“I think we are going in the right direction.”
That was the state of the city, briefly summed up by Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers on May 5.
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Speaking to a packed room in the Lloyd Ex, Aalbers outlined how the city is doing.
Some more common issues were explored, including the health-care difficulties Lloydminster faces.
“Health care is a provincial responsibility, supported by the federal government,” he said. “I don’t want to throw either provincial government under the bus. We have been at the back of the herd for a long time.”
He commented on the possibility of having a second hospital in the city.
“I truly believe we wouldn’t have better health care with a second hospital in the city,” said Aalbers. “Our hospital has staffing challenges, doctor challenges, if it was split into two, what would you have.”
Staffing remains a challenge and recruiting professionals to fill the hospital has been difficult.
“Health care is in a bit of a crisis because we don’t have enough doctors, we don’t have enough nurses,” he said. “The list goes on and goes on health-care professionals. How do we make it better.”
The city is still waiting to hear back on the province’s review of health care in the region.
Another file the municipality has been reviewing is commercial air service in the region. Following the loss of WestJet, which previously served the region out of the Lloydminster Municipal Airport, it’s been top of mind for the city to restore air service.
The Alberta Government said they were exploring a more regional airport approach.
“They were exploring regional carrier possibilities for the province,” said Aalbers.
According to Aalbers, it didn’t get passed as part of the budget.
“It was a budgetary ask and the budget didn’t get approved through treasury board,” he said.
Now, the municipality plans to resume talks with commercial carriers, hoping to find service for the airport.
“It does put us in a bit of a challenge, but we just pick up the pieces that we had,” he said.
The State of the City event featured a question-and-answer-period, moderated by Wendy Plandowski.
“I really appreciate the broad perspective of questions,” said Aalbers. “I really appreciate people asking the questions and seeking information.”
Lloydminster’s economy continued its rise as nearly 2,000 business licenses were issued.
“In 2025, we saw 1,941 business licenses issued in the city of Lloydminster,” he said.
The event was hosted in conjunction with the Lloydminster Chamber of Commerce and the Lloydminster Construction association, covering a variety of topics and giving people the chance to ask questions.
“How do we bring the city, council, leadership together to the community,” said chamber president Robbie Kaschl.
With the strong attendance of this first state of the city, Kaschl noted they’ll likely be bringing the event back.
“The success of this event today, it can only grow,” he said. “Engagement by the city and by the community members as well, it’s excellent.”
He invites anyone to come out and have their say.
“Come to get informed, come to state your questions and openly get them answered,” said Kaschl.
The chamber has a number of large events on the horizon, details of which can be found on their website.
“Our next event is the golf tournament and then we have our new member luncheon that we will be doing in June,” said Teri-Lynn MacKie, chamber executive director.
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