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Headlines: Aug. 18, 2026

· The Pulse
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  • The Confederacy of Treaty No. 6 First Nations and the City of Edmonton opened a week of events marking the 150th anniversary of Treaty No. 6 with a pipe ceremony and flag raising at City Hall, followed by a public celebration in Churchill Square. The week's activities also include cultural teachings, a re-enactment of the treaty signing at Fort Edmonton Park, and a powwow at Enoch Cree Nation. Grand Chief Joey Pete called for more respect from the Alberta government after Indigenous Relations Minister Rajan Sawhney did not attend the City Hall event. Sawhney's office said that she was away but committed to maintaining strong relationships with Treaty 6 First Nations.
  • Text messages sent to Edmonton Transit Service's Transit Watch line over a one-month period earlier this year show riders reporting daily concerns about open drug use, assaults, and harassment across the system. In 2025, 61% of riders reported feeling safe on their last trip, unchanged from the year before, while police calls about violent incidents at LRT and transit centre locations rose from 292 in 2024 to 307 in 2025. Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, ETS's branch manager, said a range of measures are being implemented to boost perceptions of safety, including providing cellular connectivity in LRT tunnels.
  • Scores of runners reported GPS readings that exceeded the certified distances at the Servus Edmonton Marathon, with some half-marathoners recording about 22 kilometres instead of 21.1. The race director and Athletics Canada stood by the course measurements, citing construction-related lane changes and differences between GPS tracking and standard road-race measurement. Half-marathon winner Rory Linkletter and coach Simon Stewart said finishing times were slower than expected and the course felt long.
  • Hope Mission is seeking a rezoning that would allow it to run a permanent 120-bed shelter at its logistics centre near Argyll Road and 75th Street. City administration supports the application, but 32 of the 33 responses the city received opposed it, with 17 citing concerns about public safety, security, and crime. The public hearing on the item was postponed to Aug. 25.
  • Edmonton Transit Service will adjust several bus routes starting Aug. 30 to reflect typical fall ridership patterns. The changes include new school special routes serving St. Carlo Acutis Catholic High School and Archbishop O'Leary Catholic High School, a new school special route between Capilano Transit Centre and Vimy Ridge Academy, and the removal of seven other school special routes due to low or changing ridership.
  • About 1,400 students in Edmonton Catholic Schools's year-round program returned to class on Aug. 17. The program offers the same instructional time as a traditional calendar, with a shorter summer break and more breaks during the school year. Most other Edmonton schools will start Sept. 1 or 2.
  • Royal Mayfair Golf Club's crew has worked to repair rain damage ahead of the CPKC Women's Open, which starts Aug. 20 at the 104-year-old course. After more than 500 millimetres of rain in June and July, flooding washed out the bunkers seven times, submerged part of the 18th hole, and toppled a poplar tree onto a green.
  • WestJet says that its Edmonton capacity to Latin America and the Caribbean will increase by 34% this winter. The airline will offer twice as many weekly flights from Edmonton to Los Cabos, Mexico, and Montego Bay, Jamaica, as it did last year.
  • Former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel released a video urging federalists to vote in Alberta's Oct. 19 referendum, warning supporters against complacency despite the pro-Canada side's polling lead. Mandel is supporting Vote to Stay, a pro-Canada campaign founded by former federal cabinet minister Monte Solberg. Former premier Jason Kenney is another prominent voice in the campaign.