Business Roundup

Economic development

• BBE, a customs broker and logistics company headquartered in Edmonton, has launched a licenced Canadian customs brokerage. It aims to strengthen Canada's defence and Arctic supply chains by integrating customs services directly with international freight forwarding for highly regulated shipments such as defence equipment and critical minerals.
• Prairies Economic Development Canada will deliver $3 million in funding through the Black Entrepreneurship Program to support Black-led businesses across Alberta, with the African Canadian Civic Engagement Council receiving $1.5 million to expand its ANZA Entrepreneurship Ecosystem program and the Black Business Ventures Association receiving $1.5 million to strengthen support for Black entrepreneurs advancing innovative technologies.
• Game Con Canada has announced the North American Game Industry Summit, a B2B-focused event taking place in Edmonton from June 18 to 19. Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, will deliver a keynote. The summit will be followed by Game Con Canada's annual conference.
• PCL is using artificial intelligence to standardize complex industrial construction data, developing machine learning tools that translate thousands of technical component descriptions and reduce time-consuming manual work, Digital Journal reported after attending a construction-focused event at Edmonton Unlimited hosted by Built World Tech lead Zack Storms.
• Transforming Edmonton highlighted the city's innovative manufacturing industry, which has developed cutting-edge technologies in biotechnology, energy, and medical devices, among other fields. The City of Edmonton blog post credited the Edge Fund for supporting some of these advancements, awarding $5 million to 17 businesses in 2024. Recipients included NGT Energy, which is developing safer oil and gas measurement devices; Zero Point Cryogenics, the sole North American manufacturer of quantum dilution refrigerators; and Millennium Three Technologies, which enhances industrial pre-fabricated assembly with computer-vision technology.
• Ontario-based AYCE Capital announced its expansion to Alberta with an investment in Solid Technology Solutions.
• Montreal-based Foodtastic acquired the fast-casual Central Social Hall, which has two Edmonton locations. Foodtastic plans to expand it across Alberta and other provinces over the next few years.
• St. Albert's Canwest Solar Development is proposing a 1,600-acre solar farm near Villeneuve in Sturgeon County. The company plans for the $300-million project to include 373,000 solar panels with battery storage, designed to allow continued farming on the same land and produce electricity for about 60,000 homes. There will be open houses about the project in the coming months. If it is approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission, it could be operational as soon as 2029.
• Travel Alberta said the province's tourism sector brought in a record $15.2 billion in visitor spending in 2025, growing more than 5% from the year before and outperforming national trends.

Startups and SMBs

• RUNWITHIT Synthetics has launched INFLECTOR AI, an agent-based artificial intelligence platform that the company says uses 500 times less electricity than mainstream AI techniques for tasks such as synthesizing Canada's population data, while complying with global privacy regulations. "We've been stealth with INFLECTOR for a while, but given the realities of data centres and their consumption of critical resources, we thought it was time to put our hand up and say there is a different way," CEO Myrna Bittner said in a release. She and her co-founder Dean Bittner will discuss the new tool on Taproot Exchange, a members-only livestream, on Feb. 19 at noon.
• The Little Potato Company marked its 30th anniversary by unveiling a new logo, celebrating its growth from a one-acre plot to a 200,000 square-foot facility in Nisku that cost more than $25 million.
• Dr. Phone Fix won two gold Stevie Awards for sales and customer service, recognizing the company's sales execution in computer services and telecommunications as it operates 44 corporately owned retail locations nationwide.
• The Best of YEG Thrive Awards recognized health, fitness, and wellness companies, including MOVATI Athletic, which will soon open its fourth Edmonton location. A few other winners are YEG CYCLE, Modo Yoga of Sherwood Park, and Bliss MediSpa & Integrated Wellness, whose Traci Bateman was named Business Leader of the Year at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce's 2026 Chamber Awards.
• BetaKit paid a visit to Zero Point Cryogenics, a global player in quantum computing infrastructure and one of six companies worldwide that commercially manufacture dilution refrigerators. Founded by University of Alberta professor John P. Davis and led by CEO Chris Cassin, the company builds systems that reach near-absolute zero temperatures, which is crucial for quantum research.
• Six entrepreneurs pitched at the Black Business Ventures Association's Innovation Expo, including LiberatedAI founder Ruth Orekogbe. ​"Honestly, I didn't really know how big the Black tech community was here in Edmonton," Orekogbe told BetaKit. "I wanted to see firsthand what people were building and to connect with them and support them."
• Anthea Sargeaunt's 2S Water was named one of the top five ventures in Spring Capital's fifth annual Invest Together in Women-Led Impact program. The finalists will pitch at an event on March 11.
• Nathan Mison announced his departure from SafeHouse Science after 14 months. During his tenure, the organization completed three acquisitions and raised more than $2 million, he posted.
• Lawrence Roberts, who works at Jayson Global Roofing, discussed networking as a long-term leadership practice on the Essential Dynamics podcast, reframing it as relationship-based value creation rather than a short-term sales tactic.
• Jim Flett, managing director of energy marketer Sturgeon River Utilities, was a guest on the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast to discuss the organization's mission to create own-source revenue for the St. Albert Métis District.

