When Catharina Mendonça drove from Calgary to Beaumont to see her company’s new development, she thought she’d driven to another world — or at least another continent.
“I’ve travelled to Europe, and I wasn’t expecting a town like that in Alberta,” says the marketing manager of Dream Developments about its new Beaumont subdivision, Élan. “It does really embody this rich spirit, and authentic-small-town-values kind of place, where people can still walk their kids to school, and afterwards grab a coffee, and get a pastry from Chartier, their local little [French] cafe there,” she says.
She’s not the only one to notice Beaumont’s charm.
The population was estimated at 24,556 in 2024, a 5.85 per cent increase from 2023 and a 23 per cent increase from 2019.
And the numbers just keep rising. According to the 2021 Federal Census, it’s the fastest-growing municipality in the Edmonton Metro Region, and the third fastest in the province.
Beaumont is just a 24 km drive from central Edmonton and 19 km from Leduc. Approximately 80 per cent of its residents commute to these nearby neighbourhoods. “So I think one of the big allures of Beaumont is that it marries that sort of small town living with affordability. You get the best of both worlds — you get that idyllic, small-town living with unparalleled access to the city,” says Mendonça.
Not only does it exude a French vibe with red brick walkways, unique architecture, and a church from the late 1800s, it’s one of four municipalities in Alberta that’s officially bilingual. Many schools offer French immersion or Francophone curricula, and that’s obviously a draw for many French-speaking Albertans.
Meanwhile, Macleans magazine has named the city one of the safest places to live in the province several times, as its crime rate is 30 per cent lower than the national average. There is a lot of green space and Mendonça says there are diverse housing options — everything from townhomes to luxury homes. And, she says, the city is proactive and developer-friendly.
Mike Berezowsky, director of communications for Beaumont, says that while residential developers are really interested in building in Beaumont, he’s also seen an increase in non-residential construction.
That increase is beneficial because historically the city, as a bedroom community, has been heavily reliant on residential taxes. With a steady influx of citizens, Berezowsky says it’s been a challenge to keep up with community infrastructure, while maintaining reasonable tax rates. This year, council approved a 5.01 per cent tax increase, leaving it in the middle of the pack comparatively for the top 20 Alberta communities, says Berezowsky.
But along with attracting commercial development, city council is focused on coming up with innovative approaches to dealing with inflation and increased demand for services. It’s ensured that there is land available for a new high school when needed.
Beaumont’s rapid growth, combined with neighbourhood development meant it didn’t have a suitable parcel of reserve land that could fit a high school project and be ready to meet the timelines for consideration by the Alberta government, says Berezowsky. So, the city worked with a developer and purchased land so it could have a shovel-ready site for a high school space. “It involved our council and administration being nimble and open to opportunity to make this happen quickly,” he says.
“We want it to be a community of choice and for people to want to live here. And that’s not going to stop. So, we have our work cut out for us. But we’re also up for the challenge,” says Berezowsky.
