Claresholm making robust efforts to attract new residents

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on October 12, 2022.

Claresholm has been seeing steady growth in recent years both economically and socially as it expands and grows moving forward with new initiatives.

Brady Schnell, the Town’s economic development officer, was just recently named Economic Developer of the Year by Economic Developers Alberta in April due to his work towards the Welcoming Claresholm Project.

The town was one of eleven communities in Canada to be approved for the Rural Immigration Pilot Program in 2020. The program supported economic development by attracting newcomers qualified to fill vacant full-time jobs in Claresholm, adding to the town’s growth.

“We project the funding that we get through the Ministry of Labour and Immigration Alberta for the Welcoming Claresholm work, the funding we get creates an equitable, diverse, and inclusive community by supporting immigration. It complements the Rural Northern Immigration pilot,” said Schnell, who also oversees the pilot program. “I’m operating a federal program that allows us to sponsor immigrants to come to Claresholm if they have full time employment, while also working with the provincial funding to support newcomers in our community.”

Schnell’s work has recommended close to 40 individuals for work in the town, which including their families means close to 100 people have come to the town as new residents.

Working on the platform of attracting more residents to rural Alberta, Schnell says the Town works hard to make itself attractive to potential residents.

“In order to accommodate the growth, and continue to attract investments, the town council recently adopted a tax incentive for residential and commercial development. To reduce barriers to growth, if you come here and build a house or a business, you’ll be eligible for a tax break for three years. We’ve also adopted an interest free business improvement loan. You can borrow up to $10,000 completely interest free. These are just a handful of ways that we are trying to encourage growth and attract investment,” said Schnell.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rural towns have noticed a growth to their population, with homebuyers finding the pricing and community a key selling point.

“A lot of small towns are noticing huge housing sales,” said Schnell. “This move to rural areas has been growing. Currently we have a zero-percent vacancy on our rental market, it’s very tight. We’ve had record housing sales in the last two years and we’re looking to attract new development to increase our housing.”

“We are seeing an increase of younger families from the city, as more people are able to work from home,” said Chelsae Petrovik, Mayor of Claresholm. “They want the slower pace of life where you can drop the kids off at school, run to the grocery store, and other errands, and still make it home within a 30-minute time period. There’s a lot more sense of community, children playing and laughing. The mentality of ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ is coming back into these small communities.”

Claresholm is in a central location to many areas around southern Alberta, which adds to its growth.

“At this location, we have the mountains in our backyard, a few minutes north and you’re in Calgary, head south and you’re in Lethbridge, plus Waterton Park is a few hours away. It’s a central location, being able to leave home and take it all in within a day and still get home,” said Petrovik.

With incentives and economic developments, Claresholm has seen a steady rise to its population, always looking to add more to itself for those looking to escape the hustle and bustle for a thriving community.

“The ability to work for larger companies from your house, has attracted people to smaller areas. We have been responsive and trying to make it easier to do business here,” said Schnell.