The Pulse: Sept. 22, 2025

As Alberta Innovates explores new ways to help businesses grow after the end of its accelerator program, one venture capitalist said such accelerators do not influence his firm's investments, anyway.

"(Accelerators don't offer) a formula that anybody can just look at and go, 'OK, now I can scale, right?'" Arden Tse, an investment manager at Yaletown Partners and board member at Edmonton Unlimited, told Taproot. "There has to be an understanding of a company's specific needs at that point."

The Alberta Scaleup Growth and Accelerator Program by Alberta Innovates (better known as Scaleup GAP) concluded a three-year pilot in August. Alberta Innovates supported Alberta Accelerator by 500, Plug and Play Alberta, Thrive Canada Accelerator, Alberta Catalyzer, and the Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator. These programs paired tech companies with mentors for education. Lawtiq is among the notable Scaleup GAP graduates.

When it launched Scaleup GAP in 2021, Alberta Innovates said the programs would catalyze investment. A 2023 report suggested the accelerators had drawn nearly $150 million in investment.

In 2024, Alberta Innovates fired its former CEO, Laura Kilcrease. It then faced scrutiny for budget cuts in May. Its new CEO, Michael Mahon, then described the organization's new direction during a podcast interview in September.

Karen Garth, issues communications manager with Alberta Innovates, told Taproot in early September that changes were coming. "We are taking what we have learned from each of (the accelerators in the Scaleup GAP pilot) to develop new scaleup and growth programming that will provide the best support for Alberta companies, and aligns with our new strategic direction," Garth said. "That planning is still underway." Garth said in a subsequent email that the organization does not yet have specific updates on scaleup programming.

Accelerators, a staple in the tech world, have come under increasing scrutiny. Stéphane Nasser, with OpenVC, a database aimed at startup founders looking for investment, has recently suggested that accelerators are "worthless," and that companies should rethink their value entirely. Nasser wrote that while accelerators have some benefits, they can also be "riddled with bad actors," including those who want to sell services.

In the Edmonton region, accelerators were linked with some success. Beyond Lawtiq, accelerator grads like Kid-Drop and Wyvern have found success from Alberta Innovates and from Y Combinator, respectively.

Both Kid-Drop and Wyvern's successes happened in the very early 2020s. Tse said the ecosystem has since changed, especially after investments began to decline in 2023.

"Nobody's really sure how to value an AI company, and how that's going to change the landscape (is yet unknown)," Tse said. "There's been so much volatility due to tariffs and the uncertainty with the U.S. … It's the hangover from 2023 that we're all still paying for. In 2022 and 2023, the post-COVID era when money was loose, everybody was doing deals. Valuations were sky-high, right before all the interest rates started climbing."

• The Edmonton Police Commission selected Warren Driechel as the new chief of the Edmonton Police Service on Sept. 19. Driechel, who joined EPS in 1997 and was serving as an interim chief since February, was selected after a nationwide search and public engagement process to lead the force. Driechel will lead approximately 2,000 sworn officers and 1,000 professional staff, tasked with addressing social disorder and building trust with marginalized communities.
• The carfentanil crisis has escalated in Edmonton, prompting experts like Rob Tanguay of Recovery Alberta and Elaine Hyshka of the University of Alberta to press for new approaches. Coroner reports show that of the 338 opioid-related deaths reviewed in 2025 so far, carfentanil was present in 68% of cases and fentanyl in 93%. The Alberta government is concerned about the surge in Edmonton deaths, acknowledging a potential carfentanil lab near the city.
• Edmonton mayoral candidate Tim Cartmell says his Better Edmonton party will be put on hold after the Oct. 20 election, with its branding and infrastructure shelved while he waits to see how the province handles municipal parties. Cartmell said the group has been useful for fundraising and voter clarity but will not influence council business, noting that party discipline remains prohibited under the Municipal Government Act.
• The Alberta government and the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) resumed bargaining on Sept. 19 to prevent a potential Alberta-wide strike by Oct. 6. More than 51,000 teachers could walk out, affecting 700,000 students. Finance Minister Nate Horner confirmed the government's offer includes a 12% pay hike over four years and 3,000 new teachers to address classroom concerns, but teachers rejected it in May. A labour board complaint of bad-faith bargaining was resolved, with outstanding issues now focused on pay and vaccine policy. Both sides have launched advertising campaigns.
• Enoch Cree Nation, located west of Edmonton, is set to open its Maskêkosihk Recovery Community in 2026. The addiction recovery centre is a partnership between the Alberta government and the First Nation, and is one of 11 recovery facilities under the provincial program.
• The Edmonton Downtown Business Association named James Robinson as its new leader on Sept. 19. Robinson, who is replacing outgoing executive director Puneeta McBryan, previously worked as a Business Improvement Area infrastructure specialist for the City of Edmonton.
• Alanna Bird, mother of 14-year-old Samuel Bird, is speaking out amid new developments in the suspicious disappearance of her son, who went missing on June 1. The Edmonton Police Service executed a search warrant on Sept. 18 at a Canora neighbourhood residence, which Alanna Bird said is connected to Samuel's former partner. While Edmonton police have not confirmed details of the warrant or any arrests, community volunteers, led by Dakota Bear, continue extensive search efforts.
• Edmonton's first mountain bike park is taking shape in the river valley southeast of the Walterdale Bridge, thanks to a dedicated community effort. The new facility will provide a designated area for mountain biking enthusiasts in the city.
• Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended the potential use of the notwithstanding clause to expedite resolving laws affecting transgender youth, citing lengthy court processes and a need to "protect kids." An internal memo indicates the government plans to invoke it for laws on school pronouns, female sports, and gender-affirming care, which currently faces legal challenges from groups like Egale Canada and Skipping Stone.
• Edmonton's Marco Arop secured a bronze medal in the men's 800-metre final at the World Athletics Championships in Japan National Stadium on Sept. 20. The 27-year-old achieved a season-best time of 1:41.95. This adds to Arop's three world championship medals, which include one gold and two bronze, along with his 2024 Olympic silver.

