2025 Candidate Q’s: Jamie Barton

Thank you High River residents for taking the time to ask our 2025 Municipal Election Candidates the many questions before and at the All-Candidates Forum. 

While we couldn’t get all the questions answered in person, we did go through the questions, remove the redundancy and have the Most Asked questions below that our candidates were invited to answer AFTER the forum.

Read on to learn more about your candidates and the issues that have been top of mind for our engaged citizens.

Visit: Facebook Jamie Barton - High River Town Councillor

What does advocacy mean to you and how best do/will you practice this attribute of leadership?

Advocacy means speaking up about something that feels off, speaking up about things that I’m knowledgeable about; digging in to the hard things and trying to understand the who, what, where, and why of things.

What is your position on water conservation?

I’m a huge advocate of water conservation; it’s super important; I practice and advocate for water conservation within my business daily.

A lot of the candidates talk about local economy specifically; how do you plan to grow the economy?  And how do you plan to encourage sustainable growth?

For me growth lies within the things we already do best. Health Care, Agriculture and Community Events as they inject and support much of our local economy. Having a seat at the table with regional groups and actively engaging locally with these three sectors are ways to encourage our economy growing forward.

How do you plan on responding to the growing needs of the youth demographics (ages 10 to 16) of High River to help retain or bring them back when they become adults?

Affordability is a big piece… and advocating with potential industry players on providing jobs as they grow up… and jobs that having meaningful long term potential for them. As I mentioned above, grow the things and industries that we know how to do well and build upon them. We are already seeing many young families setting themselves up here because of affordability and lifestyle choices.

With an aging population and increase in disabled persons in our town, what steps do you propose to ensure a meaningful life for all residents?

High River has long held an appeal for the aging population and I think the same can be said for disabled persons. I know there are many things that we need to improve upon and I would like to be part of that.

Many of the organizations that have been set up in town help provide a better lifestyle and appeal for our community of all ages such as Inclusion Foothills, Faims, Rowan House etc. I would continue to encourage support and growth of our community groups. Super important.

What does urban sustainability mean to you?

Being respectful with our community needs while improving and sustaining our quality of life. Socially, Environmentally and economically. It’s a balancing act always, but collectively instilling our “Small Town Feel” is one way or lenses to create urban sustainability.