The Pulse
July 17, 2026

This week's batch of calls for public engagement includes outreach about a proposed youth centre from Boys and Girls Club Leduc and climate-resilient landscaping in Edmonton.

The City of Leduc is looking for perspectives from the community on a potential new youth centre. BGC Leduc has identified Kinsmen Park as a location for a standalone facility for its youth programming. The city said the centre would provide services such as drop-in activities, recreation, leadership development, employment readiness, and opportunities to build social connections.

Attendance at BGC Leduc's programming has more than doubled since 2023, the city said, demonstrating the need for more safe, welcoming, and supportive spaces for teens and young adults. "Evidence suggests that services like this offer youth access to environments that develop positive relationships, strengthen social-emotional skills, and build confidence and resilience in the next generation of residents and community leaders," the city said. "Consistent access to caring adults, meaningful activities, and community connections are key preventative factors that contribute to positive long-term outcomes for children, families, and the broader community."

City-owned Kinsmen Park was chosen because it's close to existing recreational amenities and is accessible to youth and families. The site is also near Leduc Composite High School. The city also wants to hear whether the facility should be owned and operated by the city, by a partner such as BGC Leduc, or through a shared model.

There is an online survey open until Sept. 13 and drop-in open houses on Aug. 20 and Sept. 2. The city said it will also speak to nearby residents, community organizations, and local youth. Administration said it will collect feedback from students once school starts again in September.

• The City of Edmonton activated its extreme heat response through July 19 after temperatures were forecast to hit 29°C or higher for at least three consecutive days. Potable water is available at 29 stations across the city, attached to fire hydrants.
• Edmonton is on track for its wettest summer on record, leaving homeowners dealing with repeated basement flooding, with some discovering their insurance doesn't cover water seepage. EPCOR said rainfall events approaching 100-year levels are straining its collection system, and repair companies are receiving significantly higher call volumes.
• The Low Level Bridge will be fully closed from 8pm July 17 to 6am July 20 as crews restore the temporary paved detour near the bridge, including parts of the bridge approaches. Drivers are advised to use the James Macdonald Bridge as a detour.
• The Edmonton Police Service charged 37-year-old Kelly Smith with assault with a weapon and criminal hit and run in an alleged hate-motivated incident in which the suspect struck a woman in a hijab with her vehicle after making racist and xenophobic comments in a north Edmonton parking lot on May 27. The allegations have not been tested in court; Smith was released on a promise to appear and is scheduled in court in early August.
• Tensions flared at an Edmonton Police Commission meeting as public speakers criticized Police Chief Warren Driechel's trip to Israel. Speakers who questioned the chief about the trip during the meeting were cut off for speaking about topics outside the commission's mandate. Security was also called.
• Major Singh Bhandal, 85, and his wife Surinderjit Kaur Bhandal, 82 — the couple killed when a vehicle struck their north Edmonton apartment building, triggering a gas line explosion — are being remembered by family as devoted community members. Grandson Lali Toor described the inseparable pair, who were married for 64 years, as "best friends for life." ATCO has restored gas service to about 1,700 customers in four northeast Edmonton neighbourhoods — Glengarry, Killarney, Balwin and Delwood — after crews shut it off to support the emergency response to the fatal fire.
• The City of Edmonton hosted Connect with Our Roots, an Indigenous-led gathering that was rescheduled from June due to severe weather, at kihciy askiy-Sacred Land, where residents joined Elders and Knowledge Keepers to plant native trees and learn about Indigenous land stewardship.
• Alberta Premier Danielle Smith held the first Premier's Breakfast since the COVID-19 pandemic on the legislature grounds to kick off KDays. Security removed a protester who confronted Smith over her government's plan to build a $13-billion Meta AI data centre north of Edmonton.
• Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi apologized for the harm caused by a photo of him alongside the Israeli ambassador at the Calgary Stampede. Nenshi said the photo hurt many people, adding what is happening "on the other side of the world is having real implications on people" in Alberta. "We've seen massive increases in anti-Palestinian racism. We've seen massive increases in antisemitism, and we have a community that is being torn apart in so many ways," Nenshi said.
• Corus Entertainment, the owner of Global Television Network, is cutting 43 media jobs across Canada, including 28 in Alberta, as it grapples with declining advertising revenue and more than $1 billion in debt. Scott Roberts, co-anchor of Global Edmonton's 6pm newscast, confirmed he is among those being cut.
• The Edmonton Oilers will play an expanded 84-game regular season in 2026-27, opening with a home-and-home against Vancouver on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1.

