Updates: What happened next in the region

Looking back on 2025 in the Edmonton metropolitan region, we saw the election of several new mayors, a push for data centres, and changes in St. Albert and Parkland County, among other things. Here's what happened next and what to expect on some of the other regional stories Taproot brought you:

Beaumont leads region in growth as population and workforce surge (Dec. 4, 2025)

The original story: Beaumont's population grew 22% between 2019 and 2024, making it the fastest-growing municipality in the region. The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce noted in its State of the Economy report that nearly two-thirds of households in Beaumont have children at home, the city's median age of around 35.5 is one of the youngest in the region, and jobs grew by 52% in the last five years. The city issued 500 building permits in 2025, up from 360 in 2024. Kendra Raymond, director of planning and development with the City of Beaumont, said the city is seeing commercial and industrial growth, with plans to develop an innovation business park in the future.

Then what? In December, Beaumont approved a 4.79% residential property tax increase, the fifth highest in the region. The rate increase was much lower than the 8.87% proposed by administration to help the city grow alongside its population.

What's next? Mayor Lisa Vanderkwaak, who replaced former mayor Bill Daneluik in the October municipal election, said her first priority for 2026 is to establish a council strategic plan, which will lay the groundwork to revise the city's municipal development plan and land-use bylaw. She also wants to continue to work with the City of Leduc and Leduc County on non-residential development, and to make progress on the city's innovation park. Vanderkwaak, who served as president of the UCP's Leduc-Beaumont constituency association from June 2023 to November 2025, said she'll also fight a proposed redrawing of provincial electoral boundaries that would split Beaumont in half. "This is an important conversation to have, and to make sure that we keep Beaumont intact to have a stronger voice in legislature as well as planning our future," she told the Beaumont News. The first council meeting of the year is set for Jan. 13.

Alberta Municipalities wants province to rethink property tax (Nov. 13, 2025)

The original story: Alberta Municipalities launched an information campaign on municipal property taxes. The campaign said taxpayers' property tax bills are rising because of reduced funding from the province, inflation, new municipal responsibilities, and ongoing increases to the provincial education property tax that municipalities have no choice but to collect. Dana Mackie, the CEO for ABmunis, noted the province's property tax has grown from $2.7 billion for 2024-2025 to $3.1 billion for 2025-2026. Premier Danielle Smith's mandate letter to Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams asked that he work toward keeping property taxes manageable, but the ministry's stance is that funding to municipalities is substantial and there is no need to change how the provincial property tax is collected.

Then what? The ABmunis convention in Calgary passed a resolution calling on the province to collect its own property tax. "When our residents in our town see their tax bill, they don't necessarily separate what the province is doing from what the town taxes are," said Rocky Mountain House Mayor Shane Boniface, who forwarded the resolution. ABmunis resolutions are non-binding, and a similar resolution had passed in 2020 to no success. Williams's office told CBC it's not planning any changes, noting that "education property taxes benefit all municipalities by ensuring students have access to quality education no matter where they live." Municipalities in the Edmonton metro region finalized their residential property tax increases toward the end of 2025, ranging from 0.73% in Sturgeon County to 6.9% in Edmonton.

What's next? On Dec. 18, the province announced it would update the police funding model for RCMP costs in rural and small municipalities starting with the 2026-2027 fiscal year. A news release notes that these municipalities are contributing 19% of RCMP costs right now, will contribute 22% in 2026-2027, and will eventually contribute 30% per year within the next five years. The 30% has been what small municipalities have been asked to contribute since 2020, but that was based on 2018 costs that have since risen. Before 2020, the Government of Alberta covered RCMP costs. ABmunis swiftly responded, expressing concerns about the timing, implementation, and rollout of the police funding model. "Many municipalities have just set their annual budgets for 2026," the Dec. 19 statement said. "When it comes to policing, an important principle is that our members have 'say with pay.' In this instance, the provincial government prioritized payment over governance." ABmunis said it will say more about the police funding model in the new year. Rural Municipalities of Alberta has also said it will share updates on its analysis of the funding model.

Hydrogen fuelling station closed less than one year after opening to government fanfare (April 1, 2025)

The original story: Alberta's first commercial hydrogen-refuelling station closed after less than a year, just as operator Nikola went bankrupt and its ex-CEO was pardoned for his fraud conviction by U.S. President Donald Trump. A press secretary for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs said Nikola could not provide adequate safety assurances to operate the station at the Blackjacks Roadhouse in Nisku. Yet Blackjacks owner Clarence Shields told Taproot he did not see the outcome as a failure. "(Nikola) left my site perfectly prepared for the future," he said. "We're starting to get interest from other parties (for hydrogen energy projects)."

