The Pulse: Sept. 8, 2025

Council is scheduled to discuss increased regulations for Airbnbs and other short-term rentals, enhanced electrical infrastructure to support infill downtown, and the creation of a master plan for a new suburb.

There is a community and public services committee meeting scheduled for Sept. 8, an urban planning committee meeting scheduled for Sept. 9, and an executive committee meeting scheduled for Sept. 10.

Here are key items on this week's agenda:

• Administration said it recommends council not to pursue creating additional regulations for short-term rentals like Airbnbs. It said new rules would not be enforceable in practice, could expose the city to legal risk, and that there is no evidence that additional regulation would lead to positive outcomes. Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz had introduced a motion asking administration to prepare bylaw amendments to more stringently regulate short-term rentals, including requiring that the owner remain on the premises while operating the business. Janz said short-term rentals, offered through platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO, can become nuisance properties and constrain the supply of long-term rental housing, driving up rents. In a report scheduled to be presented to city council's urban planning committee on Sept. 9, administration said new regulations aren't expected to address these issues. Short-term rentals result in a low volume of noise complaints, according to municipal enforcement data. Additionally, rental owners told the city that if they were forced to remain on the premises, they would either sell the property or not comply with the bylaw. Administration said council could choose to amend the city's business licence bylaw to require short-term rental platforms to obtain a business licence, or implement a "three strikes rule" where the city could suspend a host's business licence after three serious disturbances.
• Seven residential development projects in downtown Edmonton will require upgrades to city infrastructure, and administration recommends using the Housing Accelerator Fund's infill infrastructure budget to fund the contracted upgrade work. The seven developments are expected to include 1,300 new units of housing. As EPCOR is the only vendor authorized to design, construct, or energize electrical infrastructure, administration is requesting a non-competitive procurement process for the upgrades, and needs council to approve the single-source agreement. Concil's executive committee will review the agreement on Sept. 10, and if it approves, the agreement will be sent to council for final approval.
• Councillors at an urban planning committee meeting on Sept. 9 will be asked to allow administration to create a plan for a new suburb south of Anthony Henday Drive. Administration requires council approval to begin planning new neighbourhoods. The urban planning committee will be asked to recommend that city council authorize administration to create a statutory plan for Snowberry, a neighbourhood in Decoteau in southeast Edmonton.
• Council's executive committee is scheduled to review changes to the business improvement areas policy. A report detailing the proposed new policy said the changes will clarify the roles, responsibilities, and requirements of administration, BIAs, and council. If the executive committee recommends the changes, council will vote on them at a future meeting.
• Administration has prepared a new financial sustainability framework that, if approved, will guide the budget aspect of the city's strategic plan. In the proposed framework, the city would endeavour to be a judicious steward of all municipal assets, maintain a structurally balanced budget, have the financial capacity to meet its objectives, make decisions that do not compromise the city's future financial health, and conduct day-to-day service in alignment with long-term strategic goals. Council's executive committee is set to review the framework. If approved, it will be sent to council for final approval. After that, administration will develop a financial sustainability plan for council's approval.
• Administration said it intends to list for sale the land that Hangar 11 occupied before it was destroyed by fire in April 2024. Days before the fire, the city had transferred ownership of the historic resource to a new owner, who intended to repurpose it as a $62.5-million mixed-use development. After the building was destroyed, however, the owner determined a faithful reconstruction was not possible, and administration has initiated the process to buy back the land at the value it sold it to the developer, as laid out in the sales agreement. Administration will ask executive committee to recommend to council that it remove the historic designation from the land to facilitate the agreement.

Meetings stream live on YouTube on the Chamber channel and River Valley Room channel.

Also: What issues do you care about as you consider who to vote for in the 2025 municipal election, and why? The 2025 municipal elections are approaching. Let us know what matters, and read more about what we plan to do with what we gather.

• The Kaleido Family Arts Festival concluded its 20th year on Sept. 7, with about 800 artists from across the province participating. Festival organizer Christy Morin said this year's event felt like a return to pre-pandemic times. "It seems like our visitors are coming back, our artists are coming back … and we are just so excited," she said. The Strathearn Art Walk, which also wrapped up on the weekend, had expected about 30,000 people to attend.
• The Magpie Parade, organized by Mile Zero Dance to launch its 40th season, took place on Sunday with a dancing musical procession through Old Strathcona. More than 40,000 people voted earlier this year to make the magpie Edmonton's official bird.
• St. Albert city council has unanimously approved renaming St. Anne Promenade to Veterans Way, a change scheduled to take effect by Nov. 11 in honour of local veterans. Coun. Mike Killick brought the motion forward at the request of the St. Albert Legion, and it was passed outside the city's usual renaming policy to allow a quicker, simpler process. While some councillors argued for public consultation, supporters, including Mayor Cathy Heron, suggested the change was widely supported.
• The Royal Commonwealth Society of Edmonton planted a bur oak tree in Griesbach on Sept. 7 to commemorate King Charles III's coronation. "It's planted there for sustainability to recognize his reign as the stewardship of the Commonwealth," Ian Havin, the society's president, said. "It will last maybe 400 years, it will grow 15 to 30 metres in height, and it's a testament to his strength and resilience in the world today."
• CBC Radio named Tara McCarthy the new host of its Edmonton AM show, effective Sept. 5. McCarthy joined CBC Edmonton in early 2019 and has frequently filled in as host. She described the role as a "dream come true," emphasising her love for Edmonton.
• Alberta parents are bracing for a potential teachers' strike or lockout across the province, as contract talks between the Alberta Teachers' Association and the provincial government broke down last week. ATA president Jason Schilling says teachers are increasingly frustrated by the extra work required to implement new policies, including removing books from classrooms.
• Alberta is experiencing its highest unemployment rate since August 2017, excluding pandemic peaks, with youth particularly affected. Nearly one in four returning students did not find a job this summer, according to new Statistics Canada data. Alberta's unemployment rate rose to 8.4% in August.

