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2021 Statistics Canada census shows Red Deer has 37 more residents than 2015 municipal census

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According to Statistics Canada, Alberta’s population sits at 4,262,635 residents, an increase of 4.8% since 2017.

Here in Central Alberta, we saw Blackfalds’ population increase by 12.2% from 9,328 to 10,470, Sylvan Lake’s population increase by 8% from 14,816 to 15,995, Penhold’s population increase by 6% from 3,287 to 3,484, Lacombe’s population increase by 2.6% from 13,051 to 13,396, Innisfail’s population increase by 1.8% from 7,847 to 7,985 and Red Deer’s population increase by 0.4% from 100,418 to 100,844.

Red Deer’s municipal census of 2015 had Red Deer’s population at 100,807 so we now have 37 more residents than we did 7 years ago.

The Statistics Canada census says we have 100,844 residents, an increase of 427 residents since 2017 but it also shows we have 43,404 homes an increase of 3419 homes, compared to 39,985 homes in 2017.

That is 8 new homes for every new resident.

Basically, we have the same number of taxpayers, paying ever increasing taxes for ever increasing services spread over more area. In 2017 1,000 residents would be paying property taxes on 398 homes, in 2021 those 1,000 residents would be paying taxes on 431 homes.

If you look at the faster growing communities, Blackfalds, Sylvan Lake, Lacombe, and you would also see that they invested in their recreational facilities at exponentially larger rates per capita than Red Deer. Any correlation?

The thought is that for every mile from the centre of the city, you build a home the annual maintenance costs for the city increases by $1,000, whether that still remains true, I do not know. If a new neighbourhood is built without growth and if maintenance costs grow exponentially, then does it makes sense to keep adding neighbourhoods, building new houses and adding new roads, sidewalks, bus routes, infrastructure and services.

I am just asking for a breather. According to federal and municipal  censuses we have grown by a total of 37 people since 2015, but we have built new neighbourhoods, roads, sidewalks, facilities, depreciated our home assessment values, and increased our taxes.

The province has grown 12 times faster than Red Deer. Blackfalds has grown 30.5 times faster. Penhold is growing at 24 times the rate of Red Deer.

Time for a rethink? Just asking.

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Breaking: Explosive FBI Warning—CCP, Iran, and Mex-Cartels Partnering in Canada to Move Fentanyl and Terrorists Into U.S.

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Sam Cooper's avatar Sam Cooper

Patel’s warning echoes The Bureau’s exclusive reporting on a criminal convergence linking CCP-backed chemical suppliers, Iranian proxies, and Mexican cartels operating through Vancouver superlabs

In an explosive Sunday interview that will place tremendous pressure on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new Liberal government, FBI Director Kash Patel alleged that Mexican cartels, Chinese Communist Party operatives, and Iranian threat actors have forged a new axis of criminal cooperation, using Canada’s porous northern border and the Port of Vancouver—not the southern Mexican border—as their preferred entry point to flood fentanyl and terror suspects into the United States.

“In the first two, three months that we’ve been in the seat under Donald Trump’s administration, he has sealed the border,” Patel told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “He has stopped border crossings. So where’s all the fentanyl coming from? Still? Where’s the trafficking coming from still? Where are all the narco traffickers going to keep bringing this stuff into the country? The northern border. Our adversaries have partnered up with the CCP and others—Russia, Iran—on a variety of different criminal enterprises. And they’re going and they’re sailing around to Vancouver and coming in by air.”

Patel asserted that adversarial regimes—including Beijing and Tehran—are now working in tandem on “a variety of different criminal enterprises,” and exploiting what he called the “sheer tyranny of distance” on America’s northern frontier, where vast terrain and lax enforcement in Canada have allegedly enabled fentanyl pipelines and terrorist infiltration.

Pointing directly at Carney’s government, Patel continued:
“Now we’re focused on it and we’re calling our state and local law enforcement partners up [at the northern border]. But you know, who has to get to step in is Canada—because they’re making it up there and shipping it down here.”

