Around Alberta
Stories from Lethbridge, Red Deer, Edson, and beyond.
Trending This Week
1
High-Risk Sex Offender Released From Bowden Institution in Alberta, Moving to Winnipeg
2
Alberta Health Cards Now Expire for the First Time. Smith Calls It Fraud Prevention. Here's How to Keep Your Coverage.
3
Danielle Smith Urges Ottawa Back to the Table Before September 8 Counter-Tariffs Hit
4
Grande Prairie Wildfire GWF058 Still Out of Control at 30 Hectares as Fire Danger Goes High
Alberta
Province-wide news, culture, and stories from across Alberta.
Alberta
Danielle Smith Urges Ottawa Back to the Table Before September 8 Counter-Tariffs Hit
Canada will impose counter-tariffs of 15, 25 and 50 per cent on roughly 700 American products starting September 8, alongside a $7.5-billion support package. Premier Danielle Smith says she appreciates the relief but wants Ottawa to use the next two weeks to restart negotiations.
Alberta
Alberta Landscaping Company Fined $318,000 After Worker Fell Through Roof at Edmonton Site
Arbutus Landscaping Inc. pleaded guilty August 19 to failing to establish a system to ensure compliance with Alberta's OHS laws, as prime contractor at an Edmonton construction site where a worker died after falling through a roof in December 2023. A roofing company faces 24 counts over the same incident and is sentenced September 10.
Alberta
High-Risk Sex Offender Released From Bowden Institution in Alberta, Moving to Winnipeg
James Joseph O'Kane, 35, was released on statutory release from Bowden Institution in central Alberta on Monday and will live in Winnipeg. Police consider him at high risk to reoffend against women. He is subject to parole conditions and a lifetime weapons ban.
Alberta
Alberta Health Cards Now Expire for the First Time. Smith Calls It Fraud Prevention. Here's How to Keep Your Coverage.
Alberta health cards carry an expiry date for the first time since the paper card was introduced in 1969, and keeping AHCIP coverage means revalidating in person before that date. Premier Danielle Smith is defending the change as fraud prevention, pointing to roughly half a million more health numbers than residents. Here's where your date is, what to bring to the registry, the one-time grace period most people don't know exists, and what happens if you miss it.
Red Deer
The midpoint between Calgary and Edmonton, with a solid arts and food scene.
Calgary
Calgary Man Charged After 1,127 Grams of Fentanyl Seized in Red Deer, Second Suspect Wanted
Red Deer RCMP seized more than a kilogram of suspected fentanyl, 334 grams of cocaine and $15,000 in cash after a July 2 traffic stop and a search in the Lancaster neighbourhood. A Calgary man is charged. A Surrey man facing the same charges missed his court date and is now wanted.
Red Deer
Missing 15-Year-Old Red Deer Girl Vada Baptiste: RCMP Seek Public Help Locating Her
Red Deer RCMP are asking for the public's help finding Vada Baptiste, 15, last seen on August 6. She is described as five foot five, about 114 pounds, with long brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200.
Red Deer
Meet Katja, the Red Deer Public Library Dog Helping Kids Read: Alberta's First Library Facility Dog
Katja, a chocolate English Labrador, earned her facility dog vest in October 2023 after two years of training, becoming the first library facility dog in Alberta. She works one-on-one with kids in grades 1 to 5 through Sit, Stay, Read, visits Red Deer schools, and sits in on cancer support sessions. Registration fills fast.
Red Deer
Red Deer RCMP Searching for Missing 14-Year-Old Caleb Mathison
Caleb Mathison, 14, was last seen in Red Deer on August 5. He is five foot nine, about 170 pounds, with brown hair. Anyone who sees him or knows where he is should call Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2300.
Lethbridge
University town with a vibrant cultural scene.
Lethbridge
Coaldale Crossing Breaks Ground Near Lethbridge: $30M Retail Centre to Include New No Frills
Construction has started on Coaldale Crossing, a $30-million retail development off Highway 3 just east of Lethbridge. The 74,000-square-foot project will include a new No Frills and is targeting completion in November 2027.
Lethbridge
Lethbridge Hail Storm: Red Alerts Issued for Coaldale and Claresholm as Baseball-Size Hail Warnings Hit Southern Alberta
Environment Canada issued red alerts Tuesday evening for extremely dangerous thunderstorms near Coaldale and Claresholm, warning of baseball size or greater hail. Claresholm was pounded. Storms tracked east across southern Alberta into the night as part of a system running the length of the province.
