Medicine Hat Minute: Issue 203

Medicine Hat Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Medicine Hat politics

📅 This Week In Medicine Hat: 📅

• There will be a City Council meeting this afternoon, beginning with a closed (secret) session at 3:45 pm. The agenda for this session includes Animal Pound Services, Appointments to Advisory Boards and Committees, a Transmission Letter of Credit, and a Legal Update. No further information is available regarding any of these items.
  
  
• Later on, at 6:30 pm, Council will begin the public portion of its meeting. Administration will provide a presentation on business license fees. The City reviewed its 2025/2026 business license fees following a motion by Councillor Sharps to identify increases exceeding inflation. The report uses a compounded inflation benchmark of 6.39% and shows that while some fees rose above this, many were adjusted to reflect actual service delivery costs and administrative workloads. Overall, 58% of businesses saw an increase, particularly general commercial businesses whose fees rose from $116.55 to $200 (a 71.6% jump), while 43% saw a decrease, including home-based and regional businesses. The Median Business License fee for 2025 is $200, while the Average Business License fee in 2024 was $240. The City also introduced a new 3-year licensing option offering reduced annual costs. Administration says that Medicine Hat is facing growing budget deficits, with its net loss rising to $3.8 million by 2026, prompting the push to increase user-funded revenue. Business license revenue is projected to rise by 13% in 2025.
  
  
• The Alberta Utilities Commission has approved Medicine Hat’s plan to build a new power substation along with associated power line upgrades in the city’s southwest. The newly approved location is on Range Road 63, just north of Township Road 122, and within city limits. A similar proposal was denied in 2022 due to concerns from nearby residents and insufficient justification, but the new application included improved demand forecasts and reliability benefits. City officials expressed excitement over the long-awaited approval, noting that no formal objections were filed this time. The $22-million project, already included in the 2023-24 City budget, aims to enhance electricity flow to the southern parts of the city. Construction is set to begin promptly.
  
  
• Four major roadways in Medicine Hat are scheduled for repaving this spring and summer. Work has already begun on Maple Avenue, with milling to follow in mid-June between Second Street and the Allowance Avenue overpass. Paving on W. Boundary Road from the Trans-Canada Highway to Box Springs Boulevard is set for early June. College Avenue will see road work in June and paving in August between College Drive and the TCH overpass. On S. Boundary Road, resurfacing and lane upgrades will take place between Southlands Drive and Southridge Drive later this summer. All work is expected to be complete by September 30th, with two-way traffic maintained during construction.
  
  
• Conservative MP Glen Motz secured a decisive re-election victory in the Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner riding, earning nearly 77% of the vote, reaffirming strong Conservative support in southeast Alberta. Despite this, the Conservatives fell short of forming government, and Motz will return to Ottawa as part of the Official Opposition under a projected Liberal minority led by Mark Carney. Motz expressed cautious optimism about working across party lines but warned another election could come within a year. Liberal and NDP candidates locally saw small victories in voter engagement, despite falling far behind Motz. Local reactions were mixed—many praised Motz’s win but were disappointed by another Liberal government, raising concerns about Alberta’s future.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

The federal election may have just wrapped up, but we can’t forget that the municipal election is fast approaching this October. 

At Common Sense Medicine Hat, we’re committed to driving real change at City Hall, and we need your support to make it happen. If you care about priorities like increasing transparency, protecting the freedom of residents and businesses, and bringing common sense back to the city, now is the time to get involved. 

Volunteer with us today and help ensure a better future for Medicine Hat:

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

This week's sponsor is you! We don't have big corporate backers, so if you like what you're reading, please consider making a donation or signing up as a monthly member.

Having said that, if you are a local business and are interested in being a sponsor, send us an email and we'll talk!