‘A pretty exciting year’: Looking back, Lethbridge’s mayor sees a lot from 2025 to be proud of

As the countdown to a new year begins, Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen reflects on a 'positive' and busy 2025 in the first of a two-part sit-down.

As the countdown to a new year begins, Lethbridge’s mayor is reflecting on a ‘positive’ and busy 2025.

From the handling of damage to the Whoop-Up Drive bridge to millions of dollars in investments in the southern Alberta city, Blaine Hyggen says he’s proud of the past year.

Topping his list for 2025 are:

• a drop in crime severity;
• investments in water and wastewater; and
• the municipal election.

“It’s a pretty exciting year. Lots happening,” Hyggen said.

“And in the middle of it, of course, was an election, which was an exciting time—we’ve got three new faces on council and it was a busy, busy time.

“Lots of good things happened.”

Hyggen especially likes that crime-severity drop.

“That index (is) not one you want to be at the top of, and we had the third-largest drop in Canada for crime severity,” he said.

“That’s mainly due to our police service, fire and emergency services—all of those different organizations that have helped throughout the community to have that downward trend continue.”

A semi-truck colliding with the bottom of the Whoop-Up Drive bridge in August became one of 2025’s top local news stories.

For nearly five months following the crash, drivers were impacted by ongoing repair work to Lethbridge’s busiest road.

“It’s tough,” Hyggen said.

“I always think something like that should be fixed right away, and, of course, as you deal with experts that know this better, and as far as for the safety of that, we knew it was going to take a little bit longer.

“I’m just happy to see it’s done, in that there’s three lanes travelling in each direction.”

In November, four major projects broke ground on the west side, totalling more than $300 million in investment.

A 120-room hotel, commercial and retail space, 450 residential units and a Green Acres Foundation seniors’ living community will be built in the Crossings area.

The mayor says it’s thrilling to see.

He also says advocacy efforts for infrastructure investments will need to continue.

“We need folks, and for the community graduating from our post-secondary institutions to be able to stay here, and this gives them a better opportunity,” Hyggen said.

“There’s more work, and we would like to see those graduates stay.

“Having that expansion, having a hotel on the west side and all of that, that commercial business that’s going to be going in there … will really focus on expanding businesses in the community in which they live.”

Earlier this month, the mayor penned a letter to the province asking for the overdose prevention site trailer to be closed and for that funding to be reallocated to treatment and recovery services in the city.

Hyggen says the decision to write the letter came following a continued drop in overdoses, including three consecutive months in the summer where zero deaths were reported.

The decision to close the site will be made by the province.

“I think some of the initiatives, the initiatives that are happening now, we want to continue even at a grander scale, and that’s what’s causing these numbers to drop, in my opinion,” Hyggen said.