The Pulse: Jan. 17, 2025

Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson says Blatchford hit several milestones in 2024, a year she previously told Taproot would be an "inflection point" to judge the project's success. The milestones include the opening of the NAIT/Blatchford Market LRT station, and lower prices now on offer to buyers thanks to the neighbourhood's first multi-family housing development.

"We're seeing new units continue to be built, and continue to be built at a lower price point," Stevenson told Taproot. "A big milestone was finally having a connection to the LRT. That's really opening up the transportation opportunities."

Ever since council approved a vision to lead an energy-focused redevelopment of Edmonton's former city airport in 2010, the project has drawn both praise and criticism. In April, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi suggested Blatchford is "not a huge success" during an audit presented to council, which detailed that just 84 homes were occupied at Blatchford.

The city has marked 2042 as when it expects Blatchford to house 30,000 residents within its 536 acres. To date, the city has invested at least $167 million, though Coun. Tim Cartmell has suggested the amount is $232 million.

Stevenson said Blatchford hit some benchmarks in 2024, pointing to the first multi-family development with three-storey townhomes by StreetSide, a company within the Qualico portfolio. Those homes go for as little as $369,998. Stevenson said this provides more accessible prices than were previously available in Blatchford. In 2022, reports noted the average townhouse price at Blatchford was $650,000, or around $200,000 more than the city-wide average for a home in 2022.

Stevenson also pointed to a Nov. 7 memo to council from Tom Lumsden, development manager for Blatchford. Lumsden's memo lists a combined 401 housing units either completed or being built at Blatchford, including 143 garage suites and secondary suites that are under construction or in the planning stage, since the city approved the Blatchford business case in 2014.

The original plan was to build 2,750 homes by 2022.

"At a high level, approximately 42% of the Blatchford site is either constructed, under construction, or in the planning-development stage," Stevenson said. "Thirty-three acres of land sold to NAIT, on the east side, have been substantially serviced. So it's now up to NAIT to build that out."

The land NAIT acquired will likely house its Advanced Skills Centre, a facility that is in the design phase, and student housing.

Lumsden's memo said Blatchford is growing at "a pace typical of other neighbourhoods in Edmonton — even though Blatchford is not a typical neighbourhood" and that a third-party report from late 2023 "found that the current pace of development was reasonable, with market acceptance improving."

• The Alberta government is investigating two of Edmonton city council's recent appointments to the Edmonton Police Commission: Dan Jones, a NorQuest College criminologist and former police officer, and Renée Vaugeois, executive director of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. The investigation comes after outgoing police Chief Dale McFee requested ministerial intervention, alleging that "dysfunction" between council, the commission, and the police service is negatively affecting safety, public trust, and policing. Hours after the Edmonton Police Service publicized news of its request, Jones resigned from the position. At its Jan. 16 meeting, the commission also elected Ben Henderson as chair, replacing John McDougall, who resigned after his move to Portugal.
• Several Alberta cities, including Edmonton, led Canada in housing starts in 2024, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data. In Edmonton, housing starts increased by 39%, from 13,184 in 2023 to 18,384 in 2024, compared to the Alberta average of 32% and the national average of just 2%. In an opinion piece for the Toronto Star, business columnist David Olive praised the City of Edmonton for its approach to housing, its "streamlined zoning regime," and for being the first Canadian city with a same-day permitting tool.
• The City of Edmonton says it is 97% toward meeting its three-year development target of 7,741 "missing middle" housing units, with most new units in developing neighbourhoods near Anthony Henday Drive. The target must be met by 2026 for the City to maintain its $175-million agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which defines "missing middle" as ground-oriented housing like garden suites, secondary suites, rowhouses, duplexes, fourplexes, and low-rise apartments. Edmonton's new Zoning Bylaw, which took effect at the beginning of 2024, promotes "gentle density" by permitting up to eight units on most lots, the City says.
• Last year, Alberta saw its highest net gains from interprovincial migration in more than 20 years, according to new Statistics Canada data. The Edmonton census metropolitan area recorded 13,893 arrivals from other provinces, and Calgary recorded 20,859, while Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal all saw net losses. Overall, the Edmonton area recorded 4.5% annual demographic growth in 2024, compared to 1.8% in 2019 and 3.1% in 2014.
• The City of Edmonton, in partnership with the Bissell Centre, C5 Hub, and the Edmonton Public Library, is offering residents free classes on securing rental housing, focused on things like tenant rights and responsibilities, communicating with landlords, and the application process. An informal Basic Course and an in-depth Certificate Course are both available. Taproot's Housing Complex series includes reflections from across Edmonton's housing ecosystem, along with explainers on housing through a municipal policy lens ahead of the 2025 October election.
• The City of Edmonton will invest an additional $480,000 per year in 2025 and 2026 into Chinatown through its Chinatown Vibrancy Fund. Launched in 2024, the fund aims to support the pillars of the City's Chinatown Strategy: safety and security, economic development, celebrating Chinatown as a destination, and enhancing built form and landmarks. Community groups and organizations can apply for funding by Feb. 28.
• CUPE Local 3550, which represents striking education support workers at Edmonton Public Schools, says the school board is hiring substitute teachers to cover the work normally done by the staff on strike. "The board is paying $230 per day per teacher, considerably more than the wage being asked for by support workers in the strike," union local president Mandy Lamoureux said in a release. "While the Alberta government tells support staff to be happy with poverty level wages, there's apparently enough money to cover extra teachers' salaries."
• Alberta Enterprise Corporation has invested $5 million into the Pender Technology Inflection Fund II from Pender Ventures, which focuses on health and life sciences, along with B2B information technology. Two-thirds of Alberta startups focus on health, life sciences, or B2B tech, said Alberta Enterprise Corporation CEO Kristina Williams. With its first fund, Pender Ventures invested early-stage capital in Edmonton-based DrugBank.
• Mark Carney announced his bid to become leader of the federal Liberal Party at a news conference at Laurier Heights Community League in Edmonton on Jan. 16, with a message focused on building the economy. Carney, who does not have a seat in the House of Commons, said he will decide where to run in the coming weeks.
• Chief Sheldon Sunshine of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation wrote an open letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressing "grave concern" with plans from O'Leary Ventures to build a $70-billion AI data centre near Grande Prairie. Sunshine called for more transparency around the project, which is in the Nation's traditional territory, noting environmental risks and the province's obligations under Treaty 8. The province told CBC News it is committed to consultations with First Nations at a later stage.
• The Edmonton Elks have released their complete 2025 schedule, which begins June 7 in Vancouver with a game against the B.C. Lions. The club says it enters its 76th season "with renewed optimism" after overhauling its leadership and hiring Mark Kilam as head coach.

