A National Bank of Canada investment of $330,000 into the Edmonton Downtown Business Association's Core Patrol program will allow it to resume its daytime operations for the entire year.
The investment, part of $1.25 million that the bank recently announced for service organizations in Edmonton and Calgary, including $450,000 for the Bissell Centre's' Service Hub, comes after a City of Edmonton grant for operational funding for the EDBA's Core Patrol during the daytime expired in January. Without the private money, the business association would have to suspend daytime operations (the EDBA is still funding its nighttime operations).
Victoria Girardo, National Bank's senior vice-president for commercial banking in Western Canada, told Taproot that the company's investment was to secure the daytime patrol.
"When we looked at how we wanted to really show up as a community partner, we had a rigorous process around looking at organizations that really were part of how we wanted to be a part of the financial fabric and the vibrancy of downtown," Girardo said. "The Core Patrol with the EDBA, and the Bissell Centre, really did represent organizations that have a lot of credibility in this space, of making an impact, and a long history, and a proven track record of doing that within the city of Edmonton."
The EDBA created and partially funded the Core Patrol program in late 2022 after years of its members experiencing challenges while operating businesses downtown. The program employs Hiregood staff to respond to and prevent social challenges on downtown streets. In 2026, both day and night shifts will see two staff in two Hiregood vehicles.
In March, the EDBA's former CEO, Puneeta McBryan, said the patrol staff had responded to 3,221 incidents in 2024, including a large number of fires. At that time, leadership from both the EDBA and Hiregood said they were frustrated that public funding for the program was not being renewed. "It really feels like the city should be paying for part of that," McBryan said.
In 2025, the newest numbers available show that between February and November, the Core Patrol put out 151 of 164 fires that it responded to downtown, Quinn Phillips, the director of marketing and communications for the business association, said. "A lot of them (were) garbage fires and dumpster fires, and those have the potential to spread pretty rapidly and can cause damage to buildings," Phillips said. "The Core Patrol being there quickly, and extinguishing fires quickly, is really important."
Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson, whose ward includes downtown, said downtown safety is a shared responsibility that is nonetheless not being properly shared at the moment.
"A lot of the safety concerns that we're seeing downtown are a result of government disinvestment in some of the really critical social safety nets that we need for a thriving society," Stevenson told Taproot. "So, when we see people experiencing homelessness, when we see mental health and addictions issues, these are broader societal challenges that I believe require a government response. I don't think it should be on businesses to be dealing with the health and housing crisis, and we know that it is actually a huge download of costs onto businesses."
Why not fund the Core Patrol? "The challenge is that, right now, we're in a situation where we're not able to reallocate resources, because everywhere, the need is growing," Stevenson said.
The Edmonton Downtown Business Association's Core Patrol at work near the new O-day'min Park. (Supplied)
Stevenson added that police and fire budgets continue to grow, and the city now funds housing projects, something it used to rely on the provincial and federal governments for. Housing is a priority, she said, because a lack of housing is a root cause of social disorder.
"A lot of frustration with this investment the businesses are making for these types of safety initiatives (is that they aren't) solving the root problems, they're responding to them," Stevenson said. "I know a lot of businesses really, really do want to be seeing those longer-term solutions."
The city is providing money for programs that are like Core Patrol. Edmonton has 13 business improvement areas, or BIAs. The city has allotted $850,000 in grants this year for 10 of the 13 BIAs to enhance services like outreach and cleaning. The Old Strathcona Business Association used its portion to launch the Old Strathcona On-Call program, staffed by Hiregood. The Stony Plain Road Business Association, meanwhile, hired two outreach navigator positions independent of a partner organization.
Several of the BIA executive directors told Taproot in October that it's logical for them to participate in such public safety work. Andrea Donini, with the Old Strathcona Business Association, added that some businesses have said they are no longer calling police to report property crime, making some sort of alternative essential. "They didn't see a point in doing that, because (the police) weren't going to catch anyone," Donini said.
Like Stevenson, Donini acknowledged that BIA safety programs can only do so much.
"It fails to address (the) root cause," Donini said. "It is a symptomatic and reactionary approach to the issue, and ideally, I think anyone would rather see the root cause addressed and the issue be resolved that way."
Over the coming days, Edmonton's city council is set to debate its fall budget adjustment, within which is an unfunded service package of $1.9 million to fund attendants at select transit centres late at night.
Stevenson said she has a vision for what a transit safety attendant program could be.
"I'm really interested in pursuing a model that's somewhat similar to (the) Core Patrol," Stevenson said. "(Safety attendants) would be a combined sort of security guard, wayfinder, and cleaner, so that we have someone sort of doing all three of those roles in one, and sort of hosting our downtown stations, making them feel safe and welcoming."
The Edmonton Transit Riders is pushing for council to fund the safety attendant program through its 2026 budget deliberations.
A CBC investigation recently found that violent crime on transit in Edmonton has more than doubled between 2016 and 2024.