Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to the city's warm summers, mild winters, and windy climate. Lethbridge lies approximately southeast of

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

on the

Oldman River The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins the Bow River to form the South Sa ...

and northwest of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

at the

Sweetgrass–Coutts Border Crossing The Sweetgrass–Coutts Border Crossing connects the town of Sweet Grass, Montana, with the village of Coutts, Alberta, on the Canada–United States border. I-15 on the American side joins Alberta Highway 4 on the Canadian side. Similarly, B ...

. Lethbridge is the commercial, educational, financial, industrial and transportation centre of

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

. The city's economy developed from

drift mining Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is abo ...

for coal in the late 19th century and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

in the early 20th century. Half of the workforce is employed in the health, education, retail and hospitality sectors, and the top five employers are government-based. The

University of Lethbridge The University of Lethbridge (also known as uLethbridge, uLeth, and U of L) is a public comprehensive and research university located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with a second campus in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in the liberal arts traditio ...

, the only university in Alberta south of Calgary, is located here, as well as

Lethbridge Polytechnic Lethbridge Polytechnic (also known as LethPolytech), formerly Lethbridge College, is a public polytechnic institute located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with regional campuses in Claresholm, Vulcan, Pincher Creek, and the Crowsnest Pass. Le ...

. Cultural venues in the city include performing art theatres, galleries, museums, gardens, and sports centres.

History

Before the 19th century, the Lethbridge area was populated by several

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

at various times. The

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

referred to the area as ''Aksaysim'' ("steep banks"), ''Mek-kio-towaghs'' ("painted rock"), ''Assini-etomochi'' ("where we slaughtered the Cree") and ''Sik-ooh-kotok'' ("coal"). The Tsuutʼina (Sarcee) referred to it as ''Chadish-kashi'' ("black/rocks"), the

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

as ''Kuskusukisay-guni'' ("black/rocks"), and the Nakoda (Stoney) as ''Ipubin-saba-akabin'' ("digging coal"). The

Kutenai The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in so ...

referred to it as ''ʔa•kwum''. After the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

stopped alcohol trading with the

Blackfeet Nation The Blackfeet Nation (, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Montana. Tribal members primarily belong ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

in 1869, traders John J. Healy and Alfred B. Hamilton started a whisky trading post at Fort Hamilton, near the future site of Lethbridge. The post's nickname became Fort Whoop-Up. The whisky trade led to the Cypress Hills Massacre of many native

Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...

in 1873. The

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

, sent to stop the trade and establish order, arrived at Fort Whoop-Up on October 9, 1874. They managed the post for the next 12 years. Leth old

Lethbridge's economy developed from drift mines opened by Nicholas Sheran in 1874 and the North Western Coal and Navigation Company in 1882. North Western's president was William Lethbridge, from whom the city derives its name. By the turn of the century, the mines employed about 150 men and produced of coal each day. In 1896, local collieries were the largest coal producers in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, with production peaking during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. An

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

camp was set up at the Exhibition Building in Lethbridge from September 1914 to November 1916. After the war, increasing oil and natural gas production gradually replaced coal production, and the last mine in Lethbridge closed in 1957. The first rail line in Lethbridge was opened on August 28, 1885, by the Alberta Railway and Coal Company, which bought the North Western Coal and Navigation Company five years later. The rail industry's dependence on coal and the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

's (CPR) efforts to settle southern Alberta with immigrants boosted Lethbridge's economy. After the CPR moved the

divisional point In Canada and also in the United States, a divisional point (or division point) is a local operational headquarters for a railway. Divisional points are significant in railway maintenance of way operations. Especially historically, they could be the ...

of its Crowsnest Line from

Fort Macleod Fort Macleod ( ) is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It was originally named Macleod to distinguish it from the North-West Mounted Police barracks (Fort Macleod, built 1874) it had grown around. The fort was named in honour of the then List o ...

to Lethbridge in 1905 and a new Lethbridge Canadian Pacific Railway Station (Union Station) was built in 1906, the city became the regional centre for

Southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

. In the mid-1980s, the CPR moved its

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...

s in downtown Lethbridge to nearby

Kipp The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) is a network of tuition-free, open-enrollment college-preparatory public charter schools serving students in historically underserved communities across the United States. Founded in 1994 by Mike Feinber ...

