The Pulse
Aug. 14, 2026

This week's batch of calls for public engagement includes a series of virtual and in-person town halls about the development of data centres in Alberta, plus a survey about public art along the Valley Line Southeast LRT.

Amid protests against data centres and calls for more transparency, the provincial government announced a series of town halls in the coming weeks.

Nate Glubish, minister of technology and innovation, will answer questions from the public about the multibillion-dollar projects, which may require massive amounts of electricity and infrastructural support to operate. "Albertans deserve real answers on what these new infrastructure investments mean for them," Glubish said. The province also launched a website with the province's answers to common questions about data centres, including a section on how to have your voice heard.

In-person town halls will take place in Ponoka on Aug. 19; in Sturgeon County — site of Meta's proposed $13-billion data centre and accompanying $4.6-billion power plant — on Aug. 20; and in Grande Prairie on Sept. 11, near the location for the proposed Wonder Valley AI Data Centre. Premier Danielle Smith will join Glubish to host a virtual town hall on Aug. 27. Members of the public must register online by 12pm on Aug. 25 to participate.

The Alberta NDP held its own consultations in St. Albert on Aug. 4 and Red Deer on Aug. 12, where it heard concerns about environmental impact, electricity rates, and a lack of public input. It will hold an online session on Aug. 19.

Sturgeon County has welcomed Meta's project as a job creator and revenue generator. "We facilitate projects that bring value to our region through job creation, long-term tax revenue, environmental stewardship, and infrastructure improvements that all of us benefit from," Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said in a news release. "We're excited to work with our new neighbours as we continue to make that vision a reality." In response to questions about why residents weren't consulted, Hnatiw said in July that public input was invited when the county updated its zoning bylaws in 2022 and 2025.

Ben Baril, a student who helped lead the Sturgeon County protest on Aug. 2, said protesters plan to attend the Sturgeon County town hall on Aug. 20. "If they were genuinely interested in public opinion on this, then they would have held the public consultation before they had already approved all of these projects," he told CBC.

• A coalition of advocacy groups is calling on Alberta's chief medical examiner to take a closer look at pedestrian and cyclist deaths in the province, and how the sightlines in large SUVS and pickup trucks could be contributing. Bike Bus Alberta, Bike Edmonton, Paths for People, and the Edmonton Bike Coalition are among the signatory organizations.
• NAIT and its current vice-president of students and campus life, Clayton Davis, have filed separate lawsuits totalling $250,000 against former VP Gerard Hayes, alleging a "sustained harassment campaign" that included signing Davis up for dating sites and sending unwanted items to his office. Hayes told the NAIT Nugget that he denies the allegations, which have not been proven in court.
• The inaugural Edmonton Pit Tour in Wîhkwêntôwin drew 80 people on Aug. 12 to highlight properties where buildings were demolished and never replaced. The sold-out tour led by Taproot's Stephanie Swensrude and co-organized by the people behind the Edmonton Pit Tour account on Instagram, explored five sites, including the three-storey-deep Jameson Pit and the decade-old Emerald Pit on Jasper Avenue. Swensrude told CTV the empty lots are "a lost opportunity for urban development."
• Coun. Keren Tang of Ward Karhiio plans to put forward a motion calling for a comprehensive review of signal timing along the Valley Line Southeast LRT. "I still strongly believe we need a holistic review of the entire line and signals … with the goal of maximizing intersection efficiency and minimizing delays for everyone without compromising safety or transit priority," said Tang, who joined transportation engineers on a ride-along on the Valley Line.
• Ruby Sahota, the federal secretary of state for combatting crime, discussed public safety issues with Mayor Andrew Knack and the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce on Aug. 13. "I don't think there's a downtown that I've been into that doesn't have a similar concern," Sahota said.
• Mayor Andrew Knack has appointed Yetunde Oke as his new chief of staff. A public servant with more than two decades of experience in municipal and provincial government, Oke most recently served as director of intergovernmental affairs in the office of the city manager. Knack made the announcement about a month after Blake Desjarlais stepped down after just three months in the role.
• Stantec reported record work under contract of $9.24 billion at the end of June, up 17.5% year-over-year and representing about 13 months of future work. The Edmonton-based company was selected to work on Meta's $13-billion data centre in Sturgeon County.
• The Servus Edmonton Marathon marks its 35th year on Aug. 16 with a record 10,000 participants and $100,000 raised for local charities through the Charity Challenge. The event includes the Athletics Canada Canadian Half Marathon Championship, with $20,000 in prize money on offer.
• Starting around Aug. 16, 9 Avenue NW will close west of 111 Street for drainage, trackwork, and utility work on the Capital Line South LRT Extension. The closure will last about 10 weeks. Drivers will be detoured to 12 Avenue, and Bus Route 713 will detour to 113 Street and 12 Avenue.
• Commonwealth Stadium will host Luke Combs on May 29, 2027, as part of his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour, with tickets going on sale Aug. 21. Combs performed at the stadium in 2023 to more than 56,000 fans.

