Lethbridge has a long and rich history of beef processing – names like Canada Packers, Canadian Dressed Meats, Swift’s and City Packers have played a large role in shaping the area economy from the 1960s to 1990s.
With the closure of the American border to live shipments of Canadian cattle, there is new and substantial discussion on the potential of securing a beef processing facility for the City of Lethbridge. Abundance of beef, proximity to the American border, superb municipal infrastructure, excellent highway systems, low operating costs and an energetic workforce make Lethbridge a prime location for this type of investment.
Given past controversial initiatives in the city and more recently SunTerra Foods in Calgary, Economic Development Lethbridge has created a new and innovative approach for this sensitive community issue. This presentation will provide a brief historical perspective, background on a new way of doing economic development, update the status of potential initiatives and outline future actions.
Speaker: Eduard Fetting, MA, MBA, is the Chief Executive Officer for Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL), the organization which played a key role in attracting Sun Life Financial, Sunrise Poultry, Convergys and the Chinook Business Park investment for this community. EDL recently won the Alex Metcalfe Award for Economic Development Excellence in the Province of Alberta.