, and Lethbridge ceased to be a rail hub. Between 1907 and 1913, a development boom occurred in Lethbridge, making it the main marketing, distribution and service centre in southern Alberta. Such municipal projects as a water treatment plant, a power plant, a Lethbridge Transit, a

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

system, and Exhibition Park—as well as a construction boom and rising real estate prices—transformed the mining town into a significant city. Between

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, the city experienced an economic slump. Development slowed, drought drove farmers from their farms, and coal mining rapidly declined from its peak. After World War II, irrigation of farmland near Lethbridge led to growth in the city's population and economy. Lethbridge became a centre for

post-secondary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational school ...

in Southern Alberta with the opening of

(formerly Lethbridge College) in April 1957 and the

in 1967. In 2015 American musician

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

was assaulted by a local resident in the city's

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 Restaurant, restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other internationa ...

after the singer allegedly insulted a woman in the restaurant in the early hours of the morning.

Geography

The city of Lethbridge is located at 49.7° north

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

and 112.833° west

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

and covers an area of . It is divided by the

; its valley, the Oldman River valley parks system, has been turned into one of the largest urban park systems in North America at of protected land. Lethbridge is Alberta's third-largest city by population and area after

and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. It is located near the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

, southeast of Calgary. Lethbridge is split into three geographical areas: north, south and west. The Oldman River separates West Lethbridge from the other two, while Crowsnest Trail and the

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Trade name, doing business as CPKC (known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited until 2023), is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railw ...

rail line separate North and South Lethbridge. The newest and largest of the three areas,

West Lethbridge West Lethbridge (or The Westside), is one of List of neighbourhoods in Lethbridge, three geographical areas in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It is the newest and the fastest growing. It is the home of the University of Lethbridge and is a residenti ...

(pop. 40,898) is home to the

—which opened at that site in 1971. Although several farms existed on what is now the Westside, the first housing development was not completed until 1974 and Whoop-Up Drive access opened only in 1975. Much of the city's recent growth has been on the west side, and it has the youngest median age of the three. The north side (pop. 28,172) was originally populated by workers from local coal mines. It has the oldest population of the three areas, is home to multiple industrial parks and includes the former Hamlet of Hardieville, which was annexed by Lethbridge in 1978. South Lethbridge (pop. 32,412) is the commercial heart of the city; it contains the downtown core, Downtown Lethbridge, the bulk of retail and hospitality establishments, and the

Climate

Lethbridge has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

'' BSk'') with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . With

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

averaging , and 264 dry days on average, Lethbridge is the eleventh driest city in Canada. Mean relative humidity in the morning hovers between 69 and 78% throughout the year, but afternoon mean relative humidity is more uneven, ranging from 38% in August to 58% in January. On average, Lethbridge has 116 days with wind speed of or higher, ranking it as the second city in Canada for such weather.Weather Winners
Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved January 7, 2011. Its high

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of and close proximity to the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

provides Lethbridge with cooler summers than other locations in the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

.Lethbridge Trade Area and Commercial Catchment Study
, Economic Development Lethbridge. 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016. These factors protect the city from strong northwest and southwest winds and contribute to frequent

Chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

s during the winter. Lethbridge winters have the highest temperatures in the prairies, reducing the severity and duration of winter cold periods and resulting in fewer days with

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

cover.Community Profile
Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved December 24, 2006. The average daytime temperature peaks by the end of July/beginning of August, when it reaches . The city's temperature reaches a maximum high of or greater on average once or twice a year. The highest temperature ever recorded in Lethbridge was on August 10, 2018. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on January 7, 1909; December 18, 1924; January 3, 1950; and December 29, 1968. Lethbridge skyline August 2009

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the City of Lethbridge had a population of 98,406 living in 40,225 of its 42,862 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 92,729. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. At the

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

(CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Lethbridge CMA had a population of 123,847 living in 48,647 of its 51,735 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 117,394. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the City of Lethbridge according to its 2019 municipal census was 101,482, a change of from its 2018 municipal census population of 99,769. With the 2019 municipal census results, the City of Lethbridge became the fourth city in Alberta to surpass 100,000 people. In its 2023 municipal census, the City of Lethbridge's population was found to have grown to 106,550, an increase of 4.99% from its 2019 municipal census population of 101,482. In the

2016 Canadian census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Lethbridge had a population of 92,729 living in 37,575 of its 39,867 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 83,517. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The same census reported that the metropolitan area of Lethbridge was 117,394 in 2016, up from 105,999 in 2011. Subsequent data from Statistics Canada showed that the 2020 metropolitan population was 128,851, an increase of 1.5% over the previous year.

