Making Sundre a recognized Alberta destination comparable to the likes of Bragg Creek or Canmore will not happen overnight, but the potential is certainly there.
The proof is in the numbers.
The commercial and business vacancy rate remains extremely low despite going onto almost two years of economic uncertainty as the price of oil remains at historic lows.
To boot, the most recent population count crunched using figures from Statistics Canada shows a growth of about 300 people to bring to more than 3,000 Sundre's population from the previous 2,700 recorded several years ago. However, that figure might be overestimated and does not represent an official count from a town census.
But once the current federal census is completed, there will be a more accurate population count for Sundre, which will no doubt reflect some amount of growth, even if perhaps not quite as much as estimated by Statistics Canada numbers.
“It's not surprising to know that we are growing. As we move forward, I'm sure there will be future developments. It's just a matter of how quickly that development occurs,” said Jon Allan, Sundre's economic development officer.
Those two factors — commercial business vacancy rates and population — are strong indicators of which direction a municipality is headed towards: prosperity or obscurity.
Declines in either variable would be indicative of a slow, inevitable demise, which is any community's ultimate nightmare — one many throughout Alberta and the rest of the country are wishing they would wake up from.
But so long as the community and its leaders continue to build onto Sundre's reputation as a destination to Visit, Live, Explore, the sky will be the limit.
“If Bragg Creek and Canmore had a baby, we want Sundre to be that baby,” said Allan.
Work to prepare for long-term growth is already underway as officials are feverishly preparing to upgrade the town's wastewater facility's capacity to handle sewage as well as improve the quality of the effluent released as per new government regulations.
But the path ahead is a long one — several roads as well as underground services are in desperate need of repairs and aging facilities like the Sundre hospital as well as the arena will eventually need to be replaced.
However, so long as the groundwork is laid down sooner rather than later, the Town of Sundre is poised to continue growing towards a bright future.
