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Headlines: Aug. 19, 2026

· The Pulse
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  • The Servus Edmonton Marathon was indeed 674.7 metres longer than certified, confirming what many runners felt after the Aug. 16 race through downtown. Race director Tom Keogh apologized for an error in calculating a detour around the Wellington Bridge, reversing the event's earlier insistence that the routes were accurate. Keogh said organizers are working with Athletics Canada to determine how affected finishing times, including Boston Marathon qualifiers, can be recognized.
  • TELUS World of Science - Edmonton will remain closed until early 2027 instead of reopening in November as flood damage from a July 10 storm has proven worse than expected. President and CEO Constance Scarlett said restoration work is now expected to finish in December. About 70% of the centre's staff remain temporarily laid off. "The extension has an incredible toll on all our staff," Scarlett said. "Now that we have a concrete date to work towards, we'll be able to work on those recall plans and hopefully be able to bring those employees back sooner rather than later."
  • Law enforcement leaders from across Canada gathered in Edmonton for the 121st annual summit of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. Among the topics was Bill C-22, which the police chiefs feel does not give them enough access to encrypted data during their investigations. Chief Warren Driechel of the Edmonton Police Service said Project Gaslight, an extortion investigation in the South Asian community, was delayed by difficulty accessing digital evidence. More shootings occured before officers could intervene, he said. Civil rights advocates and tech companies have opposed moves to make such data available, warning of overreach.
  • Hope Mission has built up round-the-clock health resources, including a rapid-response team for drug poisonings, senior director Tim Pasma told Postmedia columnist Keith Gerein. Staff now respond to as many as 30 drug-poisoning events some days, he said. The mission's push for a 120-bed shelter outside the core on Girard Road, which city council heard about on Aug. 18, is part of a broader decentralization effort for social services. Chinatown Transformation Collaborative chair Sandy Pon said reducing the concentration of services in the neighbourhood is needed to draw visitors and businesses back to the area. Council postponed its decision on the Girard rezoning until Aug. 25.
  • Edmonton city council voted 11-2, with councillors Karen Principe and Thu Parmar opposed, to shift $2.5 million from the Climate Resilient City Facility Upgrades project to help fund a retrofit of the 44-year-old Fire Station 22, also known as Wîhkwêntôwin Fire Station. Mayor Andrew Knack said the funding was already approved and the transfer adds no new debt, covering part of the $14.52-million project, which includes energy-efficiency upgrades, a barrier-free washroom, and new gear storage.
  • The City of Edmonton's response to Dutch elm disease could do more long-term harm to the tree canopy than the disease itself, University of Alberta forest health professor Nadir Erbilgin told CBC. Instead of removing infected trees along with healthy elms nearby, Erbilgin recommends using pheromone-baited "trap trees" to draw out and destroy disease-carrying bark beetles. Senior scientist Mike Jenkins said the city plans to add trap trees using Siberian elms next year, alongside continued surveillance and removal of infected trees.
  • Elections Alberta is inviting electoral staff from other provinces to help run the Oct. 19 referendum. Spokesperson Maia Hanrahan said extra support is needed for the 48-hour continuous count after voting ends. Elections BC and Elections Saskatchewan confirmed they received requests for help. Elections Alberta said it has received more than 30,000 applications toward its goal of recruiting 60,000 election workers.
  • Edmonton city clerk Aileen Giesbrecht announced she is leaving her role after nearly 21 years with the City of Edmonton, with her last day set for Aug. 28. She worked on the Downtown Arena Project, the 2022 Commonwealth Games bid, and the 2021 and 2025 municipal elections. She posted that she plans to move into the private sector.