Municipal leaders highlight economic development and cooperation at State of the Region address

“We’re working with our regional partners to attract some of that and also to see how we can help our local businesses to potentially expand their operations as well.”

Clark highlighted the strength of the region’s aerospace and nearby testing assets as key advantages.

“We have a really strong advantage in the aerospace and defence area because we’ve had longstanding companies doing that here for a very long time,” Clark said.

“And we’re so close to Suffield, where you can test things you can’t test anywhere else, and of course, the UAS testing field in Foremost,” she added.

“So we’re very fortunate. I think we’re in a really good position.”

Cypress County Mayor Dan Hamilton focused on economic growth opportunities tied to both agriculture and industrial development, as well as efforts to position the county as an investment-ready region.

“We need to get some kind of industry or some kind of business here in this region to get Medicine Hat and Cypress County to start flourishing,” Hamilton said.

“There’s so much opportunity, we have highway, we have rail, we have every road in and out of the province, out of the states, there’s so much opportunity in Cypress County in this region,” he added.

“That’s the economic development side that the council is looking into a little more and developing a little better. There’s so much potential here for development, it’s astronomical what could be done.”

Hamilton pointed to initiatives such as the preliminary planning for a potential new recreational facility in Dunmore Junction and a site-selection conference scheduled for September, which is expected to bring developers and industry representatives into southeast Alberta.

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READ: Planning for a potential new recreational facility has begun in Cypress County

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Hamilton said these efforts are part of a broader strategy to showcase regional assets, including land availability, transportation access and workforce capacity.

Following Hamilton’s speech, he also acknowledged water availability as an ongoing regional constraint, noting that while municipalities continue to pursue agricultural and industrial opportunities, long-term growth will depend on careful planning around limited water capacity and existing system constraints.

Redcliff Mayor Chris Czember highlighted his community’s focus on “responsible growth,” with ongoing infrastructure planning around water and wastewater systems, as well as recreation and community facility upgrades.

Czember echoed Hamilton’s comments on water availability, noting it acts as a key factor in supporting future agricultural and industrial development in the region.

“They’re [agriculture manufacturers] such a huge user of water, that’s the biggest hurdle that we can overcome,” Czember said.

“If we could get enough water for a company, then they could come to the area. We could figure out the rest of the logistics.”

Czember said Redcliff is working to balance development pressures with long-term servicing capacity and affordability, while continuing to participate in regional initiatives such as emergency management and economic development planning.

The mayors agreed that closer regional alignment on planning, investment attraction and infrastructure development will be critical to supporting long-term growth across southeast Alberta.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of that collaboration,” Clark said.

“We need to work together to get this region in the southeast developed and moving forward,” Hamilton said.

“Collaboration is really where it’s at to try to attract these big players,” Czember said.

by Jett Schwaier

Municipal leaders highlight economic development and cooperation at State of the Region address

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