The Pulse: April 4, 2025

The provincial government's effort to attract $100 billion in investment in hyperscale data centres in just five years would worsen Alberta's already outsized emissions from electricity production and could not be accommodated by the current public grid, a Pembina Institute researcher said.

"If all of those data centers go forward, and I am not suggesting that they do … that would put (our carbon emissions from electricity) higher than when we were running our electricity system off (of) mostly coal," Will Noel, a senior analyst for Pembina's electricity team, told Taproot.

Pembina data estimates that Canada emits 58 megatons of carbon each year creating electricity, Noel said. Alberta contributes 33 of those megatons, or more than half. Other provinces produce more electricity, he said, but reduce their carbon footprints by employing nuclear and hydro dams to create it. He said Alberta is comparatively "dirty" when it comes to electricity generation.

"Alberta only accounts for about 10% of the electricity generated in the country (in 2022), but about half of the emissions from electricity," Noel said.

Brent Jensen, the senior director of business development for Edmonton Global, said the province's push for data centres might be motivated by the fact we have "stranded" natural gas resources.

"We've had an inability to move that (natural gas) to market," Jensen told Taproot. "We've always had an abundance of natural gas. I think this is probably where the province is headed with, 'How do we utilize our natural gas for further investment into the region?' Of course, we're doing it on hydrogen … This is just another use-case on the utilization of natural gas for power generation."

Alberta's emissions from generating electricity, including burning natural gas to generate it, are at odds with companies like Microsoft and Amazon, which need hyperscale data centres but also need to offset the pollution they create, Noel said.

"A lot of these companies have (environmental, social, and governance) goals, and they're looking to reduce their emissions," Noel said. "If they were to supply all of their data with gas, I think that would go quite counter to that … I think there's a tension there."

• The intersection of Stony Plain Road and 124 Street will close completely for construction on the Valley Line West LRT beginning April 22. The closure is expected to last for approximately four weeks.
• The City of Edmonton's annual spring waste collection schedule begins April 15 for curbside collection, with green food scraps carts collected weekly and black garbage carts every two weeks. Between April 21 and June 16, the City will hold yard waste collection days, with each residence receiving two Monday pickups. Edmonton residents can also drop off waste at Eco Stations or at Big Bin Events, which begin May 3.
• Alberta's new extended producer responsibility program has shifted the financial responsibility of recycling from municipalities to producers as of this week. The City of Edmonton anticipates savings of $24 million this year, resulting in reduced waste utility rates for single-family homes by about $5 per month. Strathcona County will now be able to recycle more types of plastic. The program, managed by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority, aims to standardize recycling and reduce landfill waste, and will expand in October 2026 to include remote and Indigenous communities currently without recycling systems.
• The Edmonton Police Service says dozens of Edmonton-area residents, many of whom were newcomers, were victims of a "complex pyramid scheme" orchestrated by a Chinese crime group. From August 2021 to May 2022, 30 local victims reported losses of more than $84,000 after scammers contacted them on social media about a fake remote job and investment opportunity involving "completing Amazon orders" on a platform called Sharegain. The victims were encouraged to recruit others to Sharegain to generate greater investment returns. Police charged three people with fraud over $5,000.
• Albertans return more beverage containers to bottle depots than residents of other provinces, according to a study by the Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance. The study examined recycling rates across Canada and found that Alberta's return rate for beverage containers is significantly higher than the national average.
• Edmonton Public Schools has released its 2024 to 2025 class size report, noting stable class sizes across its divisions amid rapid enrolment growth. While the opening of Elder Dr. Francis Whiskeyjack School may have impacted high school class sizes, junior high schools reported some of the largest classes, with one reaching 56 students. Julie Kusiek, school board chair, called for a more nuanced approach to class size reporting to reflect the district's evolving landscape and increasing classroom complexity.
• According to a benchmarking study, Edmonton approves building applications eight times faster than Toronto due to a simplified planning framework, less restrictive zoning, and the use of automation and AI. In 2024, Edmonton's approval times averaged three months, compared to Toronto's 25 months. As a result, Edmonton received $17.4 million in Housing Accelerator Fund bonus funding, while Toronto did not qualify. Kalen Anderson, CEO of BILD Edmonton Metro, attributes Edmonton's success to a "barn raising culture" focused on continuous improvement.
• With the federal election approaching, housing affordability is a major concern for Edmonton university students. The high cost of rent, utilities, and other expenses makes it difficult for students to afford suitable housing while pursuing their education.
• Tenants at the Annamoe Mansion in central Edmonton are facing rent increases of up to 200% as of today. Residents of the historic building on Victoria Promenade say that their rents are being raised from $1,000 to $3,000 per month.
• Northernmost, an Edmonton-based medical device company, announced the closing of an oversubscribed seed financing round at $2.7 million. The funding will support the development of its NoMo Kidney Pump, a next-generation perfusion machine, which is designed to modernize donor kidney preservation and transport. CEO Ron Mills said the company is eager to showcase NoMo at upcoming conferences.
• The United Nurses of Alberta and the province reached a four-year agreement that will see more than 30,000 nurses receive pay increases of about 20% by 2028. The agreement, announced April 3, includes job security and staffing level assurances as Alberta overhauls its healthcare system.
• A 2024 Alberta Health Services staff survey revealed increasing feelings of being disregarded and disengaged among employees. The survey, which was obtained by Postmedia through a freedom of information request, showed a drop in response rates, particularly among medical staff. The report described medical staff as feeling "uncertain, unheard, and unrepresented." Staff expressed concerns about the value of their opinions, job satisfaction, and confidence in leadership. The health authority said it is discussing the results internally and implementing a staff engagement strategy.

