'This is where I want to be': City of Lethbridge appoints new city manager

Lethbridge city hall.

The City of Lethbridge has appointed a new city manager following the resignation of Craig Dalton.

Lloyd Brierley will be Lethbridge’s fourth city manager since 2019. Despite the high turnover in recent years, Mayor Blaine Hyggen says he is confident in Brierley’s abilities to succeed in the role.

“Just the wealth of knowledge that he brings from different levels of government, and being able to be here in Lethbridge and his passion for the community really stood out,” said Hyggen.

“So, we can hit the ground running as I said earlier, right away. This was something that was important for us and for the community for that matter.”

Hyggen highlighted the fact Brierley has a deep passion and understanding for the community, which made him an ideal candidate for the position.

“It's great to have somebody that cares as much about the community, as he is, and is focused on the development and continuing on what has already been happening with Mr. Dalton here previously, so were really excited by that," he said.

After signing a five-year contract, Brierley says there were several factors that helped sway his decision to take on a new challenge.

“Sometimes things come up that you don’t expect, and this was an opportunity,” explained Brierley.

“As I’ve touched on, liking the city, an excellent mayor and council, senior leadership team and staff as a whole, that’s really it as a whole.”

Brierley is originally from Saskatchewan and before moving to Lethbridge to take on the role as director of infrastructure services last fall, he worked as the general manager of fleet services for the city of Toronto.

He's looking forward to continuing work and life in Lethbridge, a place that feels closer to his roots.

“Toronto was a great opportunity, a massive organization, just in city proper we had 35,000 staff and it was a different environment,” said Brierley.

“Great people … the city, and for a farm kid from Saskatchewan, it was a shock to the system. I’m very happy to be here, and I’m excited for the role.”

As he embarks on a new journey, Brierley is eager to work with council on a number of city plans and projects.

“There’s already a lot of great building blocks,” said Brierley.

“Council's action plan, the corporate strategic plan and municipal development plan in place, and you know, the steady hand on the tiller approach I think I really important, and then letting things unfold from there.”

Brierley's appointment becomes effective Wednesday and he'll work with Dalton over the next two weeks to get himself settled into the new role.