Ask Lemmy

Municipal has been stellar my entire life mainly due to industrial plants bringing in a lot of tax revenue and then their PR funding of various public infra projects. It's also an unusually well run small city it's not just the money. Well staffed city workers maintaining stuff. I guess what impresses me most right now is despite being under 30k population we run our own bus lines, one exclusively for seniors. The other in partnership with the capital city. Then the extensive green belt and IIRC 50km of paved trails, which they've continued into the new neighbourhoods built away from the greenbelt.

Very easy to never drive a car here. Very ped and bicycle friendly city. Lots of serviced parks with structures you can book for bigger outdoor parties, play structures, ponds, dog parks, sports arenas, spray parks, baseball diamonds, etc, etc. Lots of dirt trails to mountain bike along the river which is down pretty deep here so a lot of verticality.

Industrial plant sponsored sportsplex with fitness gym and indoor track which is getting a big pool extension next year. The old pool was one sore spot, too small for the population. Uhhh what else...decent attention to history with the replica fur trade Fort rebuilt (but they don't sugar coat how badly they treated the indigenous peoples) and museum full of old buildings and rural equipment. Still not a lot of crime and no sketchy parts of the city yet, too small still.

The city likes to brag about using a sheep herd to maintain the grass around the museum/Fort.

The downtown core has finally made a full recovery since Walmart decimated it 16 years ago and the abandoned downtown mall was demolished with new stripmalls* combined with townhouses being built in that spralling parking lot instead.

Also a really solid library attached to the city hall. Besides books, there's a lot of activities for kids in the basement classrooms and education options for adults. 3D printers, computers, and extensive movie+video game rental section along with a few semi private reading/study rooms.

There's more but this is getting long.

This is despite being in Alberta. I don't have anything nice to say about provincial here it's depressing and in rapid decline. MAGA adjacent. I think the ANDP under Nenshi is omce again absolutely dogshit at public relations. Basically out of sight, out of mind. Maybe they improve before election? I don't have high hopes at the moment. They had messaging issues under Notley, and apparently still do. Unacceptable.

Canada is...shaky right now. American media brainrot might destroy us sooner than later if we're not invaded first. Under Carney idk. Remains to be seen. He's a conservative without the hateful identity politics so far. Doesn't undo what Harper did with Americans being allowed to own our news media. I think that's a critical error. Already snubbed the Air Canada union and dumped climate change goals. Remains to be seen if he can make Canada more independent from the USA. I'm watching how he handles the F-35 jet purchase or else threats from the USA the most closely currently and the housing crises long term. I think the reluctance to cut back on TFW keeps wages stagnant in a ballooning CoL situation, and the youth unemployment is worryingly high now. Frustrated youth = more dipshit conservative voters next go around IMO.