Town of Taber ends pursuit of city status after residents reject idea

The Town of Taber is no longer planning to become Alberta’s 20^th city after a survey of residents found the majority of respondents would prefer Taber remain a town.

For nearly 120 years, Taber has held onto it’s town status, but officials proposed a change to this character earlier this fall.

“We did a survey, a lengthy survey that was close to 2,000 participants. That survey in and of itself was about 70 per cent against the idea of going to the city status,” said Taber mayor, Andrew Prokop.

He says people expressed concern about ensuring support for small businesses and infrastructure in the town, rather than chasing a new title.

“We just felt it was more than two-thirds against that, we felt that was a pretty strong message not to go for that. There was a variety of reasons not to by the public that generated that kind of opinion and that’s what we’re after. So, honestly some things came out of that we didn’t even think about before.”

The last time a community in Alberta upgraded from a town to a city was in 2019, when the bedroom community of Beaumont, five minutes south of Edmonton, became the province’s 19th city.

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While Taber will remain as is, Prokop is confident it will continue to grow.

“Right now, we’re basically looking at a strong, very strong construction season commercially and/or residentially. Looking at record numbers here, approaching the $30 million figure, which is about a 35 per cent increase on our best year ever. Two years ago was our best year, about $22 million.”

The town says construction currently ongoing on Highway 3 will only help them grow.

“The economic benefits of the twinning to Medicine Hat are going to be incredible. It’s something that councils across southern Alberta have been advocating for year. Beyond the safety aspect, the economic corridor for businesses and transport is going to be incredible for our community,” said Meghan Brennan, communications and projects coordinator at the Town of Taber.

With 119 years behind it, Taber is looking ahead to 2025 in high spirits.

“We can’t reveal our plans just yet, but we are very excited to celebrate with our community as the Town of Taber,” said Brennan.

Taber currently has around 10,000 residents.