It was a year of Positives and Negatives for the City of Red Deer and it's residents.

Despite hitting the highest unemployment rate in Alberta, Red Deer still had a number of positives that stopped that number from growing even larger, which included infrastructure work beginning for the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

Mayor Tara Veer says they knew hosting the games would be a huge benefit to the City, but they didn't think it would impact them this quickly.

"What we didn't know at the time was the positive impact it would have on our economy, during a time we needed it the most. Preperations are already well underway for the games, but had we not won, we wouldn't have received infrastructure dollars from the Provincial and Federal Goverments. That money would have instead gone to another Alberta community."

But despite some steps forward, Veer says 2016 will most likely be remembered by Red Deerians for the lousy Provincial economy.

"I think it was certainly noted in our high unemployment rate, the closure of some local businesses and charities, and just overall in terms of the financial challenges our community was faced with."

Veer says one good sign to end the year was to see a few pipeline projects approved, which she hopes will jump start the local economy.

As for other highlights, Mayor Veer says one of the biggest moments for Red Deer in 2016 was hosting the Memorial Cup, and showcasing the City to over 10 thousand guests.

"The Memorial Cup also provided $14 million of economic spinoff, at a time where we certainly needed it. But it also positioned Red Deer to secure future sports tourism events. Because not only did we host it, but we hosted it above and beyond and according to the CHL, set the bar for future Memorial Cups hosted in Canada."

Veer says going forward, the City has cut it's budget by about $28 million, and is freezing user fees at facilities, and transit in 2017 in an attempt to help out taxpayers.