Then what?: The City of Edmonton opened Alberta's first mobile hydrogen-fuelling station in June. Developed by Azolla Hydrogen, it is the first of two planned mobile stations from the Alberta Zero-Emissions Fleet Fuelling project, a multi-stakeholder initiative funded by $6.9 million from Emissions Reduction Alberta. It supplies municipal fleet vehicles in Edmonton, Strathcona County, and Sturgeon County. AZEFF partner Diesel Tech Industries recapped its various work on hydrogen fuel over the year, including shaping a hydrogen fuel funding framework and participating in the first Alberta Hydrogen Day. Plus, the Alberta Motor Transport Association shared its plans to bring a 700-bar hydrogen fuelling station to Alberta. Meanwhile, Hyroad Energy acquired many of Nikola's assets after the bankruptcy, primarily for use in California and Texas.

What's next? Hope appears to remain high that hydrogen — which is abundant in the Edmonton region and is central to many carbon-capture projects — will be a workable fuel. The Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB, which executed a reboot in early 2025, has launched a podcast to dig into "what's changed, what's working and what's next." The University of Alberta's new Centre for Hydrogen Innovation, Workforce Development and Outreach is continuing its research, most recently receiving more than $1 million over five years from Calgary's Energi Simulation to work on safe, sustainable underground storage of carbon dioxide or hydrogen. The Canadian Hydrogen Convention returns to Edmonton from April 21 to 23.

Economic developer helps companies move export sights off U.S. and onto Japan, Mexico, Middle East (March 11, 2025)

The original story: Edmonton Global worked with local companies to export to countries beyond the United States as tariff talk dominated conversations about the Canadian economy. "I definitely think that we've looked at the U.S. as a catchall, simply for logistical purposes," said Manisha Arora, the director of trade for Edmonton Global. "When we take a look at exporting outside of our borders, we look at what's the easiest and what's culturally the most similar for ease of business transactions." Arora pointed to Japan for food and beverage, and Edmonton Global brought food companies to FOODEX Japan in Tokyo. Arora also highlighted opportunities in Mexico and South America for agriculture, South Korea and Europe for energy, and the Middle East for life sciences.

Then what? Edmonton Global underwent a number of changes in 2025. Founding CEO Malcolm Bruce announced his retirement in March and was replaced by Daryn Edgar in October. Edgar returned to Edmonton after 18 years in the UK, where she built international relationships that she expected would benefit the Edmonton region. She is also facing a shrinking number of shareholders, as five municipalities in the Edmonton region finalized their exits from the economic development agency.

What's next? Edmonton Global, Calgary Economic Development, and the Government of Alberta will host the Alberta Life Sciences Mission to the Middle East from Feb. 6 to 16. Participants will visit Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, including participation in the World Health Expo.

Varme Energy brings in CEO from Norway for first-of-its-kind facility (Feb. 26, 2025)

The original story: Varme Energy Inc. imported its global CEO, Andreas Grav Karlsen, from Norway to Edmonton to complete its waste-to-energy, carbon-capturing facility in Strathcona County. Varme will burn waste that would otherwise go to the landfill and generate electricity, starting with 150,000 tonnes from the City of Edmonton. Karlsen helped launch Varme in 2022 after working in oil and gas for 10 years. He said his experience in different forms of energy leads him to believe Varme could be a supplier for customers with big electricity demands, like the hyperscale data centres for artificial intelligence that the provincial government wants to lure to Alberta.

Then what? Varme completed a front-end engineering design study for the waste-to-energy facility and received approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission in the first quarter of 2025. In November, the company signed a deal with Carbon Direct to broker carbon removal credits, which Alberta adjusted its policies for in January 2025.

What's next? Varme anticipated a final investment decision for the facility in 2025, but hasn't announced one yet. The company expects to begin construction in 2027 and be operational by 2028.

'Bittersweet' end of the EMRB opens door to 'next iteration' of regional partnership (Jan. 23, 2025)

The original story: The Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board wrapped up its operations on March 31 after the provincial government pulled funding from regional growth management boards in Edmonton and Calgary. The EMRB's role had been to ensure responsible growth for the region with binding planning documents such as the Regional Growth Plan.

Then what? Regional collaboration continued to evolve in 2025. Although the Edmonton Region Transit Service Commission never took flight, several regional transit systems have become somewhat integrated with the introduction of Arc cards, and transit riders in Beaumont, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, St. Albert, Strathcona County, and Spruce Grove could use credit or debit cards to pay their fares starting in December 2025. Meanwhile, Edmonton Global, the regional economic development agency, has seen its membership shrink, with some former shareholders casting their lot with Alberta's Industrial Heartland instead.

What's next? Mayors in the metro region remain dedicated to regional economic development rather than going their own way, Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack told Taproot in a year-end interview. "I think they're looking for a different way to do it, not whether they want to do it," Knack said, adding that he plans to make economic development and regional collaboration a priority. Meanwhile, Sturgeon County, which had clashed with the EMRB over regional growth plans, has launched a website to attract investment and serve local businesses.

Curious about the sequel to other regional stories Taproot has covered? Send us a note at hello@taprootedmonton.ca and we'll look into it.