MLA Report: A region leaning forward

By Justin Wright on October 21, 2026.

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to local business owners at the Chamber of Commerce breakfast, and the one word I’m brought with me is growth. Growth in education, in industry and in opportunity for the young people deciding whether their future is here or somewhere else.

For a long time, there was a quiet assumption that southeastern Alberta was a great place to raise a family and a great place to be from. I want it to be a great place to build something. Every region is competing for investment, talent and attention, and if we stand still, we get eclipsed. I believe this community has decided to lean forward.

The momentum is real. Right here in Medicine Hat, Landing Zones signed a strategic partnership with Airbus Defence and Space this summer. UVAD is developing a supersonic drone called the Falcon, and QinetiQ Target Systems Canada just built its 750th Hammerhead target drone.

In May, the province announced more than $1 million for aerospace and defence growth, including $200,000 to chart the future of the Foremost UAS Test Range, one of only two in Canada.

Those companies need people, and our schools are stepping up. Prairie Rose Public Schools runs the Southern Alberta Flight Academy, where high school students can earn a pilot’s licence, and it is building the new Yuill School of Agriculture, the first of its kind in Canada, set to open in fall 2027.

The Medicine Hat Catholic Board has launched a first responders academy at Monsignor McCoy, and Holy Trinity Academy, a new K-9 school replacing three older ones, is nearing completion.

Medicine Hat Public Schools was allocated eight new classroom complexity teams for its K-6 schools. Each team puts a teacher and two educational assistants in the classroom to support students with complex needs. That is part of a provincewide investment to create 699 of these teams, and 566 are already up and running.

Budget 2026 put $165 million in capital into our constituency. That includes $152 million to twin Highway 3, $2 million for the Medicine Hat College Centre for Community Wellness, $9.2 million for the City of Medicine Hat and $2 million for Cypress County.

Since spring, $325,000 has gone to local farms and agricultural societies, and Cypress County has been approved for $279,000 to replace culverts on local roads.

Agriculture remains the backbone of this region, and we are listening to producers.

This fall we are removing unnecessary Water Act approvals for routine work on seasonal wetlands on private cropland. We are also reopening the registration program for historic water use on public land, so eligible ranchers have until Dec. 31, 2028 to get their records right.

Across Alberta, the numbers show what openness to investment can do. Alberta added nearly 26,000 full-time jobs last month, while Canada lost 68,000, and youth unemployment fell to its lowest level in almost three years.

There are a few deadlines worth knowing. The Alberta Industry Skills Grant is open to employers until Oct. 30. Rural residents can apply for up to $1,000 through the Alberta Satellite Rebate Program until March 31, 2027. And as Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services, I want to remind health organizations that the next round of the Primary Care Innovation Fund closes Nov. 2.

Growth does not happen by accident. It happens when governments, businesses, educators and neighbours decide together they want it, and then do the unglamorous work of making it real.

The hope and future of this region are being built right now, in our classrooms, our hangars, our fields and our small businesses.

My office is always here to help. You can reach us at 403-528-2191, or cypress.medicinehat@assembly.ab.ca.

Justin Wright is the MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat and Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services

By Medicine Hat News

Online link: https://medicinehatnews.com/commentary/opinions/2026/10/21/mla-report-a-region-leaning-forward/