• 'Let's do it right': N.W.T. downstream leaders and advocates on Alta. oilsands tailings release

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-10-22 17:08:09.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, Environment, Energy, Resources, Indigenous]

  Indigenous communities, advocacy groups like Alternatives North, and downstream leaders in the Northwest Territories are calling on federal and territorial governments to review Suncor's proposed oilsands tailings release into the Athabasca River system. Critics cite major scientific data gaps, potential health risks to communities dependent on municipal supplies from Lake Athabasca and Great Slave Lake, and the inadequacy of the 2015 N.W.T.-Alberta Bilateral Water Management Agreement. N.W.T. Environment and Climate Change Minister Jay Macdonald stated that the territory opposes the treat-and-release plan until scientific uncertainties are resolved, though primary regulatory authority rests with the federal government and the Alberta Energy Regulator.

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• Mattamy Homes taps into sunny Alberta's solar energy

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-16 15:00:03.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Housing, Energy, Environment, Climate]

  Mattamy Homes has integrated standard solar panel systems into more than 1,000 new single-family, duplex, and rear-lane townhomes across Alberta since June 2024, in partnership with trade partners SkyFire Energy and Zeno Renewables. The initiative has saved homeowners an estimated $460,000 annually in energy costs and reduced carbon emissions by approximately 3,200 tonnes per year. Standard offerings include an eight-panel system per home along with triple-pane windows, improved air tightness, and EnerGuide labelling. Additionally, Mattamy Homes has acquired 153 acres in southeast Calgary for the Belvedere community and partnered with Truman for a 253-acre master-planned community in Chestermere, expected to deliver roughly 1,900 homes with construction starting in summer 2028.

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• New provincial recycling program stirs grumblings in northern Alberta community

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-15 19:54:15.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Municipal, Environment, Infrastructure]

  Following the implementation of Alberta's provincially-mandated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, management of packaging and paper products shifted to the not-for-profit organization Circular Materials on October 1, 2026. In the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, collection services are now serviced by Collective Waste Solutions Inc., with approximately 38,000 old municipal bins collected and stored at the regional landfill between September 22 and October 6. Residents in communities like Fort McMurray have experienced operational disruptions, including delayed blue cart deliveries and uncollected legacy bins remaining on properties.

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• Jasper wildfire recovery: the complex rebuild happening above and below the town's streets two years on from disaster

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-14 17:30:21.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Municipal, Infrastructure, Housing, Emergency, Environment]

  Two years following the July 2024 wildfires, the Municipality of Jasper continues its infrastructure and housing recovery efforts, spearheaded by Director of Recovery Douglas Olthof. The federal and Alberta governments announced $7.9 million on September 1 to recommission a wastewater lagoon, addressing storage capacity and flood risks. Recovery initiatives include property-specific soil testing supported by Parks Canada and the Canadian Red Cross, municipal neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood upgrades to curb stops and shut-off valves, and the addition of 45 new housing units through a newly approved apartment building. Concurrently, the municipality has launched a public Town Plan survey via engagejasper.ca, active until October 25, to replace the 2011 Jasper Community Sustainability Plan and guide future development.

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• Alberta Court of Appeal says Impact Assessment Act is still unconstitutional

  Source: Global News Politics
  Date: 2026-10-09 22:16:10.0
  Tags: [Alberta, National, Environment, Energy, Resources, Governance]

  In a 4-1 decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government's Impact Assessment Act (originally passed as Bill C-69) remains unconstitutional because it still grants federal authorities the power to halt projects entirely within provincial jurisdiction based on minimal federal impacts. The legal challenge was brought by Alberta with backing from Ontario and Saskatchewan, following previous rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called on the federal government to accept the ruling and avoid another appeal, while federal officials stated they are reviewing the decision. Meanwhile, the federal government is attempting to transfer energy project reviews to the Canada Energy Regulator through Bill C-39 while maintaining compliance with the Impact Assessment Act.

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• Alberta First Nation taking Ottawa to court over West Coast pipeline

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-09 00:20:48.0
  Tags: [Alberta, National, Indigenous, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure]

  Cold Lake First Nations has filed an application in Federal Court challenging the federal and provincial decision to designate the $35 billion to $43 billion Pacific Link oil pipeline project as being in the national interest. The proposed pipeline, backed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, would transport up to one million barrels of crude a day from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Delta, British Columbia, while incorporating the Pathways Project carbon capture network near Cold Lake. Chief Kelsey Jacko argues that Ottawa breached Canadian law by failing to consult the community meaningfully regarding the pipeline designation and the underground carbon storage risks on their traditional territory.

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• Water, toxic waste and opportunity: Indigenous leaders react to Carney's pipeline plan

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-08 08:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, British Columbia, Alberta, Energy, Environment, Indigenous]

  Prime Minister Mark Carney's federal government designated the Pacific Link pipeline project—designed to transport one million barrels of oil daily from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Roberts Bank, British Columbia—as a project in the national interest, targeting construction to begin within a year and operations by 2032. Indigenous leaders, including Sumas First Nation Chief Dalton Silver, Treaty 8 Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi, and Fort McKay First Nation Chief Raymond Powder, have raised critical concerns regarding tight consultation timelines, potential environmental threats to water, fish, and wildlife, unresolved oilsands tailings management, and equitable community equity participation offering at least 10 per cent ownership.

