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Headlines: Aug. 21, 2026

· The Pulse
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  • Edmonton city council will consider whether to resume broader use of calcium chloride for snow and ice control during November budget deliberations. The city discontinued the practice in 2020 over concerns about potential environmental impacts and vehicle rust. Upgrades to support its increased use would cost about $4.4 million upfront and $2.5 million annually.
  • Construction of the new Chinatown Gate will close 97 Street to vehicles between Jasper Avenue and Okîsikow (Angel) Way for about two weeks starting Aug. 24. Pedestrian access will remain open on both sides of the street, but the same section will close overnight for about two more weeks in September while crews install scaffolding and hoarding. Construction of the new gate is expected to be completed in 2027.
  • A 696-unit student housing development at the 1947 Massey Ferguson building downtown has been approved. Faction has been hired to design and build four six-storey mid-rise buildings around two courtyards and a central pedestrian pathway while keeping most of the existing building intact. The building, designated a municipal historic resource in 2025, most recently served as a Healy Ford showroom and warehouse until the dealership moved to Sherwood Park in 2011. The first phase of the project is expected to be complete in June 2028.
  • Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Doug Griffiths said that nearly 20 downtown businesses have closed this year. A chamber survey found that 58% of respondents did not feel safe operating in Edmonton, while 44% had spent at least $500 repairing vandalism damage in the past year.
  • Edmonton Public Schools said registrations for yellow-bus service in the upcoming school year remain near 17,000 despite a $20 monthly fee increase, which brings the cost to $70 per month.
  • Higher insurance and operating costs are squeezing Edmonton festivals. Taste of Edmonton executive director Donovan Vienneau said its annual insurance bill has tripled to $15,000 since before the pandemic. Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival executive director Megan Dart said stagnant funding and rising costs have forced the festival to hold its size steady. Its donor campaign has grown from 34 monthly contributors to 840 and aims to reach 1,000.
  • Valleyview IGA has reopened in the Parkview neighbourhood, replacing L'OCA Quality Market, which closed in March after opening in January 2025. Some former L'OCA employees have joined the new store. Andy Taschuk, who operated Andy's IGA for 59 years before retiring in 2024, was among dozens of people in line to visit the new store on opening day. "The community around this IGA store is the best community in Edmonton," Taschuk said. "They really appreciate the independent grocer."
  • Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell has returned to track cycling at Edmonton's new velodrome inside the Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre, one of three UCI-sanctioned 250-metre indoor tracks in Canada. The Sherwood Park athlete, who won sprint gold at the Tokyo Olympics and competed in bobsled at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, said training close to home gave her the balance she needed to return. She plans to attempt the national standard time on Aug. 31 to rejoin Canada's team ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
  • The Edmonton Oilers will play two regular-season games in Cologne, Germany, during the 2027-28 season, bringing Leon Draisaitl to his native city. The games are part of an NHL and NHL Players' Association effort to grow hockey in Germany. The opponents have not been determined.
  • The Alberta NDP pointed out that Albertans could be billed for non-emergency services if their integrated health cards expire. The province said it will send advance renewal notices and that urgent, medically necessary care will continue regardless of proof of insurance.
  • Campaign groups on both sides of the separation-related question in Alberta's Oct. 19 referendum are shifting their focus from persuasion to turnout. The Alberta Prosperity Project plans an Aug. 29 legislature rally, while Let Alberta Decide is planning an Oct. 17 legislature rally and get-out-the-vote efforts focused on Calgary, Edmonton, and smaller cities. Pro-Canada groups Forever Canadian and Alberta's Voice are planning rallies, distributing signs, training volunteers, and courting undecided voters.