(rdnewsNOW/Ian Gustafson)

By Ian Gustafson

A whirlwind year

Year-in-Review: Red Deer mayor Cindy Jefferies says new homeless shelter is top priority in 2026

Dec 25, 2025 | 12:00 PM

Red Deer mayor Cindy Jefferies said getting a new homeless shelter is priority number one for the city heading into 2026.

She explained in her year-end interview with rdnewsNOW that the previous council was very motivated to try and find resolutions for the shelter.

However, it was important to establish their role and explain to the provincial government that it’s the province’s mandate and that they need to make decisions they’re responsible for. Jefferies said the city will be here to zone and set development permits when and where the province decides the shelter should be positioned and who should operate it.

“It’s probably job number one on our file,” Jefferies said. “We continue to work with the province, and we have had recent conversations with Minister Nixon. We were assured that a decision on who the operator will be is coming soon.”

She explained the best route for a shelter development to take is for a proponent to come forward with a proposal on where they would like to locate it. The city will then do the work to zone it and put a development permit in place.

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There’s still work to be done, but in the interim city council dedicated $150,000 from the 2025 budget on a one-time basis from the operating reserve to allow the city to work with community partners to immediately increase the availability of adequately staffed daytime and overnight warming spaces as part of the city’s emergency winter response. The mayor added they’re currently trying to get the province to match the $150,000 allocation.

“We recognized our shelters are over capacity and frontline services are trying hard to bring people in from outside to shelter them on an interim basis during inclement weather,” Jefferies said.

The last year she said has been a whirlwind between the election and having a new council come in right away and tackle the 2026 budget.

Despite that, she’s proud of how quickly the new group got their legs underneath them and, as a result, has come together nicely.

Joining Mayor Jefferies on council were Bruce Buruma, Dianne Wyntjes, Chad Krahn, Kraymer Barnstable, and newcomers Adam Goodwin, Tristin Brisbois, Cassandra Curtis, and Jaelene Tweedle.

“We had four new people join us, and they are energetic, excited, and want to get involved and ask questions,” Jefferies said. “We are getting to know each other as a group, and that takes a little bit of time. I’m confident that’s coming together well, and in 2026, we’ll be a tight working team very quickly.”

Jefferies explained that during 2026 budget deliberations, she was surprised at how low a percentage point they came in at for the tax rate increase of 3.97 per cent. However, she wasn’t surprised that most councillors were aiming for that with the originally proposed tax rate of 7.36 per cent.

She had hoped they would allocate a percentage point to their reserve funds, which have steadily been rebuilt since the pandemic.

“I think where we landed is good. We heard after our last budget that people want sustainability, predictability, and they want more of a steady approach to taxation,” she said.

Looking ahead to 2026, Jefferies explained council wants to engage with the public in a more open way.

For example, they’ve already had discussions on organizing opportunities for the public to talk with councillors in a casual setting, such as sitting down for coffee. There would be no preorganized topics, and the focus would be on whatever the public would like to discuss.

She said, looking back at the campaign, she took a lot away from being accessible to Red Deerians and what is important to them.

Jefferies said serving as mayor of Red Deer has been exciting, and she has found it interesting learning about the different perspectives and wishes of the people she’s met so far.

Another incredible discovery that she did not expect is the number of people who’ve said they want to help her and be there for her. She said that has been a widespread sentiment in her two months in the mayor’s chair.

“People are very excited about the potential of Red Deer, and we have pockets of great things. There is an opportunity for some key projects to come forward and I think move us along further than we’ve moved in several years,” she said, including economic development opportunities.

“I’m looking forward to the year ahead. I think there’s good news on the horizon.”