On this day in 1975, one of Edmonton's most influential philanthropists was being honoured for contributions to the Citadel Theatre.

It isn't hyperbole to say Sandy Auld Mactaggart changed the shape of Edmonton.

Born to a wealthy family in Scotland, Mactaggart first came to Canada at 11 years old when his family evacuated the United Kingdom in the late 1930s due to fears of a war brewing in Europe. Mactaggart attended school near Peterborough, Ontario, before he moved to the United States for high school and eventually attended Harvard, where he studied architecture and business.

In 1952, Mactaggart and Jean de La Bruyere, his dormmate and business partner, moved to Edmonton, sensing opportunity in Alberta's still-new oil industry. The original plan was to open a restaurant. However, they instead combined their surnames and created a property development company called Maclab Enterprises. The business was slow initially but picked up as the '50s and '60s saw rapid growth in Edmonton's suburbs and exurbs.

The profits allowed Mactaggart to indulge in his passions for art, adventure, and academics. Mactaggart was a dedicated patron of the arts, offering both his time and fortune to build Edmonton's cultural institutions. He was one of the co-founders of the Citadel Theatre, and one of the driving forces behind the Edmonton Art Gallery. Mactaggart and his wife, Cécile, also built one of the most extensive foreign collections of Chinese art and clothing. The collection, valued at more than $37 million, was eventually donated to the University of Alberta.

Mactaggart sought adventure. His wealth allowed him to indulge in racing cars, sailing, and aviation. According to some, he was one of the first hot-air balloonists in the country, back when you couldn't legally bring them into Canada. Instead, Mactaggart secretly assembled his own balloon, buying the parts piecemeal to bypass the regulations. His first flight ended when he had to leap from the balloon to avoid a fiery death when it hit a power line. And no, that didn't stop him from ballooning again.

Mactaggart was also a tireless advocate for universities and spoke regularly about how they were a vital part of a city's character. Over the decades, the Mactaggarts donated around $60 million to the University of Alberta and worked to secure millions more in additional donations and government funding. He served on the university's board of governors for a decade in the '80s and became its chancellor from 1990 to 1994, where he worked to build stronger ties and communication between the university and community leaders.

The Mactaggart's also made two large gifts of land to the university. The first was 40 hectares in Whitemud Creek, which is now the Mactaggart Nature Sanctuary. The second was in 2010, when they donated their $23 million mansion before leaving Edmonton.

Sandy Mactaggart passed away in 2017, having returned to his native Scotland in his final year. His time in Edmonton remains apparent in many ways: The southside neighbourhood that bears his name, the institutions he helped build, and the donations he made to the city's largest university. A few years ago, the Mactaggarts' donated mansion narrowly escaped demolition after it was deemed too expensive for the U of A to maintain. The fate of the home is still uncertain, but there was a proposal floated last fall to turn it into a Nordic spa.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse of @VintageEdmonton.

Here are some events happening this weekend in the Edmonton area.

• Jan. 17: University of Lethbridge Pronghorns vs. MacEwan Griffins starting at 5pm at Dr. David W. Atkinson Gymnasium
• Jan. 17: University of British Columbia Okanagan vs. University of Alberta Pandas starting at 6pm at Saville Community Sports Centre
• Jan. 17-18: Double Bill: basin/Urge at Mile Zero Dance
• Jan. 17-19: RiverCity Bluegrass Festival at Edmonton Inn
• Jan. 18: Butterfly Journey Opening at TELUS World of Science - Edmonton
• Jan. 18: The M Word: Meeting, Marriage, Motherhood, Menopause and More starting at 12:30pm at Convocation Hall
• Jan. 18: Wild Game Dinner starting at 5:30pm at Park Pentecostal Church
• Jan. 18: The Winter Gala starting at 7:30pm at Jubilee Auditorium
• Jan. 18-19: Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival
• Jan. 19: Robert Burns Celebration starting at 12pm at Rutherford House
• Jan. 19: DRAG Me To Happy Hour starting at 4:30pm at Cask and Barrel
• Jan. 19: awakening starting at 7:30pm at All Saints Anglican Cathedral

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Jan. 25: Big Little Lions at Parkview Community Hall
• Jan. 28: Thirty Day Startup at Pub 1905
• Jan. 28: The History of Heritage in Edmonton at Bison Lodge

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.