City looks at changing LDE to Ag Society
By Lethbridge Herald on May 10, 2025.
Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
Proposed changes to the Lethbridge & District Exhibition would help it better serve the needs of the community, city officials said Friday.
After a presentation from City administration and the consultant firm of Deloitte to the Economic Standing Policy Committee (SPC), City officials spoke to media about the governance options that will reposition the functions of the exhibition.
Darrell Mathews, City of Lethbridge Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, told reporters that the presentation outlined administrative changes to create two distinct entities. One would focus on agriculture promotion and one would operate the trade centre facility and event production elements currently delivered by LDE.
“Some of the reasons for doing that is because there are two pieces that were brought forward at the SPC, with the first one looking at the Agriculture Society Act and some of the requirements of having a community-based organization that does that out of a non-for-profit and also the AGLC requirements for gaming revenues,” said Mathews.
By doing this, the Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society is projected to have a budget of $550,000 annually from provincial grants and fundraising.
He added that in the coming months, the LDE will go back to its 1897 roots and become Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society, to realign the society with its original intent of promoting agriculture in southern Alberta.
“The current structure of the LDE, as the city being the sole shareholder, doesn’t meet the long-term requirements of the AGLC and Ag Society Act, so it’s not like we were not getting the funds before, but in order to continue working with the province and receive the funding, we have to have it back in compliance with the Act,” said Mathews.
If the Economic & Finance SPC recommendation is approved by council, the trade centre facility will move to be operated by a temporary holding company (EventCo).
This organization would employ all current LDE staff and allow the organization to operate the trade centre facility in the most sustainable and cost-efficient way possible, without needing to meet the criteria of an Ag Society.
The City of Lethbridge will be the sole shareholder of EventCo and will be responsible for governance.
“This will allow them to look into other revenue streams that can go into the whole event running piece,” said Mathews.
Through a community board and shareholders, the Agricultural Society will focus on the promotion of regional agriculture, partnering with EventCo to host signature events like Ag Expo, Whoop-Up Days, & Farmers’ Markets.
These changes are required to meet the Agriculture Society and Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) regulations. This will ensure there is no loss of grant or gaming funds to the Ag Society.
City Manager Lloyd Brierley said the City taking on the challenges LDE faced recently is what got them to this point.
“What this is about is really turning those challenges into opportunities, while recognizing the importance of agriculture to the community and the surrounding region, as well as the opportunities that exist for the city through the creation of a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC),” said Brierley.
As these changes progress, council will also consider the consolidation of other event attraction work through the potential creation of a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC).
Deloitte will return with a business plan, implementation plan and budget to consolidate event attraction across the city into an MCC. Council will use this information in their decision-making process moving forward.
The full SPC presentation can be found online and is available for viewing through the City’s YouTube channel.
20-19
Sounds like ” fog and smoke” to me.
Let’s go back to the 1800’s before we got all the bright ideas on how to make it work.
Let’s be frank. The citizens of lethbridge still own that money pit and in 2 years time the money that was supposed to pay for other more important things will be gone. As usual no one at the city is responsible this financial boondoggle. No city council and administration you’re not saving us from 2.5% tax hike you already took it from what we already paid. I hope people ask some hard questions during the municipal elections because in 2 years we’ll get that dreaded tax due letter and I hope I’m sitting down when I open it.