The FBI director’s warning—posted on the White House’s X account— follows exclusive reporting by The Bureau and a newly released 2025 threat assessment from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which, for the first time, officially flags Canada as an emerging threat node in the North American drug supply chain.

As The Bureau reported earlier this week, the DEA highlighted the dismantling of a fentanyl “super laboratory” in October 2024 in Falkland, British Columbia—a mountainous corridor between Vancouver and Calgary—as an emerging threat in fentanyl trafficking targeting the United States. Sources pointed to the same converged threat network—China, Iran, and Mexico—mentioned today by FBI Director Kash Patel.

“According to these sources,” The Bureau reported Friday, “the site forms part of a broader criminal convergence involving Chinese, Mexican, and Iranian networks operating across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. The Bureau’s sources indicate that the Falkland facility was connected to Chinese chemical exporters sanctioned by the United States Treasury, Iranian threat actors, and operatives from Mexican drug cartels.”

In his remarks today, Patel appeared to directly link this criminal convergence to terrorist infiltration.
“And I’ll give you a statistic that I gave to Congress that nobody was paying attention to,” Patel added. “Over 300 known or suspected terrorists crossed into this country last year, illegally… 85 percent of them came in through the northern border.”

Patel also appeared to turn up the political pressure on Ottawa, alluding to President Trump’s recent controversial statements about Canada—which became a flashpoint in the federal election, with many voters embracing the Liberal Party’s campaign framing Carney as a bulwark against Trump.

“I don’t care about getting into this debate about making someone the 51st state or not,” Patel said, referencing Trump’s remarks. “But [Canada] are a partner in the north. And say what you want about Mexico—but they helped us seal the southern border. But facts speak for themselves. It’s the [northern] border that’s open.”

The Bureau will continue to follow this story in the coming week.

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Ukraine War may see breakthrough as Trump sets up Monday Morning call with Putin

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MXM logo MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Trump says he’ll speak with Vladimir Putin by phone Monday at 10 a.m. to stop the Ukraine “bloodbath,” calling for a ceasefire and an end to a war he says “should have never happened.”

Key Details:

  • On Saturday, Trump revealed his plans in a Truth Social post, writing: “THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK.”

  • Trump added that he also intends to reach out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO leaders. “HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY.”

  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a round of discussions with Ukrainian and Russian delegations Thursday in Turkey, followed by a Saturday phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The talks produced an agreement for a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump said Saturday he will hold a direct call with Vladimir Putin on Monday in an attempt to broker a cease-fire in Ukraine, which he described as a “very violent war” that “should have never happened.” His announcement came amid renewed international attention on negotiations after Putin refused to personally attend this week’s summit in Istanbul, opting instead to send a lower-level delegation led by former cultural minister Vladimir Medinsky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had hoped to meet Putin face-to-face, publicly criticized the move. “Russia once again demonstrated that it does not intend to end the war,” Zelensky said Thursday on X. “Such a Russian approach is a sign of disrespect—toward the world and all partners.”

As Kyiv pushes for a 30-day cease-fire, the Kremlin has made clear it wants Ukrainian forces to withdraw from Russian-occupied regions including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Despite these tensions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting on Trump’s behalf, managed to secure an agreement for a prisoner swap during Thursday’s talks. “President Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the violence” was the focus of follow-up communications, according to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.

Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier on Friday that Zelensky had “pissed away” billions of dollars in U.S. aid, while expressing optimism about halting the war. “We inherited this mess, but I think it’s going to get solved,” Trump said. “I think we’ll do it fast,” adding that Putin “is tired of this whole thing. He’s not looking good, and he wants to look good.”

In his Truth Social post, Trump emphasized both humanitarian and strategic goals for the Monday conversation. Alongside his effort to halt the fighting, Trump said trade would also be discussed during the 10:00 a.m. call with Putin. He reiterated his desire to quickly bring the conflict to an end and restore stability, ending: “GOD BLESS US ALL!!!”

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