The Pulse: March 14, 2025

Edmonton's population grew even more than expected in 2024, new numbers from the provincial government show.

Last year at this time, the City of Edmonton projected the population would increase by 3.6% in 2024. The new provincial numbers show, however, that Edmonton's population increased by 5.76% in 2024, an increase of 65,000 people, bringing the city's total number of residents to about 1,185,000.

One year ago, Ward Nakota Isga Coun. Andrew Knack warned that Edmonton wasn't ready for the projected influx of new people. "Well, guess what? We're still not ready, and, I mean, that shouldn't shock anyone," Knack told Taproot in a recent interview. "Obviously, the challenging or even somewhat terrifying point of this is, how do you keep up with that?"

New residents need homes, schools, services, and transportation options. Edmonton's City Plan, approved in 2020, is meant to chart how the city grows toward a population of two million people. The plan aims to see 50% of new housing units added through infill and to add 600,000 residents in neighbourhoods generally within the boundary of Anthony Henday Drive, instead of them being added predominantly outside of it through continued sprawl development. The progress on City Plan goals is tracked on the Open Performance dashboard.

In 2024, developers in the Edmonton region started construction on more than 18,000 units of housing, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data, a 39% increase over 2023. Apartment starts saw a particularly large increase of 49% from 2023. The city is ahead of schedule in meeting its goals of building missing middle housing, a January news release said.

Knack, who is not running for reelection in October's city election, said the proportion of new housing that is created through infill is important to guard against potential property tax increases. He added that while he understands why people can be hesitant about infill development in their neighbourhoods, he thinks some who may have previously objected to it have now changed their tune. "I think there are a lot of people who are just realizing now that in order to accomplish fiscal sustainability and environmental sustainability, we have to change, and that is hard, and it's causing some challenges," Knack said.

• The City of Edmonton activated its extreme weather response on March 13, with cold temperatures expected across the region into the weekend. City facilities will be open to anyone needing respite, and day services are available at some shelters. People who see someone in distress outside should call 211 and ask for the Crisis Diversion Team.
• Civic Service Union 52, which represents Edmonton Public Library staff and other municipal workers, issued a statement saying library management "directed staff" to remove Pride flags in public areas in the workplace. Union president Bryce Jowett told Postmedia he has heard public complaints about flags being removed at the Woodcroft branch in Westmount and the Shelley Milner Children's Library inside the Stanley A. Milner Library. In response, EPL denied there was a "directive" to remove Pride flags. In a letter to city council, CEO Pilar Martinez wrote that "symbols like these to demonstrate our commitment to inclusion may unintentionally exclude others." Pride flags have been increasingly under threat in Alberta, where two towns introduced "neutrality bylaws" banning Pride symbols from public property.
• Ward sipiwiyiniwak Coun. Sarah Hamilton announced she will not seek reelection in Edmonton's October 2025 election. First elected in 2017, Hamilton has served two terms on council and says she wants to focus on family. In a statement, Hamilton said the "best way for me to serve my community is no longer in council chambers," adding her decision was reinforced by the "divisive governance culture of the last four years." Two candidates have said they would run in Ward sipiwiyiniwak, according to commentator Troy Pavlek's list of people running for local office.
• Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton CEO Mary Jane James wrote an op-ed addressing the organization's financial situation after it paused intakes for some services in the face of provincial funding cuts. James said that SACE's core funding was maintained, but a funding agreement with Alberta Health Services was cut, and the province didn't renew a $1.8-million increase over two years that it committed to the centre to address an 18-month waiting list. The organization is restructuring its funding model to be more self-sustaining, but the transition requires immediate investment from government and community partners, James wrote.
• The Alberta government said that $2 million is earmarked in the 2025 provincial budget to build two towers, one on the Misericordia Hospital grounds and one at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, which would together add 700 acute care beds in Edmonton. In its 2024 budget, the UCP government paused plans to build a long-awaited hospital in south Edmonton, but Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the proposed towers are cheaper and quicker to build. A timeline for their construction is not yet available.
• Alberta Health Services has taken steps to temporarily increase hospital capacity in Edmonton, including using mass casualty stretchers, creating overcapacity spaces, and discharging patients more quickly, CBC reported. According to an internal email, EMS volumes are consistent, but the ability to move patients through the system is creating "higher-than-normal" demand on paramedics. Meanwhile, a leaked memo revealed the province wants to remove more than 800 billing codes in an effort to cut what it pays Alberta doctors by $400 million.
• Postmedia gathered perspectives from promoters and music venue operators on the $250-million event park near Rogers Place included in a proposed deal between the City of Edmonton, the Alberta government, and OEG Sports and Entertainment. Some worry the local concert scene would be negatively affected by a "taxpayer-funded monopoly" controlled by OEG and its partner Live Nation, a U.S. company that merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 and promotes nearly every concert at Rogers Place, Postmedia reported. Tim Shipton with OEG said attracting more people downtown would be good for all businesses, and the event park wouldn't have an exclusivity deal with Live Nation.
• For the second consecutive year, the Canadian Home Builders Association ranked Edmonton the number one major city in Canada for facilitating the supply of affordable housing. In its profile of Edmonton for its 2024 Municipal Benchmarking Study, the association says Edmonton tops the list for having faster timelines and good "planning features," with only moderately high municipal fees.
• Some Rossdale residents are raising concerns about a proposed 17-storey development that would incorporate the old Rossdale Brewery. While architect Gene Dub argues the project will bring needed commercial spaces and has made adjustments to address concerns, some local residents fear it doesn't fit the neighborhood's character and could be an eyesore. Flood mitigation, proximity to the river, and historical preservation remain key issues for the project's opponents. The city held a public engagement session, and residents have until March 16 to submit feedback before city council reviews the proposal this spring.
• In an article for Drug Data Decoded, writer Euan Thomson examined EMS dispatches and drug poisonings in Edmonton, which recorded its highest-ever EMS dispatch rate for opioid-related events in the last week of February. Thomson also criticized the Alberta government's decision to delay the release of a 2020 medical examiner review until 2025, which Thomson wrote clarifies "several mortality patterns on which Alberta government policy had direct bearing."
• Breathe Outdoors, formerly known as Campers Village, said it will close its three stores in Alberta because of economic pressure and the growing popularity of online shopping. The business first opened in Edmonton in 1963. The south Edmonton location will close April 30, and the west Edmonton location on June 30.
• Explore Edmonton announced that Edmonton was selected to host the 2026 International Indigenous Tourism Conference, which it says will support Indigenous tourism operators, create growth opportunities, and benefit the region. More details on the conference are forthcoming, Explore Edmonton said.
• Health Minister Adriana LaGrange claims former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos was ineffective in implementing health system changes and made misleading allegations to distract from her performance. The claims were made in a statement of defence LaGrange filed in response to Mentzelopoulos's $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit, which says she was fired for investigating private surgical contracts linked to government officials. The province asserts she delayed contract negotiations and investigations, leading to her dismissal, while Mentzelopoulos alleges she was unfairly targeted. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
• Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is trying to block a subpoena for him to testify in the John Doe v. the Chicago Blackhawks civil case, which is the second case to allege he and other Blackhawks executives failed to act properly amid sexual abuse allegations in 2010 and 2011. The first case, based on allegations by Kyle Beach, was settled in 2021.
• The Edmonton Elks signed linebacker and kicker Jonathan Giustini, who was released from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Giustini was born in Calgary and previously played on the University of Alberta Golden Bears football team under head coach Chris Morris, who was hired as Elks president in 2024.