Religion

In 2021, 49.8% of residents were

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, down from 64.6% in 2011. 16.1% of the population were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 12.9% were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, and 11.3% were Christians of unspecified denomination. All other Christian denominations and Christian-related traditions made up 9.6%, including a large population of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

adherents (5.8%). 44.3% of the population was nonreligious or secular, up from 32.4% in 2011. 8.1% followed a religion (or spiritual belief) other than Christianity. The largest non-Christian religions were

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(1.9%),

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(1.3%), and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(1.1%).

Language

According to the 2021 census, 83.9% of residents spoke English as a

first language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

. Other common mother tongues were Spanish (1.6%), Tagalog (1.4%), Nepali (1.0%), German (0.9%), French (0.8%),

Chinese Languages The Sinitic languages (), often synonymous with the Chinese languages, are a group of East Asian analytic languages that constitute a major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is frequently proposed that there is a primary split b ...

(0.7%),

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(0.7%) and Dutch (0.6%). 1.7% of residents claimed both English and a non-official language as their first language.

Ethnicity

Lethbridge had 12.9% visible minorities and 7.1% Aboriginal in 2016. Below is a full break down of the demographics. The city is also the home of the largest Bhutanese community in Canada.

Economy

Lethbridge is

's commercial, distribution, financial and industrial centre (although

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

plays a similar role in southeastern Alberta). It has a trading area population of 341,180, including parts of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and provides jobs for up to 86,000 people who commute to and within the city from a radius of . Lethbridge's economy has traditionally been agriculture-based; however, it has diversified in recent years. Half of the workforce is employed in the health, education, retail and hospitality sectors,Lethbridge Community Profile.
Statistics Canada. 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: December 14, 2006. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE and the top five employers are government-based. Several national companies are based in Lethbridge. From its founding in 1935, Canadian Freightways based its head office there until moving operations to Calgary in 1948, though its call centre remains in Lethbridge. Taco Time Canada was based in the city from 1978 to 1995 before moving to Calgary. Minute Muffler, which began in 1969, is based in Lethbridge. International

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

company H & R Transport has been based in the city since 1955. Braman Furniture, which has locations in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, was headquartered in Lethbridge from 1991 to 2008. Lethbridge serves as a hub for commercial activity in the region by providing services and amenities. There are many transport services in Lethbridge, including Red Arrow buses, four provincial highways, rail service and Lethbridge Airport, are concentrated in or near the city. In 2004, the police services of Lethbridge and Coaldale combined to form the Lethbridge Police Service. Lethbridge provides municipal water to Coaldale, Coalhurst, Diamond City, Iron Springs,

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

, Shaughnessy and

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. In 2002, the municipal government organized Economic Development Lethbridge, a body responsible for promoting and developing the city's commercial interests. Two years later, the city joined in a partnership with 24 other local communities to create an economic development alliance called SouthGrow, representing a population of over 140,000. In 2006, Economic Development Lethbridge partnered with SouthGrow Regional Initiative and Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance to create the Southern Alberta Alternative Energy Partnership. This partnership promotes business related to alternative energy, including

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

and

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

, in the region.

Arts and culture

Lethbridge was designated a Cultural Capital of Canada for the 2004–2005 season. The Southern Alberta Ethnic Association (Multicultural Heritage Centre) promotes multiculturalism and ethnic heritage in the community. The city is home to venues and organizations promoting the arts. Founded in 1958, the Allied Arts Council of Lethbridge is the largest organization in the city dedicated to preserving and enhancing the local arts. In the spring of 2007, the Allied Arts Council Facilities Steering Committee initiated the Arts Re:Building Together Campaign, a grass roots campaign initiative to raise awareness and support for improving arts facilities in Lethbridge. The campaign identified three arts buildings: the Yates Memorial Centre, the Bowman Arts Centre, and the Southern Alberta Art Gallery as cornerstone facilities in the community requiring care and attention. On July 14, 2007, the Finance Committee of City Council approved four arts capital projects for inclusion in the city's Ten Year Capital Plan. Under the campaign to 2010, the renovation and expansion of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery was completed, a new Community Arts Centre will be built in downtown Lethbridge, the City of Lethbridge has a Public Art Program, and a committee was formed to research the possibility of a new Performing Arts Centre in Lethbridge. Lethbridge has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

and three major museum/galleries. The Southern Alberta Art Gallery is a contemporary gallery; the community arts centre Casa, administered by the Allied Arts Council; and the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery produces contemporary exhibitions including works from its extensive collection of Canadian, American and European art. The city is also home to the Lethbridge Symphony, which was founded in 1960 and incorporated as a non-profit in 1961. It has produced several spin-off music groups, including the Southern Alberta Chamber Orchestra, and the still-active Lethbridge Musical Theatre, which produces an annual show. Vox Musica, which traces its roots back to 1968, is a community choir previously based at the

