Stay a town or become a city? Alberta community again weighing the pros and cons

Sylvan Lake in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, is shown on Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno)

EDMONTON — An Alberta town is once again thinking about becoming a city and the obstacles in its way — including a road.

Officials in Sylvan Lake, 160 kilometres south of Edmonton, unanimously asked town staff last month to write a report on steps it would need to take to make the jump.

Mayor Megan Hanson says such a report has been done a number of times before.

A report in 2022 said achieving city status would come at a cost.

The municipality would likely have to take on responsibility for maintaining a highway that goes in and out of Sylvan Lake — something currently covered by the province.

Although it didn’t provide an estimate, Hanson said the added expenditure was a major roadblock for her. And she thinks it would likely be an issue this time around too, as the province is currently planning to twin the highway.

“It would be irresponsible of us to take that on, if that was something that we’d take full responsibility for by changing our name,” she said in an interview.

Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said in an email a planning study for the twinning project is to be finished by the end of 2026 and that no cost estimate is currently available.

Dreeshen, who represents Sylvan Lake in the legislature, didn’t say where he personally stands on whether the community should become a city.

“Whether Sylvan Lake remains a town or one day becomes a city, our focus will continue to be on supporting strong local governance, responsible growth and the infrastructure communities need to succeed,” he said.

Hanson said council was doing its due diligence by asking for another report and that it probably won’t amount to much.

“This is an information gathering (exercise),” she said.

Some of Hanson’s colleagues seemed a bit more hopeful during a council meeting earlier this month.

“We’re not that small town anymore,” Coun. Tim Mearns, who asked for the report, said during debate.

“We still have that small-town feeling. But there are some opportunities.”

He pointed to Beaumont, just south of Edmonton, which became Alberta’s 19th and newest city in 2019, and how it experienced significant commercial investment after.

“If that’s one of the things that comes back through administration and can offset some of our residential tax rate, then I think that’s something worth exploring,” Mearns said.

Hanson said she’d be more eager if the move would generate significant investment from private businesses seeking a foothold in a growing market.

“I think the question we need to answer when it comes to that is: Do businesses look at city status as a reason to come to town or something that looks attractive to them when they’re looking at relocating to Sylvan Lake? Or are they looking at population data?” she said.

The province estimates Sylvan Lake’s population, as of last year, at just under 18,000. That’s more than the cities of Cold Lake, Brooks, Wetaskiwin and Lacombe.

Hanson said her town has experienced significant residential growth in recent years, with a half-dozen subdivisions still being built out.

But Sylvan Lake isn’t the only town with a population greater than some Alberta cities. Okotoks is estimated to have more than 33,000 residents.

“I have chatted to a handful of other mayors (of towns that have become cities) in recent years or have done it a long time ago and are similar sizes to us. And I’d say it’s pretty mixed experiences,” Hanson said, adding population alone can’t be used to forecast the success of becoming a city.

“We’ve got examples on either end of it.”

A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams said Alberta no longer requires municipalities to meet a population threshold before becoming cities, but no city has fewer than 10,000 people.

While paying to maintain the highway might be enough to dissuade Sylvan Lake’s mayor, other town councillors said they have more everyday concerns, like the euphonious nature of a new name.

“My bias is to the word ‘town,’” said Coun. Ian Oostindie.

“However, if someone hands me $10 million with the word ‘city’ attached, I am going to be greatly, greatly influenced.

“Maybe we’ll become the City of the Town of Sylvan Lake,” Oostindie added with a laugh.

Mearns said he also prefers the sound of town but has mostly dropped using the word.

“When someone asks me where I live, I don’t say the town of — I say Sylvan Lake, regardless of city or town.”

His habit is in line with a significant rebranding the town underwent a decade ago, which saw it drop “the town of” from its highway entry signage and in some other official capacities.

The 2022 report on gaining city status says the rebranding was done with a change in mind, but that practical items, like residential garbage bins, still reference Sylvan Lake as a town.

The report also warns that dropping town status could be detrimental for tourism, a key economic driver for Sylvan Lake.

“The description of ‘town’ is marketable and popular among visitors from across Alberta and beyond,” the report says.

“Should we decide to change our designation, we would need to be mindful of how we communicate the changes so that we don’t lose the town roots and feeling that has served us so well.”

Hanson said the new report is expected to be presented to council before spring.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press