Lloydminster‘s industrial land market had its best year in a decade in 2025, and the numbers across the city’s economic file suggest the momentum is real.
Economic development officer Katlin Ducherer presented the city’s 2025 annual report to council Monday, walking through five pillars of activity – land, business attraction, business retention, tourism, and entrepreneurship – with results pointing to a community that is attracting serious investment attention.
Land tells the story
The city generated $2.1 million in land division revenue in 2025. Residential lot sales reached a five-year high. Industrial lot sales hit a 10-year high.
“The results reinforce that Lloydminster remains a competitive and attractive place to build,” Ducherer said.
Interest in land from large-scale industrial proponents was significant. The city responded to major proposals in sectors including non-ferrous metal production, renewable natural gas, data centre development, direct air capture, and large-scale steel stamping.
City administration noted Lloydminster plays to its genuine strengths with every investor conversation – two railways, industrial water availability from the wastewater treatment plant, and an abundance of land that is zoned and ready for development.
Businesses are coming – and staying
The city completed 150 direct business visits in 2025, hearing from existing operators about their priorities and challenges. Key themes included wayfinding and signage, rising costs, workforce shortages, and provincial regulatory complexity.
Downtown revitalization efforts continued with $55,000 in grants that unlocked more than $125,000 in total private investment. The city’s most successful economic development breakfast on record drew more than 200 attendees.
Coun. Justin Vance said the shift from the pandemic years is now visible on the ground.
“We’re finally seeing the steam pick up here since COVID,” Vance said. “Businesses are starting to flow in, which is awesome to see.”
Ducherer credited improvements to the city’s land use bylaw as a turning point for investor confidence.
“Before that, we were doing a number of land use requests from real estate agents and investors from across the country, just making sure that they could understand it properly,” she said. “Since that, we have not had to take those calls.”
Open for business
240 new businesses registered through the city’s startup support program in 2025. The system connects new and growing businesses with economic development staff, Community Futures, and the Chamber of Commerce – fielding a steady stream of calls and emails from operators at every stage of growth.
Ducherer said the library’s annual report, presented earlier in the same council meeting, is a good example of the kind of community data her team puts to work every day.
“I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve sent that annual report out to prospective businesses who are considering the mall,” she said.
Hotels filling up
Hotel occupancy reached 70 per cent in 2025 – the highest level in several years. The city distributed 5,000 visitor guides across Western Canada and hosted a familiarization tour showcasing the Cenovis Energy Hub to both Travel Alberta and Tourism Saskatchewan.
City administration met with more than 15 event rights holders to pitch Lloydminster and the Cenovis Energy Hub as a destination for major national events.
Housing and workforce
One area of continued focus is the relationship between housing supply and workforce attraction. Ducherer said one in four requests for residential lot information involves medium-density housing – a category where the city’s ready-to-go inventory remains limited. Some new availability has opened up on land in the southwest.
Coun. David Lopez, who works in the building industry, said the demand he hears from incoming companies tells part of the story.
“The companies that are coming into town – they’re all sitting there saying we need people, we need people, we need people,” Lopez said. “And they’re buying houses and housing people from out of town.”
Ducherer said the city is actively working to match incoming investor interest with available inventory and continues to field those requests.
What’s next
The Economic Development Advisory Committee, formed in September 2025, is finishing work on a new strategic plan expected to come to council in May. A retail gap analysis is planned for 2027, timed to capture data after anticipated shifts in local retail.
Lloydminster’s retail trade area draws from a regional population of 190,000. The average resident age is 36.9. The city has 1,941 registered businesses.
Mayor Gerald Aalbers said the work Ducherer and her team do every day – making sure Lloydminster is known and considered – is what keeps the city in the conversation.
“If we have even a smidgen of a chance that we can get in front of somebody, we take advantage of it,” Aalbers said. “I appreciate Katlin and the efforts her and her team have brought forward to ensure that our community is being recognized in Western Canada, in Canada, and hopefully around the world.”
Read more: Library draws 106,000 visitors in first year on its own
