Alberta's booming communities say growth is great but comes with challenges

While Calgary recently got bumped from its position as one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, two nearby municipalities have picked up the slack.

North of Calgary, Airdrie saw its population increase by 20 per cent over the past five years, and to the west, Cochrane grew by 25 per cent — bucking provincial and national trends for growth. 

While mayors in both communities would say growth is a good thing, it still comes with unique challenges. Welcoming new residents means accommodating more needs in infrastructure and services. 

"We've been going so quickly for so long that the one thing you don't want to lose … is that continuity and who we are as a community," said Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown, "Fortunately, we've been able to keep that." 

Airdrie is at a tipping point. Once the population reaches 85,000, sewer and water infrastructure will need upgrading, which is going to be a costly leap, Brown said. 

And then there are the services they don't have yet — things like hospital beds and shelters for those struggling with homelessness.

"We've been really utilizing a lot of Calgary's existing services on all those different fronts," Brown said. "It can't continue to go in that direction."

With its proximity to Calgary, Airdrie doesn't have its own hospital, and Brown says the urgent care space that is available locally hasn't been able to keep up with the care that's needed or expected by residents. 

Cresting the hill into Cochrane is a view that Mayor Jeff Genung believes attracts new residents. But, he jokes, as they round the corner, drivers hit the traffic.

Because the town is divided by highways 1A and 22, residents compete with drivers passing through as they try to get around. 

"Our community is growing and the number of residents are growing with it, but the traffic infrastructure didn't really keep up," Genung said. 

Projects to address those pinch points are already underway in partnership with the province. But looking forward, Genung said there's more to address: the old RCMP detachment, a transit hub and library space expansions, to name a few. 

During the pandemic, he said, the town braced for stagnation — but the housing market and influx of new residents hasn't slowed. 

"In 2021, we added … almost 700 single-family homes in one single year," Genung said. "So it's put a lot of pressure on our organizations to try and keep up with growth that we really weren't anticipating.