Business View Magazine
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centages – since the federal census of 2001.
But thanks to a new municipal focus on economic de-
velopment, town officials said, those days of sleepy
steadiness are already becoming a thing of the past.
“We’re definitely a strong economy and growth is defi-
nitely on Hinton’s horizon,” said Wendy Jones, the
town’s manager of capital projects and construction.
“It’s part of our strategic plan.
“The population has been stagnant for what amounts
to 25 years, and we’re trying to change the mindset
and open ourselves up to new business opportunities
– whether they be recreational, tourist, manufacturing
or something else. That’s our goal here in the next sev-
eral years.”
Indeed, though oil and gas, forestry and mining have
been economic stalwarts of the community since its
founding, Jones and her administrative colleagues
are now making concerted efforts to get out and sell
Hinton across North America as a potential home for
high-tech companies, training centers or any other
businesses looking to relocate their operations to the
“Gateway to the Rockies.”
The town’s population was 9,405 at the time of the
2001 federal census before rising 3.5 percent to
9,738 in 2006. It then dipped slightly to 9,640 when
the count was made again in 2011.
“We’re about 20 kilometers from the base of the
Rocky Mountains, so when you look out to the west,
that’s what you’ll see every day – the snow-capped
mountains – and we have miles of forestry around us
and hills and you name it,” said Mike Schwirtz, who
became the town’s chief administrative officer in Octo-
ber. “It’s a great place to be able to attract people to,
so that’s a huge part of our strategy.”
That refocused strategy has the full backing of a re-
INFRASTRUCTURE
