- A new City of Edmonton report explores whether partnering with the private sector to build future arenas and libraries could be beneficial. The report, requested by city council's infrastructure committee in June, shortlists the Woodcroft Library renewal, Cumberland Fire Station development, Windermere North Transit Centre, and various arenas as potential collaboration projects. Former city councillor Tim Cartmell suggests looking at renting existing spaces instead of building new ones. "How many empty strip malls are we going to have in 10 years?" he asked.
- The federal government is seeking builder qualifications to redevelop a final section of land at the Village of Griesbach, with construction expected to begin next year on 355 new homes. Mike Kelloway, parliamentary secretary to the federal minister of transport and internal trade, said at least 40% of the homes will be offered at below-market rates for moderate- and medium-income households. Proposals are due by Dec. 22, with successful candidates moving to the next stage in early 2026.
- Police Chief Warren Driechel said the Edmonton Police Service is looking at new tools to make reporting crime easier. "I think there's a lot of unreported crime," he said. Driechel suggested the new tools could cause a spike in reported crimes, which "puts more demands on the service," and could impact budget needs.
- The Edmonton Police Service is partnering with Esri Canada to develop an underground tracking system at Churchill Station, which has the highest number of reported incidents in Edmonton's LRT stations (600 out of 2,985). The Edmonton Transit Enhanced Community Safety System (ETECS) will track officers in real-time using smartphones and a dashboard displaying video feeds. EPS spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said ETECS, which has been in development for three years, is "a proof of concept for a community safety sytem." The project is funded by a $1.3 million federal grant from the Canadian Safety and Security Program, the research and development arm of the Department of National Defence.
- Both Better Edmonton and the Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton (PACE), municipal parties that ran candidates in last month's election, say they have debriefed and plan to continue operating. "We feel like we've had some success, and now we have a lot of runway ahead of us that we can use to improve how we did in this election for the next one," Cameron Johnson, Better Edmonton's chair, said. PACE co-founder Doug Main said the party is "pretty much disappointed in the way the election turned out, but determined to carry on."
- The City of Edmonton has reopened 95 Avenue to four lanes of traffic for the winter season, as construction on the 95 Avenue Renewal Project has made significant progress. Phase 1, from 182 Street to 170 Street, is substantially complete, featuring a new shared pathway and road resurfacing. Phase 2, from 163 Street to 170 Street, is complete for the 2025 construction season, and will resume in spring 2026.
- A fire at a GFL Environmental landfill in Parkland County, which started on Nov. 9, was still burning three days later. Officials said the fire is expected to continue burning "for some time." Specialized industrial firefighters are using soil and water to smother the fire, which is in the southwest section of the landfill containing construction and demolition waste. The City of Edmonton issued an advisory encouraging residents to reduce exposure to the smoke.
- A powerful solar storm lit up skies across Alberta this week, with vivid displays of the aurora borealis, visible well beyond the usual northern viewing spots. Frank Florian, senior manager of the planetarium and space sciences at the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton, explained the red and green colours were triggered by a coronal mass ejection from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field.
- Canada has lost its measles elimination status, which it achieved in 1998, due in large part to outbreaks in Alberta. James Talbot, a former chief medical officer of health for Alberta, said the provincial government should be embarrassed by the province's role, as Alberta has reported 1,956 cases since its outbreaks began in March, and that it owes Albertans an apology for the province's poor record. Karina Top, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at the Stollery Children's Hospital, called it a "collective failure," and noted Alberta had the highest per capita rates of measles in North America.
