October 2013
| Business World Magazine | 65
Ahhh, youth – thankfully, it’s a time that doesn’t always go wasted by the young. Mary Bet-
hune, the educator and advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, once said, “We have a
powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practic-
es so that we may direct their power toward good ends.” For Lacombe, the newest and youngest
city within the Canadian Province of Alberta, the courage to change has certainly led to new
ideas and new practices that now offer powerful potential for greater prosperity.
Rustically nestled amidst some of the
most fertile farmland to be found between
the major urban centers of Edmonton
and Calgary, the City of Lacombe is the
youngest of any in the Province of Alber-
ta, having only achieved designation as a
city in September, 2010. This, however,
shouldn’t be construed to infer that La-
combe is without a rich history, in fact,
folks began settling here as early as 1883,
and even well before that time given Cree
and Blackfoot perspective. The city is
named in honor of Albert Lacombe, the
French Canadian Missionary who is not
only credited with helping broker a peace
treaty between the Cree and Blackfoot,
but also assisting in negotiating the deal
that accommodated construction of the
Canadian Pacific Railway through Black-
foot Territory. The railroad helped usher
an era of growth and economic activity,
which has since emerged as largely driven
from farm and agriculture operations, as
well as oil and gas resources. Since 1909,
