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The province.
Starting Nov. 1, four Alberta ports of entry will change their operating hours to match U.S. border facilities. The province will keep Mountain Daylight Time year-round while U.S. clocks change in fall and spring.
Mark Taylor, one of three executive vice-presidents whose employment was terminated in 2019 after reports on the ICORE scandal, has returned to the Alberta Energy Regulator as board secretariat director. The AER and Alberta’s government said staffing decisions rest with the regulator and that it has hiring due diligence processes.
Alberta’s proposed rules for data centres seeking grid connections would admit natural gas generation while excluding renewables, hybrid facilities and standalone storage. Clean energy advocates say the approach could raise costs and emissions; the Alberta Electric System Operator says gas can meet data centres’ around-the-clock power needs.
Former University of Alberta chancellor Peggy Garritty urged voters to reject the referendum’s immigration and constitutional questions and said her group supports Alberta remaining in Canada. Advance voting begins Tuesday, following the Thanksgiving long weekend.
As Alberta’s Oct. 19 vote approaches, some residents say the separation debate is creating strain at home and at work. Community members and religious leaders are urging respectful conversations as voters prepare to answer 10 questions, including whether to hold a binding referendum on leaving Canada.
Danielle Smith says she would not call a second separation referendum if Albertans vote to remain in Canada. The statement is drawing attention as Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum and the province’s separation debate feature prominently in recent headlines.
Food prices rose 3 per cent year over year in August, while Calgary shoppers and the food bank are feeling the effects of higher costs. Since 2023, daily demand at the Calgary Food Bank has more than doubled, and 29 per cent of its clients have full-time jobs.
The province has directed Edmonton to restore earlier zoning and parking rules, giving city council three months to comply and 18 months for a broader review. Edmonton officials, housing advocates and neighbourhood groups disagree over the effects on housing, infrastructure, local democracy and investment.
Jose Moran Robles and his family have returned to Edmonton to thank the people who helped him receive life-saving heart surgery in 1998. Now 30, he lives a full, healthy life in Panama, and his mother called the visit a family “life goal.”
Dr. Luis Murguia-Favela says patients with serious illnesses depend on plasma-derived medicines as Canada reviews safety concerns at private donation clinics. Health Canada identified regulatory problems at Grifols sites after two Winnipeg donors died in October 2025; the company disputes any link between plasma donation and one donor’s death.
The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled 4-1 that Ottawa’s revised Impact Assessment Act still intrudes on provincial jurisdiction. The federal government is reviewing the decision as it pursues changes to energy project assessments and works with Alberta on a proposed West Coast pipeline.
Alberta has ordered Edmonton to restore earlier approval rules for high-density infill and bring back parking minimums, giving the city three months to devise a new zoning formula. The intervention followed years of neighbourhood protests, a close council vote and an election in which a pro-infill mayor and several incumbent councillors won office.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he will visit Alberta next week to deliver a speech on Canadian unity ahead of an Oct. 19 vote on whether to hold a future separation referendum. He also plans additional campaigning on the ground, but has not said where or when he will speak.
Alberta’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4 per cent in September, below Canada’s 6.5 per cent rate, while employment grew by 23,000 jobs. Edmonton had the highest rate among the province’s four largest cities, while Calgary and Red Deer both recorded 6.3 per cent.
Wood Buffalo RCMP say seven of 11 “Let Alberta Decide” signs in Fort McMurray were damaged between Sept. 29 and Oct. 4, ahead of the Oct. 19 Referendum. The signs have been repaired, and police are seeking witnesses and surveillance footage.
Alberta Senator Paula Simons says a referendum question on abolishing the Senate is unnecessary because a premier can already pursue constitutional change with willing provinces. A constitutional law expert questions whether voters can make crisp decisions on a 10-question ballot, while Senator Scott Tannas urges Albertans to learn about the Senate before voting Oct. 19.
The Medicine Hat Police Service’s downtown patrol unit received a provincial award in Lethbridge on Oct. 2 for its work responding to and preventing crime and violence. The unit was nominated by the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce and was formed six years ago.
Primary Care Alberta will bring its mobile mammography trailer to Langdon for three days, offering free screenings by appointment. The trailer will be in the Save-On-Foods parking lot at #101 97 Centre Street S.W.
RCMP are seeking information after seven referendum signs in Fort McMurray were damaged with spray paint. The signs were put up by Let Alberta Decide with permission from Elections Alberta and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
The Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, webcast includes reports on Alberta’s direction to Calgary and Edmonton to revisit zoning bylaws, threats sent to an Islamic school and Calgary businesses’ views on immigration changes. Other topics include a SAIT aviation park and free RSV antibody treatment for newborns starting in November.