Stuck in the Middle: Why Alberta’s Mid-Sized Cities Struggle to Compete
Mid-sized cities in Alberta occupy an uncomfortable middle ground. They are large enough to carry big-city responsibilities, but rarely large enough to command big-city attention. Red Deer offers a clear example of how a regional hub—expected to support major infrastructure, economic activity, and social services well beyond its borders—can still struggle to keep pace with the growth of smaller neighbouring communities. The experience of Red Deer is not unique, but rather illustrative of the structural challenges facing mid-sized cities across the province.
The 24 mid-sized cities in Alberta govern municipalities with a population over 15,000 which works out to around 25% of Alberta’s population over 28 provincial ridings. To put things in perspective, the City of Calgary is home to 1.6 million people or 33% of Alberta’s population and is represented by 26 MLAs. Naturally, it can be a challenge for the 24 mid-sized cities to get attention and funding for their various projects and initiatives.
For the purpose of this article I’ll reference the City of Red Deer, a city that comprises a little over 2% of the provincial population where I currently live and spent nine years working for the Chamber of Commerce advocating to the city on behalf of businesses and advocating alongside the city for major decisions and infrastructure investments.
Working in the realm of business retention and economic development, conversations with partners and stakeholders are always similar. “What are our competitive advantages? What are the barriers to growth and investment attraction? How do we leverage our location, people, existing industry and infrastructure? What policy changes or infrastructure investments could take our community to the next level?”
No doubt there are many perks to living and working in a medium sized city. If you're staying within Red Deer city limits it’s quite rare to have to drive further than 10-15 minutes. There’s a great range of amenities and recreation facilities, trail systems and parks, affordable property, and easy access to resources and major population centres.
With all these obvious benefits you would think Red Deer would have been a large benefactor from Alberta’s population boom over the past 10 years. Well, not really. Since 2014 Alberta saw it’s population increase by 24% while Red Deer increased by only 14%. Close neighbours, the Town of Blackfalds and Sylvan Lake saw their populations grow by 70% and 25% respectively.
So why the massive disparity? In short, mid-sized cities have big city problems while facing stiff competition from their smaller and often more nimble neighbours. Mid-sized cities offer many benefits to residents such as lower commutes, core services and a competitive cost of living, but there is a constant struggle to define and leverage their competitive advantages. Mid-sized cities are forced to compete and their rural and big-city counterparts for attention, funding and the attraction and retention of businesses and residence.
As a “big” mid-sized city focused on growth and community services Red Deer is expected to provide higher-level services like an exhibition and conference centre, a courthouse, large-scale sporting and recreation facilities, a post-secondary institution and an airport. The city is also responsible for supporting roles around social services like homelessness, addiction, seniors, etc. While the city is not directly responsible for all of the above, their participation requires substantial commitments that includes everything from outright oversight, direct funding and planning decisions that impact thousands. All things that lead to increased overhead and bureaucracy.
Along with fundint the airport, exhibition centre, and recreation facilities Red Deer provides services around drugs and addiction, homelessness, all of which result in added costs and complexities. There is truth that “if you build it they will come” and these services are no exception. When discussions arise for a permanent homeless shelter site, the NIMBY’ists come out in full force. As a result, Red Deer City Council has failed to come up with an acceptable solution for a permanent homeless shelter. Ongoing decisions and questions around crime and social issues have plagued Red Deer businesses as employers and handcuffed investors and developers concerned with crime and safety.
By their nature bedroom communities are typically less bureaucratic and more focused in their governance. They recognized their role is to provide a community where people live but are likely to work, shop and consume entertainment elsewhere. Other municipalities offer the opposite and are more focused on commercial and industrial development. This specialization results in communities gaining a reputation for being open for business, easy to work with seeing development and growth accordingly.
Growing up in Red Deer and then spending close to a decade working for the Chamber of Commerce, the unique challenges facing Alberta’s third largest city became readily apparent. Strategic plans and economic development documents herald Red Deer’s central location, market access and transportation links, skilled workforce, infrastructure and skilled workforce and relatively competitive tax rates. These advantages sound great on-paper but like many mid-sized cities, Red Deer has seen relatively modest growth.
The primary source of competition for new residents and businesses come from neighbouring municipalities. Between 2014 and 2024 the City of Red Deer grew it’s population by 14.5%. In comparison, Red Deer County grew by 18.4%, Sylvan Lake by 34%, Penhold by 31% and Blackfalds grew it’s population by a staggering 52%. With only a 10-20 minute drive, residents of these smaller communities can easily benefit and take advantage of all Red Deer has to offer. This is often referred to as “service asymmetry” and subject to ongoing discussions around cost burden and shared funding.
Another common concern is how the Municipal Police Service Agreement breaks down costs for municipalities depending on their population. Those with more than 15,000 people pay 90%, municipalities with between 5,001 and 15,000 people pay 70%, and under the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA) – which applies to towns under 5,000 and rural municipalities pay between 10-30%.
Regardless of the defacto competition between neighbouring municipalities and their innate differences, the greatest and most impactful advocacy I was part of came through teamwork and community collaboration.
In years past, Red Deer College had been advocating to transition into a Polytech Institute to allow additional supports around certificate, diploma and degree programs, apprenticeship and trade programs and applied research. The courthouse and hospital were far over capacity, the south overpass was an accident waiting to happen and Red Deer Regional Airport was not equipped to handle any serious investment. This all changed when Central Alberta groups combined their advocacy efforts and spoke as a single voice in favour of these investments that lead to growth.
Mid-sized municipalities must embrace and battle within the confines of friendly neighbourly competition while simultaneously communicating and exploring opportunities for collaboration and shared benefit.