Wolfe says he’ll approach council as a ‘normal Joe’
By Lethbridge Herald on November 12, 2025.
Councillor Ryan Wolfe takes the Oath of Office administered by Returning Officer Bonnie Hilford last month during the Swearing-in Ceremony at City Hall.Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of features on the three new members of city council elected in the Oct. 20 municipal election.
After getting acquainted with his new role as city councillor, Ryan Wolfe is sharing a little bit about his life and what he is bringing to his new role.
Originally from the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan, born in Saskatoon, Wolfe moved to southern Alberta 25 years ago, and became a Lethbridge resident seven years ago.
“My life before becoming city councillor was pretty familiar and pretty normal. I raised two daughters with my wife. I worked professionally as a mortgage broker in Lethbridge for the past 15 years and my wife is a teacher,” says Wolfe.
He shares that he has always been service-minded and has been involved in multiple service activities, from coaching to working with Scouts Canada, to working on the Southgrow initiative.
“I have also had various opportunities to serve within my church community. I guess normal in that way, but always trying to be someone who contributes where they can,” says Wolfe.
He says he considers himself a “normal Joe” and believes that to be one of his strengths, and he hopes this will make it easy for members of the community to relate.
“I did not want to portray myself as someone who was prepared for this job from a bureaucratic lane. I truly believe I understand the typical Lethbridge citizen,” says Wolfe.
He says he winces when the cost of living goes up as he is not immune to it, he is not isolated from it or above it.
“I do have a degree in political economics, and I think it helps in certain context, like being able to understand presentations and what is being explored, but at the same time I hope that very few people voted for me because of my degree,” says Wolfe.
He shares that he hopes people voted for him because they saw him as someone who understands where they are coming from, their frustrations, and someone who wants to advocate on their behalf.
When speaking of his new role, Wolfe says he had a lot to learn within the first couple weeks during orientation and something that he realized quickly is the need to listen and to understand that nothing can be taken at face value.
“With my professional career, my job is to sit with folks, identify their needs and then identify solutions. And I think council will be pretty much the same thing,” says Wolfe. “I have to sit with a bunch of folks who have opinions and needs, I have to assess those needs and then I have to find solutions that are viable.”
He shares that within orientation he also learned that everything is a “multi-layer onion.” And that it is his job to listen as best as he can, glean as much information as he can, rely on six council members that know a lot more than he does and to take that to formulate his own opinions and find solutions that work.
When explaining how his skillset will come into play in council and within the boards and commissions that he will serve, like the Police Commission for example, Wolfe says his experience with members of the community when campaigning will help him.
“Spending time with homeowners and business owners, highlighted the continued need of a robust police presence within the community,” says Wolf. “So, I am looking forward to being in the police commission to make sure we are paying attention to those needs being brough up by the community.”
When it comes to council in a wider sense, Wolfe says he believes it is important to respectfully stand up for what one believes to be right.
“I would say that already in council I feel the ability to say what is on my mind without having to worry about other councillors being mad at me for it,” says Wolfe.
He says the environment at council is very open to each other’s opinions, what they need to learn from each other and about his new role.
“One thing I need to learn is how do I make sure that there is room for what I want to see happen. How do I make that possible within council, so I don’t get outvoted every time. That will be the challenge and definitely something I am still learning.”
22-21
My priority is for council to reign in their spending and reduce our property taxes. Their focus must be all spending to be targeted at must have projects and not nice to have. Then the major projects that are undertaken must have direct council over site to ensure taxpayers money is not wasted. Hopefully Ryan has the same priorities.