On this day in 1886, the Hermitage homestead was accepting students into one of Edmonton's earliest schools.

The 66 acres of Hermitage Park hug the curve of the North Saskatchewan River in northeast Edmonton, drawing people to enjoy its nature trails, picnic areas, and a pond stocked with trout. But long before the park existed, people were drawn to the area after Canon William Newton established Hermitage in the late 1800s; it would become an important site for both the spiritual and physical health of people in early Edmonton.

William Newton was born in 1828 in England. After immigrating to Canada, he was ordained as an Anglican minister in Ontario. In 1875, Newton left behind his wife and nine children to become the first Anglican missionary in Edmonton. When he arrived, he found his housing options to be extremely limited: there was Fort Edmonton, and most of the land around the fort had been claimed by farms. Newton ended up renting a space from the Fort's head trader. That arrangement was short-lived, however. Newton and his landlord had a falling out, and the missionary was kicked out with a day's notice.

With the land surrounding the Fort already claimed, Newton travelled 10 kilometres before he found a spot alongside the river. In that isolated patch of land, he built a log cabin he called Hermitage, the first foothold for the Anglican Church in the province. Newton used it as a home base for his missionary work throughout the province.

Over the years, Newton's single log cabin expanded to a modest cluster of buildings. A guesthouse was built to house visiting missionaries and other travellers. A small chapel went up. The largest building was reserved for a library, holding Newton's impressive collection of books. There, he established Edmonton's first Anglican parish, All Saints. In addition to his missionary work, Newton was an avid gardener, and Hermitage became well-known for its beautiful gardens, particularly the lilacs he carefully planted around the buildings.

In 1886, Hermitage added a small school for children in the area, advertising in the classifieds that parents could apply to Newton to admit their children "for board and instruction" in September. That same year, the homestead gained another Newton: William's sister Eliza. She was a nurse who had worked in several London hospitals. She set up the area's first medical facility at Hermitage, increasing the number of people visiting the growing homestead.

In 1900, Newton retired from his position and sold Hermitage. A year later, he would move to Victoria, where he would remain until his death in 1910. The land itself would later be used for agriculture.

In 1951, the City of Edmonton erected a historic cairn and plaque on the Hermitage site, a relatively new practice at the time. While the monument is gone, there is still a historic marker on the original site of Hermitage, adjacent to the park that shares its name.

In fact, the legacy of Hermitage can still be seen on signs and maps all over northeast Edmonton. In addition to Hermitage (the park, the road, and the residential area), there is a Newton Park at 121 Avenue and 54 Street. And the neighbourhoods of Newton, Canon Ridge, Homesteader, and Overlanders all trace their names back to Newton's original homestead. Some of those neighbourhoods are currently under neighbourhood renewal, with construction in Overlanders and Homesteader expected to continue into 2027.

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.

• July 17: Lawn Summer Nights starting at 6pm at Commonwealth Lawn Bowling Club
• July 17: BC Lions vs. Edmonton Elks starting at 7pm at Commonwealth Stadium
• July 17-18: Neon Skies Festival at Fan Park
• July 17-19: Great Outdoors Comedy Festival at Kinsmen Park
• July 17-26: KDays at Edmonton EXPO Centre
• July 18: Summer Block Party starting at 1pm at Rice Howard Way
• July 18: Zoobrew Vol. 2 starting at 5pm at Edmonton Valley Zoo
• July 18-19: World Triathlon Cup at William Hawrelak Park
• July 19: Ukay-Ukay Market: Shop & Scoop starting at 11am at Station Park
• July 19: Magpie Festival: Bike Tour starting at 2pm at Mile Zero Dance
• July 19: Grindstone Comedy Theatre Summer Fundy starting at 6pm at Grindstone Theatre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• July 24: The Green Room: Dance Party at Earth's Refillery Coop
• July 27: Reading Between the Barcode Lines: Scanning for Surplus at Magpie Books
• July 29: Family Nature Nights: Crawling Critters at Gold Bar Park

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

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