And then the meetings came to to an end. A historic election in 2021, which included the most women ever elected to Edmonton's council, a mayor of colour, and a progressive wave of councillors that, collectively, seemed to push back against provincial political winds that were blowing ever rightward, has now held its last meeting before the Oct. 20 election for the next council. But as the hosts of Episode 324 of Speaking Municipally noted, a council that created great expectations has not necessarily delivered. Here's a quick snapshot.

The bite of the hype

As co-host Stephanie Swensrude sang Alphaville's 1984 hit, Forever Young, to denote the melancholy of the end of the current council's public work, co-host Mack Male said the past four years have been challenging, especially given the expectations people had when such a diverse and new council was elected in 2021. "And now, with the benefit of hindsight, (I'm) just feeling like it didn't live up to the hype," Male said.

Swensrude replied that, as a member of Gen Z, she is already "very used to politicians being disappointing."

Both agreed, though, that the world itself is different in 2025 than it was in 2021, and that being a politician through this shift has undoubtedly been hard. "That's why I'm surprised that so many (councillors) are running for re-election," Swensrude said. "I would have thought that … a lot of them would be very tired out from politics, but it's almost all of them (who) are running for re-election."

West end not best end?

Construction gridlock was on both Swensrude's and Male's minds during the episode. The city has, in recent days, closed 102 Avenue in the Glenora neighbourhood, between 130 Street and 132 Street, to rebuild the Wellington Bridge. The backlash has been immense because it's just another thing to deal with for west-end commuters.

"This is kind of west-end traffic part two: Electric Boogaloo," Swensrude said, "because just as it seemed like everyone was recovering from having to funnel from 104 Avenue, now all of a sudden, 102 Avenue (is closed)."

The closures and restrictions to drivers, pedestrians, emergency vehicles, and other users of streets that connect to Edmonton's downtown include the bridge closure, work on Jasper Avenue, work on the Valley Line LRT on Stony Plain Road, and even work within neighbourhoods along the route. People expressing frustration have noted the cumulative effect of all of the closures happening simultaneously.

Male suggested it's another example of how Edmonton needs to get better at doing things. "Lots of other cities do construction and maintain access," he said. "And this is a bigger problem: I find, for pedestrians (there are more closures) than … for cars actually, right? But you can do work without closing sidewalks, and in Edmonton, we just always close sidewalks."

What's unfair in Windsor Park?

A strange item of discussion was the application from Westrich Pacific Corp. to rezone a land parcel near the University of Alberta in Windsor Park to allow for a 27-storey tower with close to 300 units. The application headed to council this week, but the discussion veered into unexpected territory, Swensrude noted.

Council voted to send the application back to administration because there was an appearance of procedural unfairness, Swensrude said. "Admin was kind of dancing around why they were calling this back for perceptions of procedural unfairness," she said. "One thing they did say is that the expectation is that decision-makers are unbiased and they have no consultation with parties outside of the public hearing." Swensrude later added: "It's very mysterious and I want to learn more about this procedural unfairness piece."

The Sept. 19 episode also discussed downtown work patterns, rezoning applications in Calder, council workload management, and more. Listening and subscription options are all right here.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Espresso Your Voice with Edmonton's Mayoral Candidates starting at 4:30pm at Boa and Hare
• Tech Translator starting at 6:30pm online
• BSides at NAIT Productivity and Innovation Centre (until Sept. 23)
• Life Sciences Week 2025 (until Sept. 26)

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Sept. 26: Municipal Candidate Meet and Greet starting at 9am at World Trade Centre Edmonton
• Sept. 30: National Day of Truth and Reconciliation: Lance Cardinal at Royal Alberta Museum
• Oct. 1-4: Canadian Finals Rodeo at Rogers Place

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

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