Lisa Kowalchuk, executive director of the Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce, at a Redcliff Town Hall on Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Chris Brown

Chamber says city must leverage current resources to achieve future growth target

Jan 25, 2023 | 4:16 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The city’s ambitious population target announced on Tuesday will be achieved through a number of different avenues says the head of the Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce

In her annual State of the City address, Mayor Linnise Clark said the city is targeting a population of 110,000 residents by 2043.

Clark also announced the city was recently accepted into the Alberta government’s Rural Renewal Stream program and that will play a key role in reaching the population goal.

Speaking to CHAT News at a town hall in Redcliff the following day, Chamber executive director Lisa Kowalchuk said the Rural Renewal Stream program will be one of the key contributors to the growth.

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She says the labour market is competitive across Canada, and the city will need to leverage the resources already here to stand out.

“There’s some great organizations within our community that complement and will complement that work through the local immigration partnership and Saamis Immigration and a mentorship program that’s happening through the connection in Saamis Immigration and that partnership,” she said. “So we’re pleased to see the supporting organizations in behind that making sure that our community is ready and that we’re making those connections between business and that potential labour pool.”

Kowalchuk says attracting labour will also help more industry to the city.