Correction: This file has been updated to correct the date of the Edmonton Pit Tour in Wîhkwêntôwin.

On this day in 1975, Edmonton's football team was pledging $3 million towards a brand new stadium.

For the first three decades of the team's existence, Clarke Stadium served as its home field. But when Edmonton was announced as the host city for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, it became apparent that Clarke would not be large enough to accommodate the expected crowds. The original plan was to expand the building, but that was quickly axed in favour of a new, much larger sports complex to be built beside Clarke.

While the idea of a new stadium received support from city council and much of the public, there was a lot of controversy over what would go on top of the new facility. Some wanted a domed roof, which would have cost around $18.5 million — a significant price tag, considering the rest of the stadium would cost about $21 million. City council never really felt comfortable with the roof plan, partially because of the cost overruns that Montreal was dealing with building Olympic Stadium around the same time. The plan eventually landed on an open-air stadium, with a future proposal for a much cheaper roof (that would never happen).

Construction began in the winter of 1974, one of several major projects planned for the 1978 games that would have a lasting impact on the city. The work was briefly delayed when crews found objects from the Rat Creek Dump and an old incinerator that had occupied the land in the early 20th century. Archaeologists were called in to examine the site before construction resumed.

The stadium opened on July 15, 1978, with a capacity of 42,500 seats. While it might not have a roof, Commonwealth Stadium did have something that no other stadium in Canada could boast: a $50,000 restroom. The fully furnished "royal retirement room" was built specifically for Queen Elizabeth II to use when opening the Commonwealth Games in August 1978. Although it was installed, she never did actually use it, and the restroom was dismantled and used as a storage area. But that $50,000 didn't go completely to waste, as the toilet was reportedly used once during the games, by a then-six-year-old Justin Trudeau.

Edmonton's football team, then known as the Eskimos, moved into Commonwealth that same year. The stadium was expanded to 60,000 seats for the 1983 Summer Universiade, making it the largest stadium in Canada. It still holds that title, despite being reduced to 56,302 in 2013 when the original seating was replaced with wider, more comfortable seats.

In addition to the Commonwealth Games and football (including five Grey Cup games), the stadium has hosted a wide variety of shows and other sporting events over its 48 years. It was the site of the first outdoor regular season NHL game in history at the 2003 Heritage Classic, which saw the Montreal Canadiens beat the Oilers 4-3 in -18C weather. It held the opening ceremonies and the initial matches for the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015, as well as a men's World Cup warm-up game between Canada and Uzbekistan in June of this year.

The football team, which was renamed the Elks in 2021, decided to close Commonwealth's upper bowl in 2024, cutting its capacity down to around 31,000. The change was billed as "enhancing the game day atmosphere," but really, there were too few fans in too many seats due to a record losing streak. However, some of those upper seats were reopened on Aug. 1 due to increased ticket sales after Edmonton's drastic turnaround this season, aided by a bit of an influx of Saskatchewan Roughriders fans. And big concerts still fill it, sometimes disrupted by weather, as was the case for Post Malone, and sometimes not, as 50,000 AC/DC fans experienced. The Elks return on Aug. 15, and Guns N' Roses will play on Aug. 26.

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.

• Aug. 14: Friday Nights at the Grand Night Market starting at 5pm at Chrysalis
• Aug. 14: Willow Park Wine & Cheese Tasting Fundraiser starting at 7pm at Willow Park Wines & Spirits
• Aug. 15: National Thrift Shop Day starting at 9am
• Aug. 15: Plug'n Drive starting at 10am at Alberta Motor Association (Edmonton South)
• Aug. 15: Caffeinate & Connect starting at 10am at Boa and Hare
• Aug. 15: Leather Mask Making with Dale Ladouceur starting at 10:30am at Downtown Farmers' Market
• Aug. 15: Afternoon Sound Sessions: Crossing Mackenzie starting at 12pm at 12322 102 Avenue NW
• Aug. 15: Toronto Argonauts vs. Edmonton Elks starting at 1pm at Commonwealth Stadium
• Aug. 15: FAVA 2026 Summer BBQ starting at 2pm at Donnan Park
• Aug. 15: Brew & Banter: A Craft Beer Tasting Experience starting at 2pm at City Cellars
• Aug. 16: Boujee Brunch and Fashion Show starting at 2pm at The Public Exchange
• Aug. 16: The Polyglot Turns Ten: Community Potluck & Poetry Gathering starting at 4pm at William Hawrelak Park

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 22: Edmonton Pride Parade and Trans March
• Aug. 29: Cloud Party at O-day'min Park Pavilion
• Sept. 5: Edmonton Bike Park Grand Opening at Queen Elizabeth 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.

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