With the cost of housing higher in big cities, some Albertans are looking to smaller communities in order to have better quality of living.
With that in mind, officials in a town southwest of Edmonton say a new project is just the beginning of the community’s growth.
“The whole region is booming, people are moving here,” said Calmar town councillor Krista Gardner. “We’re having new kids at our schools, we have new kids at our programs.”
“We’ve seen substantial growth over the last couple of years and we’re really proud of that.”
Founded by homesteaders in the 1890s about 30 km southwest of Edmonton and populated by European settlers, the agriculture-based community saw major oil and gas development and rapid growth in the 1940s after the Leduc #1 oil discovery was made just down the highway near Devon.
But it hasn’t boomed in quite the same way other bedroom communities surrounding Edmonton have in recent decades, such as Spruce Grove, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc and Beaumont.
The province’s regional population dashboard shows the number of people living in Calmar hasn’t changed much over the years, only up about 1.3 per cent in the last five years.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
But now, the town says the province’s population growth and higher living costs are bringing more people into the community — and faster.
“Calmar is a fantastic place to be. The whole region is booming. People are moving here. It’s a great place to raise a family or to come as seniors. So we’re really excited to be able to provide housing choice here in town,” Gardner said.
On Thursday, ground was broken on the first apartment building in Calmar since the 1970s.
In about 18 to 20 months, what’s now been worked into a strip of dirt will become a 40-unit apartment building being built by Ironco Construction.
Project manager Al Luthra said the building is designed to be barrier-free, with wide hallways and few steps so people of all ages and walks of life can call it home.
“It’s one building that can serve multiple purposes, whether you’re working from out of town, whether you (are) here for short-term rental, or whether you want to make this into a home for you,” Luthra said.
The drive through Calmar on Highway 39 — main street — has had the same familiar landmarks for decades: a beloved bakery, an antiques store, the town hall — not to mention the quintessential Chinese restaurant found in small towns across the Prairies.
But councillors and developers say the town in Leduc County is undergoing rapid change.
“We see a gem. You’re minutes from the Leduc, minutes from the (Edmonton International) Airport,” Luthra said, adding the town has been easy to work with.
“We want to invest here.”
Gardner said Calmar welcomes more business and Luthra boasts the town’s untapped potential.
“I think this is the place to be,” Luthra said. “I think if you have dollars and cents to invest in the province of Alberta, come out our way.”
He isn’t just managing a project in the town of about 2,350 people — he’s also a resident.
“I work in the community, this is my neighbourhood and I take a lot of pride in that.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
