Ann Mitchell, Medicine Hat's chief administrative officer, says Medicine Hat residents need to be ambassadors of the city. File Photo/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

Medicine Hat administrator Ann Mitchell says she couldn’t see herself doing anything else

Oct 11, 2024 | 11:10 AM

Medicine Hat’s city manager Ann Mitchell, in her 20th year of being a chief administrative officer, says she couldn’t see herself doing anything else.

“I do absolutely love it,” Mitchell said in a video interview published by the City of Medicine Hat this week.

She is a third-generation CAO, following in the footsteps of her father — who served in northern Ontario — and her grandfather — who served in Manitoba.

“I couldn’t really see myself doing anything else,” she told Ian Parkinson as part of the latest interview in the city’s “Community Conversations” series.

Medicine Hat’s chief administrator rarely grants interviews. Only once this year to date has Mitchell answered questions from a reporter on certain topics during a CHAT News exclusive in August.

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While the interview released on the City of Medicine Hat’s YouTube channel was not with a reporter, the interview provides further insight into a figure that has typically been hard or the media to access.

Mitchell has been thrust into the spotlight over the past year.

Council found Mayor Linnsie Clark failed to treat her with courtesy, dignity and respect during an exchange at a public meeting on Aug. 21, 2023.

Clark was concerned about Mitchell making unilateral decisions without council approval when she carried out a restructuring of city hall.

The mayor has continued to raise concerns about the balance between the role of council and Mitchell’s responsibilities overseeing implementation of council’s strategic vision for the city.

Public opinion has been divided on Mitchell, with some residents saying she has too much power and others saying she is just doing her job as the chief administrator.

Mitchell has maintained she is passionate about municipal government and finding ways to best serve taxpayers.

“As public servants, we have a very deep responsibility to the community,” she said in the newly-released interview.

“We’re here to serve the public.”

When asked what the future looks like for Medicine Hat, Mitchell said the city needs to decide if it will

“We’re at a critical juncture and I think have to decide whether are we are going to continue being a small town or are we going to grow a bit,” Mitchell said.

For Mitchell, the challenge is determining how the city will grow while keeping its identity.

“I want us to grow in a manner that still makes everybody really connected, because that’s a beautiful thing about Medicine Hat,” she explained.

“I want to keep that flavour, but I want us to be a little more economically diverse.”

Diversifying Medicine Hat’s economy has been a crucial goal of Medicine Hat’s rebuilt economic development department and a theme of the 2025-26 budget deliberations.

Premier Danielle Smith, as well, has said Medicine Hat has advantages such as low utility rates and access to the Trans Canada Highway that are attractive to a diverse range of businesses.

Residents have a role to to play, too, in promoting Medicine Hat’s strengths, Mitchell said.

“We really, really need ambassadors to support the community and to move it forward. If  we’re bringing more people into the community to grow the community, we have to be welcoming and we have to be ready for growth in a mindful manner.”