significant role in supporting recent immigrants. Hyggen points out that the city hosts a substantial Ukrainian population, the largest Bhutanese community in Canada and a noteworthy number of Syrian refugees.“We have an incredible organization called Lethbridge Family Services that works very well with these folks,” he says. Additionally, the community has attracted numerous international doctors, who appreciate the welcoming culture and vibrant diversity that Lethbridge offers. Lethbridge’s diversity also extents to its cultural relationship with Indigenous communities, specifically the Blackfoot people of the Canadian Plains and the Métis. The city neighbours the Blood Reserve, the largest First Nation Reserve in Canada. Oki, the Blackfoot word for “Hello,” became the City’s official greeting in 2019 and is displayed throughout the community. A SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION On the increasing alliance between the University of Lethbridge, City administration, Lethbridge College and other regional entities, Helstein says,“Clearly the most current and exciting opportunity is a distributed medical education piece that we’re bringing in, in collaboration with the University of Calgary, to the city of Lethbridge and the southern Alberta region.” This project, supported by local physicians, Alberta Health Services and the provincial government, aims to train physicians in rural settings to retain them in these areas. “That is going to be key to not only the city but the region. The evidence shows that if you want to have more physicians practicing in rural areas, if you recruit and train them rurally, you’re way more likely to retain them rurally,” Helstein says. 5 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 LETHBRIDGE, AB
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