I don't think he was paying for it!
My guess is his missus wouldn't move and that was the only job he could find at the time.

If your husband is only doing the drive about once a week then it wouldn't be a problem. Yes, the roads can occasionally be a problem but so can they driving from say Cochrane to Calgary and, to be honest, it's very rare they are as they are usually cleared pretty quick.

If you're looking for a family friendly, good community feel town then, yes, Cochrane is all that, not that I'm saying Red Deer isn't; I'm just not that familiar with it there. My kids are 6 and 10 and Cochrane suits us just fine.