. As a fully independent non-profit society, Vox Musica continues to rehearse and perform at Southminster United Church and around the community. Theatrical productions are presented by the University of Lethbridge's drama department and New West Theatre, which performs at the Genevieve E. Yates Memorial Centre using its two theatres: the 500-seat

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

Yates Theatre and the 180-seat

black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

Sterndale Bennett Theatre. Lethbridge hosts a number of annual festivals and events throughout the year including Kiwanis Music Festival, Lethbridge Independent Film Festival, Centric Music Festival, Lethbridge Pride Fest, Street Machine Weekend, Lethbridge Dragon Boat Festival, Word on the Street, Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival, and many more. The best-known event in Lethbridge is

Whoop-Up Days Whoop-Up Days is an annual 5-day exhibition and rodeo held in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada organized by the Lethbridge & District Exhibition. Held during the last full week of August, the event includes a parade through downtown, daily concert ...

, a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

and fair held annually in August.

Attractions

The city, which began as a frontier town, has several historical attractions. The Lethbridge Viaduct, commonly known as the ''High Level Bridge'', is the longest and highest steel trestle bridge in North America. It was completed in 1909 on what was then the city's western edge. Indian Battle Park, in the

coulee Coulee, or coulée ( or ), is any of various different landforms, all of which are kinds of valleys or drainage zones. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'. The term is often used ...

s of the

, commemorates the last battle between the

and the

in 1870. Originally known as Fort Hamilton, Fort Whoop-Up was a centre of illegal activities during the late 19th century. It was first built in 1869 by J.J. Healy and A.B. Hamilton as a whisky post and was destroyed by fire a year later. A second, sturdier structure later replaced the fort. As the cultural centre of southern Alberta, Lethbridge has notable cultural attractions. Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in south Lethbridge was opened in 1967 as part of a Canadian centennial celebration attended by Japan's

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and Princess Takamatsu. The

Galt Museum & Archives The Galt Museum & Archives Akaisamitohkanao’pa is the primary museum in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, and is the largest museum in the province south of Calgary. In 2006, the museum cared for a growing collection of over 20,000 artifacts and 300 ...

is the largest museum in the Lethbridge area; the building housing the museum served as the city's main hospital during the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. Several other important attractions are based in Lethbridge, including the Lethbridge Military Museum and the Helen Schuler Nature Centre which educates about the river bottom and coulees. Several structures such as the historic post office are prominent on the skyline of Lethbridge. Less well-known than the High Level Bridge, the post office is one of the most distinctive buildings in Lethbridge. Built in 1912, the four-storey structure is crowned by a functioning clock tower. Other prominent buildings include office towers; the water tower, which was originally built in 1958 and sold to a private developer who converted it into a restaurant; and the Alberta Terminals grain elevators. From March 2018 to August 2020, Lethbridge was home to

ARCHES An arch is a curved vertical structure span (engineering), spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th mill ...

, 24-hour supervised drug use site. It was the busiest SCS in North America with 663 visits a day. ''The Star'' called it a "new landmark". The SCS featured injection drug and inhalation drug facilities and it was a subject of disagreement by the nearby business community. The site closed at the end of August 2020 after the province removed grant funding following discovery of misappropriation of public funds. A week long survey was held for the 2020 budgeting priorities in Lethbridge. 401 randomly selected people participated in this survey and 43 percent of them identified the presence of ARCHES SCS as the top concern. Only 8% of participants identified the same issue as the top concern in 2018.

Sports and recreation

Lethbridge has designated 16 percent of the land within city boundaries as parkland, including the Oldman River valley parks system. It has facilities for field sports, numerous baseball diamonds, the Spitz Stadium, the Nicholas Sheran Park (a disc golf course), two

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...

s, a

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

track, a

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips (or "holds") for the hands and feet. Most walls are located indoors, and climbing on such walls is often termed indoor climbing. Some walls are brick or wooden constr ...