The co-hosts of Episode 322 of Speaking Municipally explored a platform from a mayoral hopeful aimed at infrastructure, the possible struggles that incumbents face in the coming October election, and the city's unclear communication about its spray parks. Here's a quick snapshot.

1. Mayoral candidates drop platform ideas

Coun. Tim Cartmell, who's running for mayor in 2025, has announced an infrastructure platform. It includes calling for the city to create a downtown infrastructure coordinator to prevent overlapping closures of bridges or other infrastructure and communicate with the public. Co-host Mack Male pointed out that many misunderstood the recent closures of downtown bridges and that overlapping construction projects are approved years in advance. Still, Male added, a downtown infrastructure coordinator makes sense.

Co-host Stephanie Swensrude agreed, and said such a coordinator could have prevented the one-block closure of the road, bike lane, and sidewalk on 83 Avenue, just east of the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, during (but not before or after) the festival's run.

"It was confusing, it was hectic, and it was so annoying," Swensrude said. "What does this show to all the people visiting Edmonton from outside of Edmonton, but also the people coming from other parts of the city into the Strathcona neighbourhood? Every time I walked through there, I was so angry because (I don't understand why the city) couldn't have coordinated to have EPCOR do this 10 days later."

Two other mayoral candidates shared platform updates on Sept. 4. Mayoral hopeful Coun. Andrew Knack released a plan to increase street safety with infrastructure improvements and traffic safety teams to rein in excessive vehicle noise, among other things. Michael Walters, meanwhile, released a plan to expand recreation access for youth by funding more programs, increasing access to low-cost transit, and more.

2. Incumbents unpopular?

Postmedia examined the sentiment that Edmonton voters are frustrated by the current council and may be less likely to vote for incumbents than in the past. The story reports commentary from candidates Anand Pye, Mark Hillman, Cartmell, Knack, and Walters, as well Coun. Sarah Hamilton, who is not seeking reelection. All but Knack explicitly said they believe voters are dissatisfied with the current council. The story also draws on a Leger poll that found 58% of respondents felt Edmonton is on the wrong track, and that councillors Knack and Cartmell are in the lead and second place for mayor, respectively. But, Male pointed out, the poll said 48% of voters are undecided, and the survey took place from Aug. 22 to 25.

"People are on holidays or enjoying their summer at the Fringe and not thinking about the election yet," he said. "Maybe if (Leger does) the same thing in three or four weeks, it will be quite a different result."

3. The great YEG spray park mystery

Most Edmonton spray parks were still open on Sept. 5, after most outdoor pools had closed for the season. Male noted that the city has not communicated when it plans to close its spray parks, even though it does for pools. Cartmell posted on his mayoral Instagram account that he asked the city manager to keep spray parks open a while longer, which Male said is not the way Edmontonians deserve to find out about infrastructure status.

"This the wrong way to run a city," he said. "A councillor needs to call administration and then post on Instagram about it? There's something broken … I don't love this approach to communicating the state of our infrastructure."

The Sept. 5 episode also includes discussion of public safety, new housing projects, the city's plan to take control of Fort Edmonton Park, and Taproot's election project. Listening and subscription options are all right here.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Art Hive starting at 12pm at Boyle Street Plaza
• Wild Mushroom Walks starting at 2pm at University of Alberta Botanic Garden
• Orchards Farmers' Market starting 4pm at 4059 Orchards Drive SW
• Hairy Situation: A Comedy Show by ALOK starting 7pm at Myer Horowitz Theatre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Sept. 13: Rick Mercer's Stand-up for Canada Comedy Tour at Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
• Sept. 13-14: Edmonton Mural Fest Wrap Party, Wet Paint 2025 at Freemasons Hall of Edmonton
• Sept. 16: Book launch: The Idea of an Entire Life at Magpie Books

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

Test your crossword prowess and deploy a little of your Edmonton knowledge. Complete the puzzle.

You can find events like the one in 1-Across in the Taproot Edmonton Calendar.