Lethbridge
Lethbridge Wastewater Rates Will Rise 18% a Year Until 2030 to Pay for a $261 Million Plant Expansion
City council voted unanimously to borrow up to $261 million for the largest infrastructure project in Lethbridge's history, a 50 per cent expansion of a wastewater plant last enlarged in the 1980s. It's paid through your utility bill: rates climb 18.05 per cent a year from 2027 to 2030, adding $23.05 a month to the average household by the end of it. Here's what the money builds, why council wouldn't wait, and what your bill looks like each year.
Alberta
Things to Do in Lethbridge This Long Weekend: July 31–August 3, 2026 (Heritage Day Festival & More)
Heritage Day gets marked twice in Lethbridge on Monday: free at Henderson Lake Park with the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association, and at Nikka Yuko with taiko drumming, a lion dance and a new yukata dressing experience. Plus three Bulls home games and the Saturday market.
Medicine Hat
A distinct community with its own culture.
Alberta
Medicine Hat Stampede 2026: Schedule, Tickets, Gate Prices and Everything Still to Come This Week
The Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede is on now through Saturday, July 25, with the Summer Pro Rodeo, the West Coast Amusements midway, and Johnny Reid closing out the night shows. Gate admission is $12, kids are $6, and Friday afternoon is a Double Toonie window. Here's everything still ahead, what tickets actually include, and the midway math worth knowing.
Lethbridge
Southern Alberta Fire Danger Is Climbing as the Heat Peaks: Where Fire Bans Are in Effect Right Now
Southern Alberta is in the hottest, driest stretch of summer, and fire risk is climbing with it. Lethbridge's River Valley is under a full fire ban, Cypress County around Medicine Hat has had one of its worst fire seasons in years, and a dry-lightning threat is forecast to push toward the Alberta border this week. But the status is patchy, banned in some places, clear in others. Here's where things stand and how to check your own area.
Alberta
Planet Fitness Is Opening a 16,000-Square-Foot Gym Inside the Medicine Hat Walmart
A 16,000-square-foot Planet Fitness is under construction inside the Walmart at 2075 Strachan Road SE in Medicine Hat, with an opening planned for fall 2026. It's the chain's latest Canadian location, built around low-cost memberships and, for Black Card members, extras like massage loungers. Here's what's coming and what it means for the city.
Alberta
Medicine Hat Approves Affordable Seniors Housing for Indigenous Elders on Spencer Street: What's Being Built and When
Medicine Hat city council has unanimously approved donating a surplus parcel at 301 Spencer Street SE to the Miywasin Friendship Centre, along with a $412,000 transfer from capital reserves, to build affordable housing for Indigenous Elders. The project will bring 16 to 20 independent-living units to a piece of city land that has sat empty since the 1970s. Here is what's planned, how it's funded, and the timeline.
Grande Prairie
The largest city in the Peace Region, gateway to northern Alberta.
Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie Wildfire GWF058 Still Out of Control at 30 Hectares as Fire Danger Goes High
Wildfire GWF058 is still classified as out of control at about 30 hectares near the British Columbia border, according to Alberta Wildfire's August 23 update. It hasn't grown significantly since the day before, and crews, helicopters, airtankers and heavy equipment are still on it. Wildfire danger across the Grande Prairie Forest Area has been bumped up to high.
Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie's $29M Skilled Trades Centre Opens August 26 With 1,500 Seats
Northwestern Polytechnic's 40,000-square-foot Skilled Trades Training Centre opens August 26 at 112 Street and 100 Avenue. Eleven apprenticeship pathways, more than 1,500 seats, and a $29-million investment. It follows the closure of NWP's Fairview campus and the move of carpentry and welding into Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie
Twilight Drilling Faces 8 Charges After Worker Seriously Injured Near Beaverlodge, West of Grande Prairie Alberta
Two workers were beneath a drilling rig near Beaverlodge in July 2024, each assigned a different job. One activated a machinery control and the other was caught in a support chain and seriously injured. Alberta OHS has laid eight charges against Nisku-based Twilight Drilling Ltd. None has been proven in court.
