Joining a Men's Shed resulted in improvements to quality of life, less isolation, and fewer risky behaviours, according to a study presented at ShedFest West in Edmonton. "Older men are not necessarily going to go to a bereavement group, they're not going to go to social services, they're not going to go to therapy, because that direct approach doesn't necessarily work with older men," Raza Mirza of HelpAge Canada said as he presented his research on April 29.
Edmonton is home to eight Men's Sheds, which bring men together to work on projects and socialize, with group members deciding on whether to pursue woodworking, bicycle repair, gardening, or any number of activities. ShedFest West featured panels and keynote speeches about the value of such spaces. Mirza and his team discovered that 67% of respondents said their life had improved since becoming a Shedder, with 59% saying they felt completely at home at their Shed. "This is the stuff that I get quite excited about," Mirza said. "Men's Sheds are working, the data is fairly clear here." About one-quarter of the men said they felt isolated, but that dropped to less than 10% once they joined a Shed. "Loneliness has its own mortality risk," Mirza said.
Mirza and Men's Sheds Canada encouraged conference-goers to take a federal government survey aimed at improving support for boys' and men's mental and physical health. "People have been asking me, 'What Shed do you belong to?'" Mirza said as he closed his presentation. "I don't belong to any of the Sheds yet, but … I feel like I belong to all the Sheds now."
The sold-out Upper Bound conference will feature federal Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon, Prairies Economic Development Canada minister Eleanor Olszewski, provincial Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish, and Canadian Institute of Advanced Research executive director Elissa Strome. The May 19-22 conference put on by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute includes a track on AI and health.
NAIT's Advancing Healthcare Through Simulation podcast featured Tara Klassen, innovation lead for Surgical Care Alberta, discussing why simulation should be embedded throughout the healthcare innovation lifecycle, not only for clinical training, but also for testing and scaling new approaches.
Third-year University of Alberta pharmacy students tested a wildfire disaster simulation designed to prepare Canadian pharmacists to serve communities during emergencies. The scenario, developed by assistant professor Kaitlyn Watson and tested by 130 students, involved power outages and evacuees seeking prescription refills — reinforcing that pharmacists have a duty of care during crises.
The future of tech in law enforcement was discussed at a Tech Thursday panel featuring operations chief Devin Laforce of the Edmonton Police Service, Trouvay founder Bradley Pierson, and Standard Field Systems CEO Sam Jenkins. The panellists discussed genetic genealogy, facial recognition, AI-assisted police report drafting, and digital sobriety testing, noting that legal frameworks for these tools are still being developed.
Anatomy students from the University of Alberta took part in a community service-learning program at the Edmonton Down Syndrome Society and Elves Special Needs Society, producing projects such as a book for neurodivergent adolescents, an accessible playground initiative, and an updated digital resource library. "By working with the community rather than just studying it, these students have left a lasting mark on Edmonton's social landscape," says a post from the U of A's department of surgery.
Family physician Rebecca Saunders discussed her upcoming book project, Eight Saturdays, with the Women in Leadership and Entrepreneurship podcast. Inspired by a friend's terminal cancer diagnosis, the book explores how imagining limited time remaining can help people prioritize what matters most.
An Alberta judge dismissed an attempt by Egale Canada and Skipping Stone Foundation to challenge the province's transgender healthcare restrictions on criminal law grounds, ruling the legislation falls within Alberta's constitutional authority over health and safety. The groups plan to appeal, while their original Charter challenge remains on hold pending a Supreme Court decision on a similar Saskatchewan case.
Drug overdose deaths in Edmonton are rising even as they fall across Canada, with 764 people dying of drug poisonings in 2025 — nearly matching the previous record. Increased use of carfentanil and reduced harm reduction services are among the factors. Outreach volunteer Angie Staines of the 4B Harm Reduction Society showed a Globe and Mail team what she encounters on the streets. "It used to be that I could go and give somebody one, maybe two doses, and 15 minutes later, they were up and walking away. I would say now, 80% of the time, they are being transported with no level of consciousness," Staines said of the dwindling utility of naloxone as new substances gain hold.
The Alberta government is spending $2 million to plan an expansion of Strathcona County Hospital that would add up to 120 inpatient beds, with space for 32 more in the future. Health Minister Matt Jones said the project aims to reduce the need for more than 100,000 Sherwood Park-area residents to travel to Edmonton for inpatient care. The proposed expansion would also include surgical suites, diagnostic imaging, endoscopy rooms, and expanded lab, pharmacy, and mental health services.
Alberta unions and government marked the National Day of Mourning on April 28 in Edmonton, remembering 144 workers who died from work-related illness or injury in 2025. This year, the event highlighted psychological health in the workplace, addressing stress, harassment, and burnout. Gil McGowan of the Alberta Federation of Labour said that psychological injuries are preventable and should be seriously addressed, noting that only 44% of psychological injury claims are accepted by the Workers' Compensation Board.
Edmonton Police Service officers were among nearly 80 officers from across Alberta honoured by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for their efforts to prevent impaired-driving fatalities in 2025. Impaired driving remains the leading cause of death for drivers aged 16 to 25, Supt. Matt Hart told the gathering.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has opened an inquiry into the Alberta government's refusal to release records related to a 2024 land deal involving healthcare entrepreneur Sam Mraiche. Postmedia requested documents concerning a property at 14425 124 Avenue NW in Edmonton, which a numbered company linked to Mraiche purchased in June 2024 and sold to the Alberta government for $300,000 more just 12 weeks later. The government withheld the records, citing an auditor general investigation, but Postmedia argues that the investigation began months after its Freedom of Information request.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:
This roundup was sponsored by Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation.
API is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit life sciences commercialization organizations. We catalyze growth in the life sciences sector by addressing key challenges that hold companies and innovators back.