On this day in 1945, the town of Beverly was considering whether to join Edmonton.

European settlers first moved to the area northeast of Edmonton in the early 1880s, drawn by the promise of good soil and cheap land, perfect for farming. But it was what lay beneath that soil that would soon shape Beverly's history.

There were coal deposits throughout the river valley, but the largest was the Clover Bar seam, which ran right underneath Beverly, and produced an estimated 95% of the area's coal. Tiny coal mining operations, like William Humberstone's first mine, started popping up.

People began calling the growing settlement Beverly around 1904. In 1907, the Grand Trunk Railway built the Clover Bar bridge across the river, connecting the area's coal industry to the rail network, which encouraged even more mining.

The tiny hamlet was growing rapidly. In 1913, Beverly was incorporated as a village, and just a year later, it became a full-fledged town. That ascension led to the construction of Beverly's first official building, a town hall designed by Allen Merrick Jeffers, who also designed Alberta's Legislature Building.

The two-storey brick building served not only as a town hall but also as a fire station, police station, elementary school, and dance hall. Emily Murphy, one of the Famous Five, worked out of the building in her role as justice of the peace.

The Great Depression hit Beverly hard. By the late 1930s the town was on the brink of bankruptcy. The Alberta government appointed an administrator to oversee the town and this oversight remained for more than a decade.

The 1950s and '60s saw a significant shift in the town's direction. Coal was no longer in high demand. Housing was. The boom that followed the end of the Second World War, combined with Beverly's lower land prices, made the community an attractive place to live that was close to the city. Beverly's population expanded. In 1951, the town had 2,150 residents; a decade later, the population had more than quadrupled. That growth brought expenses for infrastructure and services, which the town struggled to cover. Debt from previous decades only made the situation more difficult.

In 1961, Beverly residents voted in a referendum on whether to amalgamate with Edmonton. More than 60% of those who voted supported the idea. On Dec. 30 of that year, Beverly officially became part of the city. What was once the town of Beverly is now split into five neighbourhoods: Beverly Heights, Abbottsfield, Beacon Heights, Rundle Heights, and Bergman.

Coal mining played a significant role in shaping the early years of both Beverly and Edmonton. While it may not have the prominence it once had, coal remains a major issue in Alberta. Earlier this year, the provincial government lifted its moratorium on new coal mine development in the eastern Rocky Mountains, sparking controversy and protests.

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

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

• March 14: Meet the City Manager: A Conversation with Eddie Robar starting at 9am at World Trade Centre
• March 14: Advanced Technology PI Day starting at 2pm at Edmonton Research Park
• March 14-16: NOA Artwalk and Dino Love Art Show at Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre
• March 15: Mobile Device Filmmaking Workshop starting at 10am at The King's University
• March 15: Seedy Saturday and Spring Craft Market starting at 10am at Millhurst Community Hall
• March 15: Workshops by Request: Acting and Character Analysis Workshop with Patricia Darbasie starting at 10am at Holy Trinity Anglican Church
• March 15: Newcomer Entrepreneur Forum starting at 1pm at Clareview Community Recreation Centre
• March 16: Women's Health Feminar starting at 3pm at RG Spa and Wellness
• March 16: Learn To Flirt - Cake Decorating starting at 3pm at Sea Change Brewing
• March 16: A Gathering for Edmonton: Impact That Stays Close to Home starting at 5:30pm at ARCA Banquet Facility
• March 16: Moonlight Cocktail Club - Not Quite Vodka starting at 7pm at Next of Kin

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 21: Tariff Talks Breakfast at Leduc County Business and Entrepreneur Centre
• March 26: Noodle Mania Fest
• March 27: Connections 2025 at Stantec Tower Ice District

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