Edmonton will once again be looking for a city manager after it was announced late Friday night Andre Corbould will leave the role in a week and a half.
A news release said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, on behalf of city council, along with Corbould, has confirmed he will be leaving his job with the city effective April 3.
He joined the city in January 2021 after an “extensive national search” and came to the job after serving in senior roles with the Government of Alberta and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Corbould’s experience included emergency management and executive leadership with the government of Alberta, security for the 2010 Olympics and nation-building in Afghanistan with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Most recently, he led the city through tumultuous collective bargaining with Civic Service Union 52 (CSU 52), which almost led to thousands of workers walking off the job last week.
A tentative deal was reached in the 11th hour and ratification votes are being held this weekend.
“Council appreciates Mr. Corbould’s work and dedication to Edmonton,” Sohi said in a statement.
“He has led the City of Edmonton through a very long and difficult pandemic, supported the transition of this council, helped advance council’s work on anti-racism and reconciliation, helped support thousands of evacuees and provided exceptional leadership during the recent security incident at City Hall,” the statement went on to say, referring to the shooting in January.
“This marks my 40th year in public service and I am proud of the progress council and city administration have made in implementing The City Plan, recovering from the pandemic and managing community growth,” Corbould said in a statement.
“I have every confidence that the executive leadership team and 11,000 staff right across the organization are well positioned to carry the City forward even further.”
Deputy city manager Eddie Robar has been appointed acting city manager until an interim city manager is formally appointed at the next council meeting on April 3, the city said.
Formal recruitment will follow. The city said as Corbould’s replacement is a staffing matter, no additional comment will be made.
Corbould replaced former city manager Linda Cochrane, who retired in October 2019. City staffer Adam Laughlin had covered the role on an interim basis in between Corbould and Cochrane.