The Town of Drumheller is continually making commitments to Poverty Reduction, working to make lasting changes in targeted and specific populations. Shockingly, 42% of Canadians living in poverty are, in fact, people with jobs. Ending working poverty, therefore, is a critical driver in the process of ending poverty altogether. 

“We are pleased to announce that Drumheller has been selected as one of just five Canadian communities to join Tamarack’s ‘Building Community Resilience by Ending Working Poverty’ project,” states Darryl Drohomerski, Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Drumheller.  

The five-community cohort, which includes Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK; Chatham-Kent, ON; and Trail, BC, will examine how each community approaches and addresses this specific segment of the impoverished population in Canada. The end goal of the three-year project is a 5% reduction in working poverty in each of the five communities. Locally, this work will be led by an Ending Working Poverty Project Coordinator and a Leadership Table including government, businesses, social sector representatives and those with lived experience of working poverty.   

“We are grateful to have Scott Gamble joining our team to lead this work,” explains April Harrison, Manager of Community Development and Social Planning. “Scott grew up in rural Alberta and spent ten years in Edmonton working in a wide variety of blue-collar and service industry jobs. His experience offers a unique lens at working poverty that will greatly benefit this program.”   

“My wife and I cherish Drumheller and are pleased to call it home. I am deeply motivated to see this project succeed. I believe Drumheller has many of the right people and circumstances present to make a significant amount of change, not just for those living in poverty, but, for our entire community,” shares Gamble.  

Funding, coaching and strategic assistance for the project is being provided over a three-year period by Tamarack Institute. This is in addition to generous financial support from the McConnell Foundation, and financial commitment and support from the Town of Drumheller.  

The Tamarack Institute is one of the most significant players in Canadian community development, and Drumheller is fortunate to be working alongside such a prominent organization.  “Tamarack is thrilled to have the Town of Drumheller join our Ending Working Poverty cohort,” shares Alison Homer, Tamarack’s Team Lead of Cities Ending Poverty. “Through their commitment to centring voices of the working poor, exploring policy levers and advancing decent work practices, we look forward to the contribution they will make both to realizing community-wide impact, and to the national Ending Working Poverty conversation.”