On this day in 1931, R.C. Wallace, the University of Alberta's second president, was meeting with graduating students at the Hotel Macdonald.

When Wallace arrived in Edmonton in 1928, he had already led a storied life. After receiving his doctorate in geology in his native Scotland, Wallace moved to Canada in 1912 to lead the University of Manitoba's new department of geology. In that role, he spent 15 years mapping out the mineral resources of northern Canada.

Wallace was invited to Edmonton to become the president of the U of A. He took over from the institution's first president, Henry Marshall Tory, who had led since 1908. But Wallace didn't have long to adjust before he faced a crisis. In 1929, North American stock markets crashed, setting the stage for the Great Depression. The economic decline was a serious threat to the still-young university, which had just completed its first round of expansion at large expense. Wallace implemented drastic measures, including heavy salary cuts. While painful, the measures enabled the U of A to avoid shutting down any of its departments.

The university saw major changes during Wallace's tenure. Its nursing program, for example, became degree-granting and no longer required students to travel to other provinces to become fully credentialed. It was also able to weather the 1930s. But not all of Wallace's legacy is looked upon favourably. He was a vocal supporter of Alberta's eugenics movement, once stating his desire "to make eugenics not only a scientific philosophy but in very truth a religion." Wallace did more than just lend his support. The U of A Senate had a hand in picking members for the Alberta Eugenics Board, which was organized to implement Alberta's imposed sterilization legislation.

After eight years at the helm of the U of A, Wallace left Edmonton to lead Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, through a difficult time. Though his time in Edmonton was short, Wallace proved a popular and influential administrator. The U of A's student newspaper notes that a large crowd of students, professors and others gathered at the train station to see the Wallace family off in 1936.

Wallace's leadership allowed the U of A to survive the financial turmoil of the 1930s. While the institution is much different today, it is again on the edge of another tumultuous time. The U of A, along with other post-secondary institutions in Canada, faces the possibility of a recession, and the impact of reduced grants, government funding. It has recently implemented a hiring freeze.

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.

• April 4: Euphoria (Gallery Unveiling) starting at 7pm at Felice Cafe
• April 4: KinSpeak: A Performance in the Voices of our Non-Human Kin starting at 7pm at Night of Artists Gallery
• April 4: Ndidi Onukwulu starting at 7:30pm at St. Basil's Cultural Centre
• April 4-5: Connections//Collisions Cabaret at Mile Zero Dance
• April 5: Beginner Caribou Tufting Saturday One Day Class starting at 10am at Devon
• April 5: Stony Plain Seed Saturday and Spring Market starting at 10am at Red Brick Common
• April 5: Newcomer Volunteer Mixer starting at 1pm at Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts
• April 5: Celebration of Poetry starting at 2pm at Strathcona Library
• April 5: I Love Uniform Because: A Fundraiser for Uniform Theatre starting at 7:30pm at ArtsHub Ortona
• April 6: Elinor Florence Book Launch starting at 2pm at Audreys Books
• April 6: Soul Speak starting at 8:15pm at Grindstone Theatre
• Until April 6: Canadian Pride Curling Championships at Granite Curling Club

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• April 9: Beyond The Status Quo Summit at Edmonton Convention Centre
• April 12: Baisakhi Celebration - The First Ever Indian Festival in St. Albert at St. Albert Public Library (downtown)
• April 16: Story Slam at 9910

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