The Pulse: Dec. 3, 2025

A National Bank of Canada investment of $330,000 into the Edmonton Downtown Business Association's Core Patrol program will allow it to resume its daytime operations for the entire year.

The investment, part of $1.25 million that the bank recently announced for service organizations in Edmonton and Calgary, including $450,000 for the Bissell Centre's' Service Hub, comes after a City of Edmonton grant for operational funding for the EDBA's Core Patrol during the daytime expired in January. Without the private money, the business association would have to suspend daytime operations (the EDBA is still funding its nighttime operations).

Victoria Girardo, National Bank's senior vice-president for commercial banking in Western Canada, told Taproot that the company's investment was to secure the daytime patrol.

"When we looked at how we wanted to really show up as a community partner, we had a rigorous process around looking at organizations that really were part of how we wanted to be a part of the financial fabric and the vibrancy of downtown," Girardo said. "The Core Patrol with the EDBA, and the Bissell Centre, really did represent organizations that have a lot of credibility in this space, of making an impact, and a long history, and a proven track record of doing that within the city of Edmonton."

The EDBA created and partially funded the Core Patrol program in late 2022 after years of its members experiencing challenges while operating businesses downtown. The program employs Hiregood staff to respond to and prevent social challenges on downtown streets. In 2026, both day and night shifts will see two staff in two Hiregood vehicles.

In March, the EDBA's former CEO, Puneeta McBryan, said the patrol staff had responded to 3,221 incidents in 2024, including a large number of fires. At that time, leadership from both the EDBA and Hiregood said they were frustrated that public funding for the program was not being renewed. "It really feels like the city should be paying for part of that," McBryan said.

In 2025, the newest numbers available show that between February and November, the Core Patrol put out 151 of 164 fires that it responded to downtown, Quinn Phillips, the director of marketing and communications for the business association, said. "A lot of them (were) garbage fires and dumpster fires, and those have the potential to spread pretty rapidly and can cause damage to buildings," Phillips said. "The Core Patrol being there quickly, and extinguishing fires quickly, is really important."

Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson, whose ward includes downtown, said downtown safety is a shared responsibility that is nonetheless not being properly shared at the moment.

"A lot of the safety concerns that we're seeing downtown are a result of government disinvestment in some of the really critical social safety nets that we need for a thriving society," Stevenson told Taproot. "So, when we see people experiencing homelessness, when we see mental health and addictions issues, these are broader societal challenges that I believe require a government response. I don't think it should be on businesses to be dealing with the health and housing crisis, and we know that it is actually a huge download of costs onto businesses."

Why not fund the Core Patrol? "The challenge is that, right now, we're in a situation where we're not able to reallocate resources, because everywhere, the need is growing," Stevenson said.

• Edmonton city councillors voted on Dec. 2 to purchase 25 new buses for $25.2 million, to be funded through tax-supported debt. Coun. Ashley Salvador introduced the motion, aiming to address the city's 440 buses needing replacement and meet record ridership demand. However, councillors denied Coun. Karen Tang's request for an additional $5 million for arterial road repair and voted against Coun. Karen Principe's proposal to postpone the $3.2 million demolition of the Argyll Velodrome. Budget discussions are set to continue this week.
• The Edmonton Police Service became the first in the world to begin testing facial recognition body-worn video cameras from Axon. The proof-of-concept test, provided for free by Axon, includes safeguards such as restricting detection to within four metres in good lighting, with collected data encrypted and stored in Canada. While the police service said the technology will not replace human investigation, University of Calgary associate law professor Gideon Christian raised concerns about potential "mass surveillance." Axon's director of responsible AI, Ann-Li Cooke, noted improvements in reliability since a 2019 report. The police service submitted a privacy impact assessment to Alberta's information and privacy commissioner.
• The City of Edmonton is changing its natural Christmas tree disposal by eliminating curbside pickup. Residents can use free drop-off options at Eco Stations, the Edmonton Waste Management Centre, or any Community Recycling Depot from Dec. 27 to Feb. 7. The City said the change allows it to redirect funding to more efficient uses and stabilize utility rates, as only 2.5% of households used the previous curbside service. Before dropping off trees, ensure all ornaments, decorations, and lights are removed.
• The Edmonton Police Service placed several schools in the Dickinsfield neighbourhood on alert on Dec. 2, while responding to a nearby weapons complaint at a home near 144 Avenue and 92 Street. Police contained the home and confirmed no public safety threat by 12:16pm. Affected schools, including St. Philip Catholic Elementary, Cardinal Léger Catholic Junior High School, Dickinsfield School, and Northmount School, were on alert, meaning doors were locked, preventing entry or exit, but students and staff could move freely inside, and classes continued as normal.
• Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod raised concerns on Dec. 2 about the government's plan to add healthcare numbers to driver's licences and other ID. McLeod warned this increases fraud risk and could lead to incorrect medical records, noting the Registrar of Motor Vehicles lacks privacy law oversight for such sensitive data. Despite these warnings, the government said it will proceed with its plan, prioritizing data protection and promising further regulations.
• The Alberta government unveiled its plan to resist Ottawa's federal firearm buyback program, deeming it an "unconstitutional attack" on Albertans' rights. Justice Minister Mickey Amery announced the province will use the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act to prevent provincial entities from participating and direct Crown prosecutors to generally not pursue charges for reasonable force used in home defence.
• The Edmonton Elks have re-signed defensive lineman Brandon Barlow, keeping him with the team through 2026. Barlow played a full 18-game season in 2025 and has built a steady four-year CFL record that includes 123 tackles and 17 sacks. He previously played for Toronto and Hamilton before joining Edmonton.

