A municipal election is coming up this October, and it’s important for voters to be as informed as possible so they can vote for Mayors and councillors who will make our communities stronger.
Based on past surveys of our members’ top priorities and concerns, we took a look at Red Deer City Council’s decisions in five key areas: public services, public safety, public utilities, housing, and transparency/accountability. We used a traffic light system (🟢 Green = good/pass; 🟡 Yellow = mixed/needs improvement; 🔴 Red = poor/fail) across key public-service areas, referencing local reporting.
Here are the results of our analysis:
Red Deer City Council Report Card
| Category | Grade | Notes |
| Public Services | 🟡 | Under-staffed and under-utilized |
| Public Utilities | 🔴 | High risk of full privatization, low assurance services will remain affordable |
| Public Safety | 🔴 | Unsafe firefighter staffing levels, while SCC closure worsens outcomes |
| Transparency & Accountability | 🟡 | Good communication, specifics of major decisions often unclear |
| Housing & Shelter Spaces | 🟡 | Good initiatives, but no rezoning approval and needs scale-up. Shelter spaces at capacity. |
🟡 Public Services
Grade: Yellow
A fully funded and staffed public service is key to a functioning city. In Red Deer, transit remains publicly operated and has expanded as part of the City’s Transit Network Improvement Project. But there are still not enough routes to meet increasing demand. Parks and public spaces still offer popular services, but budget cuts have reduced staff and hours.
Main concerns:
- Transit usage has returned to pre-covid levels, but transit service is still less than pre-covid levels. Demand is still increasing with population growth.
- Parks in the city are suffering from reduced hours, reduced staffing, and maintenance gaps since the City cut the budget for Parks and Public Works.
- Public complaints are common because Red Deer residents are being asked to fill gaps such as by helping pick up litter themselves in parks. Many residents are also finding the transit system doesn’t always meet their needs.
👉 Verdict: Passable, but still needs to meet growing demand.
🔴 Public Safety
Grade: Red
Red Deer’s emergency services system continues to experience disruptions due to unsafe staffing levels, while the closure of the City’s only safe injection site adds an additional burden to emergency responders.
Main concerns:
- Firefighters say they are understaffed and not meeting the minimum requirements for safety, which is 4 firefighters per truck. A petition with over 2000 signatures asked Red Deer City Council to restore safe staffing,
- Although the City brought forth a possible solution to low staffing levels in May, weekly updates from Red Deer Firefighters (IAFF Local 1190) show the busiest fire trucks in Red Deer are still being left unsafely staffed.
- This has led to increased overtime for firefighters.
- In March 2025, City Council voted to ask the province to close Red Deer’s only safe injection site, moving forward with a shift toward Alberta’s “recovery model.” Advocates warn the closure increases overdose risk, reduced harm-reduction services, and overburdens EMS.
- Cross-examination in the ongoing court case over the closure revealed it is alleged to have already caused at least one death.
👉 Verdict: Failing to protect vulnerable populations and meet public safety needs.
🔴 Public Utilities
Grade: Red
Rather than keep Red Deer’s electric utility publicly owned and operated, Council recently approved a plan to transition Red Deer’s electric utility into a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC). While the move still keeps ownership in public hands, it fundamentally shifts governance of this long-standing public service to an arm’s-length, board-run entity, opening the door to privatization.
Main concerns:
- Increased costs: The initial business plan reveals $4.1 million in startup costs plus an extra $1.1 million annually, potentially raising distribution rates by about 11.4%—even before future infrastructure investments.
- Though the MCC remains city-owned, its board-operated, profit-driven structure could gradually undermine public control. Some councillors are even pushing for full privatization of the utility. This in turn could lead to the privatization of other public utilities.
- A corporate-style model adds complexity to budgeting and decision‑making, reducing transparency & accountability. Without clear reporting standards and council oversight, ratepayers could be left in the dark.
👉 Verdict: Failing. Council has moved ahead with a model that imperils affordability, public oversight, and long-term community control. MCC’s cost structure and board autonomy introduce likely future rate hikes and diminished municipal control. Voters deserve full transparency on cost, risk, and consequences before a final decision. This model opens the door to creeping privatization, which is contrary to Community Strong Alberta’s mandate to keep utilities publicly accountable and responsive.
🟡 Transparency & Accountability
Grade: Yellow
Red Deer City Council delivers accessible financial reporting. The City also livestreams council meetings and public hearings, and posts regular recaps of council decisions. A new online dashboard allows residents to see the City’s progress. Council also listed financial stewardship, enhancing accountability, efficiency, affordability, and infrastructure maintenance as one of their top priorities for 2025. However, complex decisions often leave important details unclear.
Main concerns:
- Major initiatives like the MCC, zoning reforms, and HAF2 remain mired in technical complexity, often lacking clear, community‑friendly explanations.
- Residents may find it challenging to track specific details of construction projects across different departments, making it harder to monitor spending and hold the city accountable.
👉 Verdict: Mixed. While we applaud the clear communication and fiscal reports, deeper, citizen‑focused transparency on large-scale decisions is overdue.
🟡 Housing & Shelter
Grade: Yellow
Red Deer City Council approved a $1.5 million grant in May 2024 toward a 40-unit supportive housing development, leveraging federal and provincial funding opportunities and making Red Deer more “shovel-ready.” In March 2025, the city secured $12 million through the Federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF2) to boost supply and affordability, but it was dependent on changing zoning rules, which council voted against. Although council has supported shelter expansions and programs like Safe Harbour, as demand grows, the shelter has been running at full capacity.
Main Concerns:
- The housing accelerator funding hinges on Council approving a four‑units‑as‑of‑right zoning bylaw allowing up to 4 residential units per lot. Council voted against this rezoning.
- Since Council refuses to rezone, the city may need to return the full $12 million grant, risking losing significant progress on housing affordability.
- Meanwhile, vacancy rates hover around 1.5%, a chronic shortage that gradual “gentle density” changes may not resolve quickly.
- Safe Harbour has been “bursting at the seams” as homelessness continues to grow. Staffing is also not sufficient to meet the increasing demand.
- The Safe Harbour shelter is considered a temporary shelter by the City of Red Deer, making it reliant on land use agreement extensions that need to be regularly re-approved by council. Making it a permanent shelter would allow it to improve its services.
👉 Verdict: Council has made clear investments into housing, but progress is conditional on rezoning. Without that action, the city risks losing crucial funding and momentum. Meanwhile, homelessness is increasing beyond the capacity of existing temporary shelter spaces to manage.
Red Deer City Council Report Card Conclusion:
It’s clear there is plenty of room for improvement on Red Deer City Council. We hope voters take all of these factors into serious consideration when deciding who to vote for in municipal elections this fall. For a full list of municipal candidates running in Red Deer, click here.
Next, we’ll also be releasing report cards on the towns of Blackfalds and Three Hills, so watch for those council report cards coming soon.