit the population mark of 10,000 residents.
McQueen approved the Town’s city status application on Dec. 18.
Chestermere is one of the fastest growing community in Alberta, according to Statistics Canada, with a population growth of 49 per cent from 2006 to 2011 — the fifth highest in Canada. The town’s current population is estimated at more than 17,000.
There will be an official city-status celebration in conjunction with the Town’s Winterfest celebration on Jan. 24, with more details coming in January.