, a dozen tennis courts, and seven pools. It is home to five golf courses, including the award-winning Paradise Canyon Golf Resort, and is within of several others. Built for the 1975 Canada Winter Games, the VisitLethbridge.com Arena, formerly the , ENMAX Centre, is Lethbridge's multipurpose arena. The 6,500-seat facility has hosted concerts, three-ring circuses, multicultural events, national

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

championships, basketball events, banquets, skating events and is home to the

Lethbridge Hurricanes The Lethbridge Hurricanes are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Lethbridge, Alberta. The Hurricanes play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, and play their home games at the VisitLethbridge.com Are ...

, a major

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

franchise. The arena has a running track, racquetball and squash courts, and a full-size ice rink. In 1997, the Servus Sports Centre (originally the Lethbridge Soccer Centre) was built directly south of the ENMAX Centre and added two regulation size indoor soccer pitches to the complex. The Lethbridge Kyodokan Judo Club facility is located next to the Community Savings Place, and has been a Judo Canada Regional Training Centre since 2015. On the city's west side, Phase 1 of the Cavendish Farms Centre, formerly the ATB Centre, a recreation complex, opened in 2016 and houses two hockey rinks and the Lethbridge Curling Club. Phase 2 of this project The Cor Van Ray YMCA opened in May 2019 and includes a field house with basketball courts and a 300m running track, as well as an aquatics centre with slides and a wave pool. Several winter sports venues are in or near Lethbridge. The city has six indoor ice arenas with a total ice area of and a total seating capacity of 8,149. Other than the ENMAX Centre, all ice surfaces are available from October to April only. Lethbridge is east of the Castle Mountain ski resort. Lethbridge hosted the inaugural championship match for the

Western Women's Canadian Football League The Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL) is a full-contact women's Canadian football league which began play in the spring of 2011. The league plays an annual season in the spring and summer, and with seven teams it is the largest w ...

in 2011, while the city's WWCFL team, the Lethbridge Steel, played in three straight title matches from 2012 to 2014.

Government

Eight councillors and a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

make up the

Lethbridge City Council The Lethbridge City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Lethbridge, Alberta. The council is composed of the mayor and eight councillors. The mayor is the city's chief elected official and the city manager is ...

. City voters elect a new government every four years. The last election was October 18, 2021, Lethbridge municipal election. Lethbridge does not have a ward system, so the mayor and all councillors are elected at large. The 2009–2011 operating budget of the City of Lethbridge was –278 million, more than half of which came from

property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

. One member of parliament (MP) representing federal electoral district of Lethbridge sits in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, and two members of Alberta's legislative assembly (MLAs), representing

Lethbridge-East Lethbridge-East is a Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, covering the eastern half of the city of Lethbridge. The district is one of 87 in the province mandated to r ...

( UCP) and Lethbridge-West ( NDP), sit in the

Alberta Legislature Building The Alberta Legislature Building, located in Edmonton, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the Executive Council of Alberta. It is often shortened to "the Ledge". The Alberta Legislature Building is at 10801 97 Ave ...

. Traditionally, political leanings in Lethbridge have been

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

. Federally, from 1917 to 1930, Lethbridge voters switched between various federal parties, but from 1935 to 1957, they voted

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

in each election. Progressive Conservatives held office from

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

until

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, when the

Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...

was formed. The Reform party and its various subsequent incarnations such as the current

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

have dominated the polls since. The city's two provincial electoral districts are represented by one government MLA,

Nathan Neudorf Nathan Neudorf is a Canadian politician who has been Alberta's minister of affordability and utilities since 2023. He was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Lethbridge-East in the 30th Alberta ...

for

, and one opposition MLA,

Rob Miyashiro Robert Seiko Miyashiro is a Canadian politician who was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Lethbridge-West in 2024. A member of the Alberta New Democratic Party. He previously served as a member of the Lethbridge City Co ...

for Lethbridge-West (following a by-election to replace Shannon Phillips).

Alberta Health Services Alberta Health Services (AHS) is the single Health regions of Canada, health authority for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. Headquartered ...

, the provincial health authority that plans and delivers health services on behalf of the Ministry of Health, administers public health services in Lethbridge. Chinook Health oversees facilities in southwestern Alberta, such as the Chinook Regional Hospital and

St. Michael's Health Centre St. Michael's Health Centre is located in Lethbridge, Alberta and offers a multi-faceted range of rehabilitation, palliative and continuing care services within the Chinook Health Region. The organization currently meets the needs of 156 contin ...

