Alberta community’s residents vote to keep town status while facing $13M debt

Gibbons' municipal building is seen on June 4, 2026. (Amanda Anderson / CTV News Edmonton)

People living in a community near Edmonton have decided they want to keep town status.

Residents of Gibbons voted 68.5-per-cent in favour of remaining a town instead of becoming a hamlet in Sturgeon County following a vote on Wednesday and Thursday.

The vote was triggered after the province ordered a review of the status of the community 12 kilometres north of the city limit earlier this year because of a $13-million debt.

The county said Thursday the final decision regarding Gibbons’ status will be determined by the province, saying it “will consider the full scope of information gathered through the viability review, including technical financial context and the vote results, before determining its next steps.”

Provincial Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams is expected to give specific directions to Gibbons council to address its debt.

County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said Thursday that council “recognizes that this is one step in a broader provincial process.”

“We will continue to work collaboratively and respectfully with our neighbours and the province,” she said on the county’s website.

In December, the town of 3,250 had told the province it faced operating deficits, depleted reserves, rising debt pressures, late financial reporting and other challenges from past financial decisions. Gibbons formally requested assistance from the province in January.

The municipal affairs ministry conducted a viability review the following month and released the results at the beginning of June, finding that the town had overstated revenues in its 2025 operating budget, and had used cash reserves and borrowing capacity to cover operating expenses.

It said the town also appeared to have failed to disclose operating deficits from 2020 to 2025 in its municipal budgets.

“Many of the decisions contributing to the current financial position appear to have been made prior to the current council’s term,” the province said in its report. “However, the town’s current financial condition reflects decisions made by the previous council and administration over many years, acting on behalf of the town.”

Gibbons Mayor Rick Henderson, however, says the province’s report does not acknowledge the town’s efforts to repay debt nor the loss of “local voice, local accountability, and the community’s ability to shape its own future” should it dissolve.

In a response to the review, Gibbons council earlier this month published “additional detail” for future voters, including updated administrative, strategic and financial plans that it says reflect the progress of the town.

In the meantime, the town’s council says it believes Gibbons is still viable as a town and claims to have found almost $3 million in savings.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Angela Amato and Hannah Kavanagh