City of Red Deer councillors along with Mayor Cindy Jefferies following the council swearing-in ceremony on Monday at city hall. (City of Red Deer/Supplied)

By Ian Gustafson

official ceremony

New Red Deer city council officially sworn in

Nov 3, 2025 | 4:56 PM

It’s official, the City of Red Deer has a new city council.

On Monday, the city held its official swearing-in ceremony in council chambers at Red Deer City Hall.

During the ceremony, each of the eight city councillors and the new mayor took their oaths of office in front of friends, family and the general public.

After conducting an extensive interview with Mayor Cindy Jefferies in late October, rdnewsNOW took the time to speak with the rest of the council.

Bruce Buruma

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Councillor Bruce Buruma is in his second term as a city council member and said he’s honoured to return after a tight race during the municipal election.

“I’m looking forward to the next term, and I think we have a wonderful team. We’ve been meeting all last week, doing our orientation, and having those important conversations,” he said. “I’m very confident in the group that we have, and diverse perspectives are going to make good decisions for the residents of Red Deer.”

Among his top priorities are continuations from the last term, including the long-term financial strategic plan and engaging the business community to find out how to enhance economic development.

“I think the other part that came out through the election is that we need to have some better conversations engaging our community in regards to decisions that are going to affect them,” he added.

Adam Goodwin

Councillor Adam Goodwin is in his first term as a city council member and said it feels great to be a part of the team.

“I’ve had a lot of family, friends, and community members reach out, and the support has been terrific, so I’m looking forward to really getting to work,” he said.

Goodwin plans to use his strengths to help improve Red Deer while continuing to develop and improve his weaknesses.

He also plans to address the topics he campaigned on, which were financial improvement, making the city safer, eliminating dynamic staffing, and improving downtown Red Deer.

Tristin Brisbois

Councillor Tristin Brisbois is also in her first term as a city council member and said it felt phenomenal to officially become a councillor.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the room and for the City of Red Deer, too. I think everybody’s ready to see what this council can do,” she said.

Brisbois explained she didn’t enter council with an agenda, but is hoping to get the city’s finances back in order, as well as get some good investment back into the city.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how we can do that with new revenue streams and also, doing more with what we’ve got. That doesn’t mean cutting, but really trying to make the best with what we have because everyone has to do more with less,” she added.

Dianne Wyntjes

Councillor Dianne Wyntjes is in her fifth term as a city council member and said it’s a privilege and an honour to have the support of the citizens.

“I have some whiskers and some experience, so it’s an opportunity to support the newcomers because there’s a lot to learn and also to bring some of the history on file, I think it’s always valuable,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the work, challenges, and opportunities ahead.”

Wyntjes explained that with the upcoming budget in December, they’ll be looking at service levels and assured the tax rate won’t be a repetition of last year’s.

Over the next four years, she also thinks about the cold weather that’s coming and how it impacts the homeless community. She also thinks about their advocacy with the provincial government in terms of the needs of Red Deer. She hopes to one day see a formal navigation centre in Red Deer.

Cassandra Curtis

Councillor Cassandra Curtis is in her first term as a city council member and said she’s excited to get started.

“It’s an honour to represent the community and all the voices. I look forward to the work to come,” she said.

Curtis said there are a few big decisions to be made over the next four years, beginning with the budget. She also hopes to tackle some of the issues we face in downtown Red Deer such as crime and homelessness.

“I’m super excited to get the work done [tackling crime and homelessness downtown], and there will be more to come,” she added.

Chad Krahn

Councillor Chad Krahn is heading into his first full term as a city council member after he was elected in 2024, following the passing of councillor Michael Dawe.

Krahn said the campaign felt long as there were plenty of forums and community engagement.

“It was wonderful, but it’s nice to get through this, and now it’s time to get to work,” he said.

He’s looking forward to seeing how the team comes together with four new councillors who bring their own strengths.

Affordability, community safety, and housing are all concerns he feels are important to Red Deerians.

“I think Red Deer has a lot of challenges and we need to start working on them as soon as we can,” he said.

Jaelene Tweedle

Councillor Jaelene Tweedle is in her first term as a city council member and said it’s still sinking in.

“It’s something I see as an immense privilege, so it’s something that has hit me in a lot of different ways because I realize the responsibility I’ve been given. I don’t want to ever forget that,” she said.

Tweedle hopes to make sure the public feels their voices have been heard more than it has in the past.

“Public engagement and regaining some public trust where it’s been lost is very important to me,” she added.

Kraymer Barnstable

Councillor Kraymer Barnstable is in his second term as a city council member and said it’s an honour to be back with a new group.

“It’s different, but it’s also exciting at the same time. There’s definitely a new energy that comes with the group. Even just this orientation, it has a much stronger energetic feeling to it than it did four years ago, and I think a lot of it had to do with COVID-19,” he said. “We’re looking forward to getting to work and seeing where the decisions go.”

Barnstable explained it will be important for the city to get its finances under control. He believes council did some great work over the last two years, and it didn’t show in the decisions made as far as where the tax rate ended up.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how this group stays on top of the finances and makes sure it doesn’t end up in a situation that it was in when we were elected four years ago,” he said. “Hopefully, this group is strong, financially minded and that we can have residents feel like their tax dollars are being taken care of responsibly.”