2026 Community Survey results now available

Medicine Hat – The 2026 Medicine Hat Community Survey shows 93 per cent of residents report positive quality of life in Medicine Hat. Survey results are now available online at medicinehat.ca/communitysurvey.

The City of Medicine Hat has conducted a biennial Community Survey since 2022 to support informed strategic planning and decision making.

The survey, conducted by global market research company Ipsos from Feb. 2 to Feb. 16, 2026, targeted Medicine Hat residents aged 18 and older to gain feedback around a wide range of topics from what residents feel is the most important issue affecting the community, to levels of satisfaction with specific municipal services.

Key highlights of 2026 report show overall satisfaction with City services (90 per cent total satisfied). Services receiving the overall highest satisfaction ratings are garbage and recycling services (98 per cent) and parks, trails, and other green space (94 per cent). The lowest scoring service is traffic management and improving the flow of traffic at 67 per cent, though still well above the municipal benchmark of 53 per cent.

Results show that social issues such as poverty, homelessness and housing continue to escalate as the most important local issues (up eight percentage points).

Satisfaction with Council rose significantly from 42 per cent in 2024 to 71 per cent in 2026, an increase of 29 per cent. 

Satisfaction with communication with residents has recovered after slipping in 2024, currently sitting at 76 per cent (up 12 percentage points). 

Satisfaction with public transit has been steadily increasing over the past two surveys. While this year’s results (78 per cent) are statistically similar to 2024, they are 11 percentage points higher than 2022.

Results are benchmarked against other Canadian municipalities, and the survey is repeated every two years, allowing the City to monitor results over time.

Catherine Knaus, Director, Public Affairs from Ipsos, presented the results to City Council on Monday, Apr. 20.

“The overall results are positive and we’re seeing improvement in a number of different areas,” said Knaus during the presentation. “Things are trending in the right direction.”

Ipsos used a randomized telephone survey (95 per cent cellphones and 5 per cent landlines) with an overall sample size of 400. The feedback that is captured through the survey is considered representative of the community as it is scientifically designed to reflect the broader population. The results are weighted to reflect age, neighbourhood and other demographics. Using this methodology, the survey results are representative of the community as a whole and accurate to within ±4.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

“Because participants are randomly drawn, the statistically proven sample size of 400 captures the overall sentiment of our entire local population,” said Colleen Graham, the City’s Director of Communications, Engagement and Marketing. “With less than five per cent deviation, we can assume that the results would be relatively the same if we were to repeat the survey with another 400 people, and another 400 people, and so on.”

Concurrent to the scientific survey conducted by phone, an open, online survey was available on the City’s website providing an opportunity for those who were not contacted by Ipsos to participate and share their feedback. The results of the online survey are reported separately from the scientific survey to account for bias due to self-selection.

A shift to the biennial schedule will have the next survey occur in 2027, then repeat in 2029, to better support City Council in strategic planning and budgeting decisions. The report results will then be available in advance of each budget planning cycle (e.g., 2028 and 2030).

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media@medicinehat.ca