The City of Red Deer has been named Canada’s Most Active Community for the month of June. Red Deer residents logged 19 million active minutes and had over 700 community members participating.  

“The city is actually developed for activity. There's an intentionality I'll say around being active in Red Deer. When you look at the neighborhoods that we've constructed and the infrastructure that we've constructed, it lends itself to bicycling, it lends itself to walking, jogging, and running it enables people to go through our parks system comfortably and safely,” said Mayor of Red Deer, Ken Johnston.  

Residents recorded their active minutes using the ParticipACTION App and website and Alberta Health Service’s Move Your Mood Initiative.  

“Community members could log through the app and that would be their individual activity. If you went for a walk or run or something you could record anything that you're doing gardening, and house cleaning,” said Denise Fredeen, Move our Mood Coordinator from Alberta Health Services.  

Fredeen said families and organizations could also sign up as a group and record everyone’s active minutes. Fredeen has been encouraging the public to get active through the app since 2021 but Red Deer’s numbers have really jumped this year.  

“In 2021, we had 15,000 times that community organizations or families went onto the website to record their activity. In 2022, we had 153,000 times,” said Fredeen.  

In 2021, Red Deer had also only recorded 6 million active minutes competed to this year’s 19 million active minutes. Overall, she says it’s been hopeful seeing the community become connected, engaged, and improving their physical and mental wellbeing.  

Fredeen says the win is also not one and done and hopes to continue on with the campaign moving forward. She also hopes people continue to be active.  

“This is a challenge for the month of June, but the app actually exists all year long and people can be engaged through the ParticipACTION app all year and win prizes all year, so I really like people to know that it's not just a one-month thing and we're done it continues all year long,” said Fredeen.  

The title of Canada’s Most Active Community also comes with a $100,000 prize for the City of Red Deer.  

“We thought we might win $15,000 but now that that's a whole new conversation to be had. The money will definitely be used to continue to engage, mobilize connect our community through physical activity and initiatives that reach not just one sector of our community but many sectors,” said Fredeen.  

Mayor Johnston is also pleased for what the title means for Red Deer.  

“Come to Red Deer! Bring your bicycle, bring your scooter, bring your kayak and come and walk those 160 kilometers of trails we have and so forth. For me, winning this title actually makes us a destination for fitness, a destination for activity, and a destination for tourism,” added Johnston.