Council releases details on past Exhibition correspondence

To continue transparency with the community, Lethbridge City Council today publicly released past confidential meeting documents relating to the Lethbridge and District Exhibition (LDE).

Council gave direction at their January 23, 2024, meeting to release documents that had previously been kept confidential. Since that direction, City Administration has been gathering and vetting information to ensure that it adheres to privacy legislation prior to today’s public release.

The 566-page report can be found here.

“We have heard loud and clear that our residents want to be fully informed on LDE decisions, so today’s release further displays a commitment of transparency from City Council,” says Mayor Blaine Hyggen. “We want the public to understand the limited amount of information Council had in relation to the complexity of the decisions we had to make. We have already made some great strides in improving the operations at LDE and we look forward to more in the coming months.”

From 2021-2023, LDE constructed the new 268,000-square-foot Agri-food Hub & Trade Centre with more than $70 million in funding from the Government of Alberta, the City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge County and the Government of Canada. In 2023, it was discovered that despite the project being completed, LDE was experiencing significant financial challenges and was on the verge of having to shut down operations.

“We are also pleased with the amount of varied recent events at LDE and are excited for the future at this amazing facility,” says Hyggen.