Real estate

• An Alberta judge overruled the Carruthers Caveat for the first time, determining the century-old covenant that restricts development to single-family homes or duplexes in Glenora conflicted with current zoning that requires a minimum density of 10 dwellings on a property near a future LRT station. "This is really a milestone, I would say for the neighbourhood, for housing in Edmonton, for our city as a whole," said Chelsey Jersak, strategic director of Situate, which helps infill developers with permitting. Glenora residents plan to appeal the decision.
• Edmonton city council voted 8-4 to maintain the maximum number of units for new infill developments at eight dwellings, rejecting a motion from Coun. Karen Principe to reduce it to six. Council also voted 10-3 to direct administration to prepare bylaw amendments that would limit new infill to 9.5 metres in total height, and voted 11-2 to instruct administration to draft a private tree protection bylaw. The bylaws will be debated and voted on at a public hearing. A feasibility study found that approximately 292 homes were issued permits to be redeveloped into six- to eight-unit buildings, amounting to 0.5% of the city's housing inventory.
• A wetlands dispute over a property near the planned River's Edge neighbourhood in southwest Edmonton has left landowner Gaurav Mann with 30% of his property designated as protected wetlands. A remote survey by Stantec found 2.58 hectares of wetlands on the property, but when Mann commissioned an in-person survey by ecologist Andrew Forrest, it found that only 0.04 hectares met provincial wetland criteria. Edmonton city council approved the River's Edge neighbourhood structure plan despite the dispute, after a motion to delay for updated projections was defeated 7-6.
• James Mabey, a member of the REALTORS Association of Edmonton and past chair of the Canadian Real Estate Association, discussed the association's advocacy role in housing policy on the RAEdio Podcast. Mabey emphasized the importance of data-driven policy and collaboration among stakeholders in addressing zoning and housing supply challenges.
• Chandos Construction said in a news release that okimaw peyesew kamik (King Thunderbird Centre), which opened in December, has achieved Zero Carbon Building Design v3 certification and features on-site renewable power generation through 360 solar photovoltaic panels and a geothermal energy system. The centre "is a space deeply rooted in Indigenous culture and practice," said Diana Elniski, executive advisor at Boyle Street Community Services. "That means being good caretakers of the land we live on and honouring it as Treaty 6 people. The solar and geothermal energy systems allow us to provide a place for healing, dignity, and safety to everyone who enters while minimizing our environmental footprint."
• A HouseSigma report shows that a $350,000 Edmonton-area home could be a two-bedroom Wîhkwêntôwin condominium with 1,000 square feet, a three-bedroom townhome exceeding 1,300 square feet in the suburbs, or a single-family detached home in Leduc, demonstrating buyer dollars stretch further than in most major Canadian real estate markets.

More headlines

• Taproot looked at the past, present, and possible future of the decommissioned Rossdale Power Plant as the City of Edmonton seeks submissions for adaptive reuse. Paul Collis, who worked in the plant for 30 years, said he just wants the now gutted building to stay a fixture in our river valley. "Hopefully, they will save what is there," he said. "I would hope that they would have public tours."
• Capital Power has appointed Kevin MacIntosh as chief financial officer, effective March 16. MacIntosh has more than 30 years of experience in the global energy industry, most recently serving as vice-president and controller for Suncor Energy.
• About 30 people attended the Edmonton stop of the provincial nuclear review committee's consultation on nuclear power generation on Feb. 17 at NAIT. The timeline to get nuclear energy online is probably longer than data centres eager for electricity can wait, chair Chantelle de Jonge acknowledged to Postmedia. The panel's report is due on March 31.
• Andre Tremblay returned to his role as administrator and interim CEO of Alberta Health Services in late January after a temporary leave of absence that began in December.
• The City of Edmonton will institute fees for large patios on public land on April 1, after previously offering permits for such patios at no charge. "With reduced funding as a result of the 2024 Fall Supplemental Operating Budget Adjustment, the city is shifting to a shared-investment model," a city spokesperson told CBC. Large year-round patios that spill onto sidewalks will cost $6,900 per year, while seasonal ones will cost $3,700. Small sidewalk patios remain free to operate.
• Wheat prices for Alberta farmers fell to $276 per tonne in December 2025, down from $521 in June 2022, according to ATB Financial. Canola and barley prices have also declined from record highs, with strong global supplies expected to keep downward pressure on prices this year.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• Feb. 20: Know Your Numbers starting at 11am online
• Feb. 20: Buy vs Build: The Era of Claude Code & Codex starting at 1pm online
• Feb. 24: Womanition Connect Group starting at 11am at Headquarters Restaurant and Bar
• Feb. 24: Selling to the City Information Sessions starting at 1pm online
• Feb. 24: Are You Exit Ready? Preparing for a Successful Business Transition starting at 1pm online
• Feb. 24: SMARTstart Program Information Sessions starting at 6pm at Spruce Grove Community Social Development
• Feb. 25: Fuck Up Nights YEG starting at 5:15pm at Bison Lodge
• Feb. 27: Coffee with the Chamber starting at 8:30am at Alberta Aviation Museum

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 3: MIT REAP Town Hall at Edmonton Unlimited
• March 5: CEO Breakfast & Fireside Chat at Westin Edmonton
• March 9: Industrial Heartland Career Forum at Dow Centennial Centre

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