Alberta
Alberta Government to Host AI Data Centre Town Halls in Ponoka, Sturgeon County and Grande Prairie
Technology Minister Nate Glubish is holding in-person town halls in Ponoka on August 19, Sturgeon County on August 20 and Grande Prairie on September 11. Premier Danielle Smith joins a virtual session on August 27. The Sturgeon County meeting lands 18 days after dozens of people protested Meta's $13 billion campus there.
Other Communities
More from Alberta — Fort McMurray, Canmore, Drumheller, and more
Alberta
Alexander Spa Hotel Opens in Canmore in Early 2027: Inside the Adults-Only Rooms, Cost and What's Being Built
The Alexander Spa Hotel opens at 300 Spring Creek Drive in Canmore in early 2027. Adults-only, 45 suites, a 13,000-square-foot spa, geothermal heating, and an underground tunnel to The Malcolm Hotel next door. It's the second of three hotels planned on land the Kernick family has owned since the 1920s.
Alberta
Tornado Advisory for Lloydminster, Cold Lake and East-Central Alberta: Funnel Clouds Reported Close to the Ground
Environment Canada has issued a tornado advisory for east-central Alberta, between approximately Cold Lake, Lloydminster, Vegreville and Smoky Lake. Funnel clouds have been reported very close to the ground and may touch down as brief landspout tornadoes. The risk lasts until early this evening.
Alberta
Alberta's Forestry Ministry Charged With Six Safety Violations Over Death of 24-Year-Old Jasper Firefighter
Morgan Kitchen, 24, was killed by a falling tree while fighting the Jasper wildfire on August 3, 2024. Alberta's Ministry of Forestry and Parks, his employer, now faces six workplace safety charges laid on July 29 this year, five days before the two-year limitation period on such prosecutions expired.
Alberta
Alberta Town That Ordered a Separatist Billboard Down Now Has a Pro-Canada One
A Taber business donated billboard space to Forever Canadian, the campaign against Alberta separation, and Thomas Lukaszuk posted his thanks over the weekend. Two months earlier the town ordered a pro-separation billboard removed as a nuisance, the sign stayed up anyway, and people were threatening to boycott Taber corn.
Alberta
Danielle Smith Urges Ottawa Back to the Table Before September 8 Counter-Tariffs Hit
Canada will impose counter-tariffs of 15, 25 and 50 per cent on roughly 700 American products starting September 8, alongside a $7.5-billion support package. Premier Danielle Smith says she appreciates the relief but wants Ottawa to use the next two weeks to restart negotiations.
Alberta
Alberta Landscaping Company Fined $318,000 After Worker Fell Through Roof at Edmonton Site
Arbutus Landscaping Inc. pleaded guilty August 19 to failing to establish a system to ensure compliance with Alberta's OHS laws, as prime contractor at an Edmonton construction site where a worker died after falling through a roof in December 2023. A roofing company faces 24 counts over the same incident and is sentenced September 10.
Alberta
High-Risk Sex Offender Released From Bowden Institution in Alberta, Moving to Winnipeg
James Joseph O'Kane, 35, was released on statutory release from Bowden Institution in central Alberta on Monday and will live in Winnipeg. Police consider him at high risk to reoffend against women. He is subject to parole conditions and a lifetime weapons ban.
Alberta
Alberta Health Cards Now Expire for the First Time. Smith Calls It Fraud Prevention. Here's How to Keep Your Coverage.
Alberta health cards carry an expiry date for the first time since the paper card was introduced in 1969, and keeping AHCIP coverage means revalidating in person before that date. Premier Danielle Smith is defending the change as fraud prevention, pointing to roughly half a million more health numbers than residents. Here's where your date is, what to bring to the registry, the one-time grace period most people don't know exists, and what happens if you miss it.
Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie Wildfire GWF058 Still Out of Control at 30 Hectares as Fire Danger Goes High
Wildfire GWF058 is still classified as out of control at about 30 hectares near the British Columbia border, according to Alberta Wildfire's August 23 update. It hasn't grown significantly since the day before, and crews, helicopters, airtankers and heavy equipment are still on it. Wildfire danger across the Grande Prairie Forest Area has been bumped up to high.
News
Alberta Seniors Benefit 2026: Who Qualifies and How Much You Could Receive
Low-income seniors in Alberta may qualify for financial assistance through the Alberta Seniors Benefit. For the 2026 benefit year, eligible single seniors earning $32,690 or less and couples earning up to $53,800 may receive support with payments based on income,living arrangements and marital status.