The past year was one of the most productive in Coaldale’s recent history.
That is from mayor Jack Van Rijn, reflecting on 2025 and looking ahead to the new year.
“Such things as major investments, community amenities and regional partnerships all moved forward in ways that set the tone for long-term prosperity for our community,” Van Rijn told My Lethbridge Now, when asked about the past 12 months.
“One of our flagships of 2025 is the NewCold facility and the new industrial rail spur, which will represent, in my view, a generational opportunity for Coaldale. It also strengthens our position within the Canada premier food corridor and opens the door to new jobs and more investment for Coaldale, and we’re looking forward to that.”
READ MORE: NewCold facility to include railway expansion
READ MORE: Coaldale receives funding for rail infrastructure initiative
The mayor says the re-election of council members bodes well for the future.
“We can hit the ground running and as we enter 2026 with strong momentum.”
“Our focus will remain on sustainable growth and infrastructure renewal, and enhancing spaces, services and partnerships that make Coaldale a great place to live, work and play,” Van Rijn adds.
He notes Coaldale’s potable water reservoir will be a bright spot for the community moving forward. “For people that don’t know, we get our potable water, or drinking water, from the City of Lethbridge and we need a way of storing it, so that we have water on-hand for firefighting purposes and for future growth, so with this $13 million investment, that will give us enough potable water supply for over 25,000 people,” Van Rijn explains.
He says Coaldale is still working on some stormwater projects, “Because [in] Coaldale, we kind of live in a three-sided bowl”.
“We’re 144 feet, or 44 metres, lower than Lethbridge, we are 308 feet, or 94 metres, lower than Raymond, and 141 feet, or 43 metres, lower than Picture Butte,” Van Rijn says.
READ MORE: Stormwater project addresses causes of historic flooding in Coaldale
“As water runs downhill, Taber is 167 feet lower than us, so we are holding our stormwater and we’re working on a storm pond right now that’s just south of Coaldale that captures all the overland flooding from the south and it’s the equivalent of 78 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and that’ll help considerably for flood mitigation.”
CHALLENGES
Van Rijn says policing continues to be a challenge for the municipality.
“We’re still in the ongoing battle, I would say, with the federal government, for our policing model. Coaldale, I’ve said it so many times, we’re the only community in Canada with a population between 5,000 and 15,000 where we are paying 100 per cent of policing costs, and the shortfall for our residents is $550,000 a year that we’re paying out of pocket that we shouldn’t have to. For every $100,000, that’s a one per cent tax increase,” he states.
“The provincial government stepped up to the plate, and they created a grant for us to offset those costs, so that’s something that’s ongoing for us.”
The mayor adds Coaldale has “a zero per cent vacancy rate” that council is looking to address moving forward.
“We have two large developments – Malloy Landing. That’s lots of construction going on there – that’ll bring 1,200 to 1,500 more residents to Coaldale,” he comments.
“We have another one – Canal Landing, that’s on the south side of Coaldale and we have lots of multi-family buildings being built. That’ll give people an opportunity to call Coaldale their home, so we have, I’m going to say without a doubt, over 150 units coming on stream in 2026, that’ll help with the vacancy backlog.”
A labour dispute involving unionized workers and the Town was also a hot topic in 2025. A deal was eventually reached following a 67-day lockout.
“The new agreement was approved by a majority of the Town’s unionized employees on Monday, November 10th, and that came after 14 months of prolonged negotiations, including 10 days of in-person bargaining,” Van Rijn says.
READ MORE: Lockout ends in Coaldale as AUPE, Town reach collective agreement
“There were two intensive days of formal mediation and the 67-day lockout, but I’m glad to say we were able to come to an agreement, and the unionized workers are back to work now, and we’re looking forward to a positive 2026.”
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Van Rijn also believes Coaldale is becoming more well-known for its community events, citing Summer Fest featuring a performance by the Road Hammers and Winter Fest as examples of popular initiatives.
READ MORE: Coaldale Summer Fest showcases being proudly Canadian
More on what is happening in Coaldale is available on the Town website.