Transportation

Mass transit in Lethbridge consists of 40 buses (with an average age of 10 years) operating on more than a dozen routes. Traditionally, bus routes in the city started and ended downtown. In the early 21st century, however, Lethbridge Transit introduced cross-town and shuttle routes, such as

, University of Lethbridge to the North Lethbridge terminal, and Lethbridge Polytechnic to the North Lethbridge terminal. Several routes converge near the Chinook Regional Hospital, although it is not officially a terminal. The Parks and Recreation department maintains the citywide, pedestrian / cyclist Coal Banks Trail system. The system was designed to connect the

valley with other areas of the city, including Pavan Park in the north, Henderson Lake in the east, Highways 4 and 5 in the south and a loop in West Lethbridge (including University Drive and McMaster Blvd). Four provincial highways ( 3, 4, 5, and 25) run through or terminate in Lethbridge. This has led to the creation of major arterial roads, including Mayor Magrath Drive, University Drive and Scenic Drive. This infrastructure and its location on the

CANAMEX Corridor The CANAMEX corridor is a series of improvements to freeways and other transportation infrastructure linking Canada to Mexico through the United States. The corridor was established under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Currently the corr ...

has helped make Lethbridge and its freight depots a major shipping destination. Lethbridge is north of the United States border via Highways 4 and 5 and south of

via Highways 2 and 3. Highways 2, 3 and 4 form part of the

, a trade route between Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Lethbridge has a commercial airport, Lethbridge Airport, and the

(CPKC) rail yards in Kipp, Alberta ( away). The airport provides commercial flights to Calgary, industrial and corporate opportunities, as well as private and charter flights elsewhere. The airport provides customs services for flights arriving from the United States. Lethbridge Canadian Pacific Railway Station was served by passenger rail on the CPR line between 1906 and 1971. The rail yards were eventually moved to Kipp, just west of the city, from downtown Lethbridge in 1983. The yards were planned for redevelopment with a mix of multi-family residential, commercial and light industrial land uses. The Park Place Mall is now located on the portion of the former rail yards north of 1 Avenue South between Scenic Drive to the west and Stafford Drive to the east.

Education

The Lethbridge School Division and the separate Holy Spirit Roman Catholic School Division administer grades

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through 12 locally. The Palliser School Division, which is based in Lethbridge, administers public primary and secondary education in the outlying areas. Lethbridge School Division administers five high schools ( Chinook High School, Immanuel Christian High School,

Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (LCI) is a public high school in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, operated by Lethbridge School District No. 51 that serves grades nine through twelve. LCI was the first school in Lethbridge designated only for seconda ...

, Victoria Park High School, and Winston Churchill High School), four middle schools, and 14 elementary schools in Lethbridge. Immanuel Christian covers grades 6 through 12. There is also a Francophone school in Lethbridge, which is part of the Francophone school board, Conseil scolaire FrancoSud, based in Calgary. Lethbridge is home to

, founded in 1957, and the

, founded in 1967.

Red Crow Community College Red Crow Community College is a college located on the Kainai Nation reserve in southern Alberta, Canada with a campus in Lethbridge. Partnerships Red Crow College is a member of the First Nations Adult and Higher Education Consortium, a non-p ...

has a campus in the city. During the 2015–2016 school year, the University of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Polytechnic had a combined enrolment of 14,820, which represented 20% of the city's population.

Media

Lethbridge has two major newspapers: the daily ''

Lethbridge Herald The ''Lethbridge Herald'' is the leading daily newspaper in greater Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Alta Newspaper Group and also publishes and distributes a weekly newspaper, the ''Lethbridge Sun Times''. Early history On November ...

'' and the weekly ''

Lethbridge Sun Times ''Lethbridge Sun Times'' is a weekly paper in the Lethbridge, Alberta, area, with a circulation of 24,000 in 2007. The paper is part of Alta Newspaper Group, the same company that publishes and distributes the daily ''Lethbridge Herald''. Hist ...

''. The university and polytechnic both have a student-run, weekly newspaper. There are 12 FM radio stations, including CKXU-FM, a

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station located at the University of Lethbridge.

Sister and friendship cities

Lethbridge has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

, three friendship cities, and three cities promoted by the Lethbridge Twinning Society.

Sister city

* Saint-Laurent Canada (1967)

Friendship cities

* Haebaru Japan (2003) *

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

, China (2004) * Great Falls, United States (2014)

Lethbridge Twinning Society

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

, United States (1989) * Timashevsk, Russia (1985) * Towada, Japan (2002)

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1890 establishments in the Northwest Territories Cities in Alberta Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Populated places established in 1890