As Edmonton's new city council sits to discuss the fall budget adjustment, with administration suggesting a 6.4% increase to property taxes, the co-hosts of Episode 334 of Speaking Municipally looked at some surprising developments within what was an otherwise routine week for our municipal government. Here's a snapshot.

Surplus

The co-hosts discussed the big reveal of the 2025 fall budget adjustment season, which is that Edmonton has a surplus. But co-host Mack Male was quick to temper expectations. "Before you, dear listener, get all excited thinking, 'Aha, that means we can have a lower tax increase,' that's not what they're planning to do with it," he said.

Co-host Stephanie Swensrude, who spent time at city hall to observe the new council at its new job, agreed and said the details matter on this one. The surplus is for 2025, she explained, and is the result of the city collecting more revenue from membership and admissions to city facilities, franchise fees for EPCOR, and tax penalties than it anticipated.

"So, at the end of the year, they're projected to have about $15.7 million more than what they had budgeted," Swensrude explained. "But instead of putting that to reducing the tax levy, what they're going to do instead is put it towards the financial stabilization reserve."

A vision back to zero

In 2015, Edmonton made news in Canada and even globally for being the first major Canadian city to adopt the Vision Zero strategy, which European cities successfully implemented starting as early as the 1990s to reduce and even eliminate deaths on city streets from collisions between users. But a new city report on Vision Zero notes that when Edmonton adopted the strategy in 2015, fatalities began to fall, only to start increasing again. In 2024, the report notes, fatalities hit 24. As of Dec. 2, they are at 31 in Edmonton.

Swensrude noted the report has found that drivers are speeding far more than before the provincially-mandated removal of photo radar to enforce speeds, and that the largest increase is among those who are travelling between 20 to 29 km/h faster than the posted limit. Swensrude added the city found that half of the fatal incidents involved someone speeding.

Male was taken aback. "They say this is pervasive — like (there's) increased speeding at 82% of the city's monitored intersections," he said. "So, on the one hand, this is not surprising at all. You take away the photo radar, the automated enforcement, you would expect to see speeding go up … But perhaps a bit surprising is how much it's gone up and, and how the severity of the speeding has gone up."

Privacy, please

Swensrude noted a trend for some of the budget discussion on how administration hopes to cut structural budget variances and therefore reduce the tax levy was held in public, but a large portion was held in camera.

"They mentioned two examples of things that they were proposing to cut, and then they said, 'We'll discuss the rest of these in private,'" she said.

The Nov. 28 episode of Taproot's civic affairs podcast also includes discussion of ongoing construction projects and LRT. Listening and subscription options are all right here.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Light Up for Inclusion starting at 6pm at Leduc Heritage Grain Elevator
• VERS/E: A Queer Poetry Reading Series + Open Mic starting at 6pm at Felice Cafe
• ChristmACE 2025 starting at 6pm at 9910
• Artful Embroidery: Holiday Bookmarks starting at 6pm at The Paint Spot
• The Nutcracker at Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
• Present Laughter at Walterdale Theatre
• Vinyl Café: The Musical starting at 7:30pm at Citadel Theatre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Dec. 10: Intentional Discussions with Entrepreneurs from across Alberta Series online
• Dec. 15: The Vox Collective: Sing Your Heart Out at Garneau Theatre
• Dec. 18: HER Motherhood Shift at Fort Edmonton Park

Visit 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.

This is the third of a trio of Taproot Minis constructed by Jeff Nachtigall, who also happens to be the record-holder for the most referrals to Taproot. Be like Jeff and hit the "Share Taproot" link below to help a friend be informed, connected, and inspired!