Welcome to Medicine Hat
The community of Medicine Hat extends a warm Southern Alberta welcome.
Located in a semi-arid climate with approximately 2,500 hours of sunshine per year, Medicine Hat is Canada’s “sunniest city” with more hours of sunshine than anywhere in Canada. Medicine Hat has one of the longest growing seasons in the province at about 188+ days.
Chinook winter winds, warm, dry winds that descend the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in winter, can raise temperatures by as much as 34 degrees Celsius in one day. Low humidity makes the temperatures in summer and winter a little easier to endure.
Medicine Hat is also referred to as “the oasis on the prairies” for it lush greenery, over 100 city parks and hundreds of trees that line the shore of the South Saskatchewan River Valley that runs through the centre of the city.
View the Welcome to Medicine Hat booklet by clicking here 
Hatters enjoy a quality of life that is hard to match with the best people, location and natural resources available. A quality of life indicators survey conducted in 2007 asked residents to respond to several open-ended questions that related to what they liked most about living in Medicine Hat. What respondents liked most (in descending order) was:
1. The small town / small city feel
2. The size
3. The people
4. The city in general
5. Accessibility (convenient to get around)
A recent Medicine Hat Police Services survey indicated Hatter’s satisfaction with the safety of the city is very high and satisfaction with their encounters, interaction and relationships with the police service and felt comfortable in their handling of crime.
Medicine Hat’s population of over 61,000 (2009 City Census), has resulted in a tremendous growth in our economy. It’s an exciting time to live in Medicine Hat with new business and retail stores springing up almost overnight and a residential growth that shows little sign of slowing. The addition of Costco to the retail market and a new Super Walmart along with a mix of cultural restaurants offer Hatters and the community a little of everything.
Medicine Hat is one of the only cities in the world that owns and manages its own electric and gas utility. Built on a massive natural gas field, Medicine Hat has been providing residents and businesses of the city with natural gas since 1904. In addition, a percentage of the revenue for the utilities is given back to the residents as dividends in the form of some of the lowest utility and property tax rates in the country.
Situated at the crossroads of the Trans Canada Highway 1 and Highway 3 and located 168 kilometres from Lethbridge, 293 kilometres Calgary and 146 kilometres from the United States border, Medicine Hat has easy access to every part of the world.
Medicine Hat is rich in history and unique attractions. Come and experience them for yourself.
Mayor Norm Boucher