The event included representatives from AltaML, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Info-Tech, Kainos, and other private-sector partners. AltaML co-founder Cory Janssen demonstrated how AI can be used to create a "digital twin" of a ministry by onboarding memory or institutional knowledge with the inclusion of human subject-matter experts. "We're basically taking how we work and turning it into code." He said using the memory approach resulted in 97% accuracy, compared to lower rates when pasting documents into an AI tool. Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish told an anecdote of an employee who took courses at the government's AI Academy. Glubish said the employee learned how to build an enterprise-grade application that completed in two minutes what he estimated would take him up to 15 months of full-time work. "That's the transformative power of AI," Glubish said. "That's why we want to be the most AI-native government in North America."
Edmonton's municipal government has also been sharing its insights into how it uses AI in public services. The City of Edmonton shared almost 40 projects with Apolitical's Government AI Navigator, including tools to predict potholes, forecast wildfire risk, evaluate new-build construction risks, and track urban wildlife. The navigator allows public servants from around the world to learn from the examples and talk to the people who created them.
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Artificial intelligence
Dozens of people protested Meta's planned $13-billion data centre in Sturgeon County, organized by resident Ben Baril, who said the facility will strain Alberta's water supply and energy grid. Concerns include a lack of public consultation, electricity bill increases, and AI-driven job displacement. Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish downplayed the concerns, saying Meta will pay over $100 million in power bills, use a closed-loop cooling system equivalent to a golf course in water use, and generate $20 million to $40 million in annual property taxes. Meanwhile, Alberta's government launched an online information hub and a series of town halls to provide information on AI data centre development in the province. The website outlines the government's four commitments — that Albertans won't pay for the projects, the grid comes first, water use is tightly controlled, and Albertans share in financial upside — and links to public sources for each claim. There will be an in-person town hall in Sturgeon County on Aug. 20 and a virtual town hall on Aug. 27.
The Financial Post profiled six Canadian stocks that portfolio managers say could benefit indirectly from the AI buildout, including two Alberta-based companies: Capital Power announced a 10-year deal in July to supply 250 megawatts to Meta's planned Sturgeon County data centre, and the Aecon-led TRA consortium was selected to build the 932-megawatt Greenlight Electricity Centre that will power it.
The Coalition of Innovation Leaders Advancing Respect hosted an AI executive leadership breakfast in Edmonton as part of its Canada-wide listening tour on AI literacy, workforce readiness, governance, and inclusive economic participation. Leaders emphasized the need to bring government, industry, academia, and community voices together, and that Canada's AI future cannot be shaped in silos.
Artificial Agency CEO Brian Tanner was a guest on the Lead with AI podcast, where he discussed the company's behaviour engine that allows video game AI characters to think, decide, and adapt to individual players in real time rather than following fixed scripts.
AI4Good Lab marked its 10th anniversary with a Demo Day where participants from Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, and a virtual cohort presented 16 projects. The Edmonton team's winning project, Feeds, is a forecasting tool designed to help food banks anticipate demand surges using historical data and external indicators from Statistics Canada.
A new program called Alberta Capital Connect is meant to open doors for early-stage companies in addition to celebrating them at this year's ASTech Awards. Alberta Capital Connect seeks to close the gap for investor participation in the ASTech Awards by connecting selected companies to investors, mentors, and advisors through one-on-one meetings and opportunities to get useful, focused feedback. "This gives us an opportunity to go one level deeper," Rus Matichuk, who chairs the boards of both the ASTech Awards and Alberta Capital Connect told Taproot. He said 35 companies will be selected to take meetings with investors and mentors at the ASTech opening ceremonies on Sept. 18, then 15 of that group move on to the ASTech gala on Nov. 6 in Edmonton, where one of them will win the Breakout Venture of the Year Award. The deadline for innovators and advisors to apply is Aug. 18; the deadline for investors and mentors to register is Aug. 31.
The University of Alberta is an academic partner in the Calgary-based Quantum Defence Innovation Secure Hub, announced alongside a $20.3-million investment from the federal government. The consortium is housed within the University of Calgary's Quantum City program. The hub will bring together 13 organizations — including Lockheed Martin Canada, General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada, and other post-secondaries — to accelerate Canadian quantum technologies into operational capabilities for the Canadian Armed Forces. It is the third such hub announced federally, joining hubs in Halifax and Montreal focused on maritime security and drone technology respectively.
Zero Point Cryogenics CEO Chris Cassin argues Canada should designate helium-3 as a strategic critical resource, which he calls one of the rarest and most important elements for the world's future quantum economy. The isotope is a byproduct of CANDU nuclear reactors and is essential for the cryogenic infrastructure that quantum computers require. Cassin says the federal plan to build 10 new reactors is an opportunity to stockpile helium-3 and give Canadian quantum companies a supply-chain advantage.
Firesafe Analytics announced a partnership with Firewolf Suppression Systems to integrate its intelligence hub into every Firewolf deployment. The integration is designed to provide localized hazard assessments, autonomous fire-spread modelling, and automatic activation of suppression systems when a threat is confirmed.
Fragapalooza, Alberta's long-running non-profit gaming event, celebrated its 30th anniversary with a four-day LAN party at the Leduc Recreation Centre. The event, which began in 1997 at what is now the Alberta Aviation Museum, reached nearly 1,000 attendees at its 2008 peak — Canada's largest-ever LAN party. Organizers expected roughly 400 people this year, with virtual participation available for those who couldn't attend in person.
Wyvern CEO Chris Robinson told BetaKit that Canadian space companies have a "critical dependency" on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX is turning away customers looking to launch payloads past 2028. Wyvern has sent satellites up on SpaceX before, but is now building its satellites to fit on lighter vehicles from other providers, Robson said.
CMS Infrastructure of Nisku generates about 95% of its business in the United States by designing and manufacturing advanced composite infrastructure for military, marine, transportation, and water resources projects, Edmonton Global noted in its most recent Trade Heroes profile. The company's work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on fibre-reinforced polymer spillway gates earned the USACE 2025 Innovation of the Year Award.
The FACE Coalition recapped the Edmonton edition of Melamoon 2026, where 20 Black founders pitched on July 18. The top 10 companies were Steminai, founded by Olaseni (Shaney) Cole; Canchuks Corrosion Inc., founded by Chukwuma Candidus Onuoha; LOJJ.io, co-founded by Ronald Wopara, Isaac Ekwaru, Sheku Sesay, and Tolulase Ogunleye; ReiSpace, founded by Latoya and Alric Reid; Wall2Wall Design Studios, founded by Wol Abiamwol; Maison Tchoumzi, founded by Aurelie Tzeuton Nya; Surgizm, founded by Chijindu Ukagwu; Nurse on Wheels Inc., founded by Tiffany Thompson; Elev Homes, founded by Jean Bruce Koua; and Kwado Energy, co-founded by Francis Duahn. They will join 40 other finalists from other Canadian cities to pitch for four $200,000 non-dilutive prizes in Toronto on Oct. 17.
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