“Wetaskiwin has a promising location, close to Edmonton and even closer to the Edmonton airport. It’s hwy conncetion is not great, but at some point that will be fixed.

Why [has] it been left behind by Camrose[?] Camrose College may be part of the explanation. When we lived in wetaskiwin we went to camrose for cultural events–music, drama, art–and had much concern about the academic content in the wetaskiwin high school. I think camrose’s college brought a set of people and values into the community that were conducive to a rich culture.

Wetaskiwin has stayed a blue collar town. It does not look like that has been a winning strategy.
I doubt if the town can get an academically oriented college soon, so that source of leadership is probably not going to be available here. What the town does have is a very substantial wealth base. It badly needs to establish a civic fund-raising office (along the lines of those used by colleges) to see if major patronage for long-term civic improvement can be obtained.

There is nothing wrong with current efforts toward economic development, but a longer-term approach toward a more attractive quality of life would complement this. People who want to work or retire in wetaskiwin want a quality environment for themselves and their children. They are selecting camrose now, but maybe all is not yet lost.”

– Submitted at www.wetaskiwintomorrow.ca

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