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• Indigenous, local leaders optimistic about new pipeline despite “host of issues” Carney says Federal government is yet to address

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-05 16:03:04.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]

  Prime Minister Mark Carney, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and Pembina Pipeline Corp. CEO Scott Burrows announced that the Pacific Link Pipeline (formerly West Coast Oil Pipeline) has been officially listed as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act. The project aims to export an additional one million barrels of Albertan oil per day to Asian markets, generate over $20 billion annually in GDP, create 140,000 jobs, and provide a 10 per cent ownership stake to Indigenous communities in British Columbia and Alberta through an accelerated single federal regulatory review process. However, the initiative faces ongoing concerns from local Indigenous groups—including Fort McKay First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation—regarding unresolved legacy issues, carbon capture and storage technologies like the Pathways Project, mine water release, and effluents regulations tied to a trilateral memorandum of understanding aiming to double regional oil production to eight million barrels per day within a decade.

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• Separatist, environment, and some First Nation groups speak out against new Alberta-B.C. pipeline

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-02 20:03:56.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Infrastructure, Energy, Environment, Indigenous]

  Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the Pacific Link pipeline, proposed by Pembina Pipeline Corporation, has been designated a project of national interest, allowing it to be fast-tracked through Ottawa's major projects office with construction potentially starting in September. The pipeline faces strong opposition from Alberta separatists like Let Alberta Decide over public financing and timing, B.C. and Alberta First Nations including Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and the Union of B.C. Indigenous Chiefs over lack of consultation and environmental impacts, and environmental groups like the Pembina Institute and Ecojustice over increased greenhouse gas emissions and risks to the Salish Sea.

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• Ottawa faces deadline on whether to fast-track new West Coast pipeline

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-01 11:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment]

  The federal government and the Alberta government face an October 1 deadline to decide whether to designate a new 1,250-kilometre bitumen pipeline project under Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, to fast-track its approval. The multi-billion dollar project, estimated to cost between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, would run from Bruderheim, Alberta, to the Roberts Bank terminal in Delta, British Columbia, carrying more than one million barrels of bitumen per day. The Alberta government and the federally owned Trans Mountain Corporation would each hold a 45 per cent ownership stake, while the Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation would hold a 10 per cent stake. The project is conditional on the construction of the Pathways carbon storage network and faces opposition and potential hurdles from First Nations groups and environmental organizations over Indigenous consultation and environmental impacts.

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• First Nations Chief threatens legal action against province if tailings water is released

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-21 15:59:11.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Indigenous, Energy, Environment, Resources, Mining]

  Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam has threatened a 20-year legal battle against the Alberta government if provincial or federal regulators approve plans to treat and release oilsands mining wastewater from companies like Suncor Energy Inc. into the Athabasca watershed. The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation strongly oppose the "treat and release" approach for the 1.4 billion cubic meters of fluid tailings, citing severe local health concerns and threats to Treaty rights along the 1,230-kilometer river. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated that wastewater release is governed under federal jurisdiction and oilsands leases, while Environment Minister Grant Hunter maintains that treated mine water release is necessary to achieve site reclamation and return land to a self-sustaining boreal forest.

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• An alternative to treat and release? Alberta to approve $4.6 million grant for tailings ponds water treatment research

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 18:10:50.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Mining, Technology, Indigenous]

  Emissions Reduction Alberta offered a conditional $4.6 million grant to Tũ Nipi Water Solutions—an Indigenous-owned venture formed by Fort McKay Oil Services and BioLargo Canada based in the Fort McKay First Nation—to fund research and development of water-treatment solutions for tailings ponds in the Athabasca oilsands region. The funding, expected to roll out in early 2027 for closed-lab testing, aims to develop alternatives to controversial treat-and-release wastewater proposals for handling the more than 1.4 billion cubic metres of fluid tailings currently stored in the province. The initiative aligns with recommendations from Alberta's Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee and incorporates traditional knowledge alongside advanced cleantech applications.

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• 'AI is here to stay': Cherry-picking Glubish tells concerned Grande Prairie crowd to call their MLAs about data centres

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 15:32:29.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Technology, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure, Municipal]

  Approximately 300 residents attended a contentious Sept. 11 town hall in Grande Prairie regarding the proposed 65-square-kilometre Wonder Valley AI data centre project backed by Kevin O'Leary. Alberta's Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, defended the initiative by stating artificial intelligence is here to stay and pointing to a closed cooling system meant to mitigate water use from the Smoky River. However, local participants and critics, including resident Casey Klein and SAIT research scientist Dr. Robert Davies, raised concerns that the facility—which holds interim and preliminary municipal licences to draw up to 6 million and 24 million cubic metres of water annually—would impose cumulative environmental impacts through thermal energy emissions, low-frequency fan noise, and heavy resource exploitation within the Municipal District of Greenview and the Peace Country Region.

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• Carbon capture CEO says critics ‘told me I was crazy,’ hopes Alberta project proves them wrong

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 11:00:33.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Climate, Technology, Taxation]

  Montreal-based Deep Sky Corp. operates its Deep Sky Alpha direct air capture facility near Innisfail, Alberta, where it pulls carbon dioxide from the air, stores it underground, and sells offset credits to corporations such as TD Bank Group, Microsoft Corp., and Royal Bank of Canada. U.S.-based GE Vernova Inc. is partnering with Deep Sky to install a machine designed to capture up to 1,500 tonnes of carbon annually by late 2026. The capital projects and equipment are supported by a federal refundable tax credit covering up to 60 percent of eligible direct air capture spending through the end of 2035.

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• Carbon capture CEO says critics ‘told me I was crazy,’ hopes Alberta project proves them wrong

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 11:00:33.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Climate, Technology, Industry]

  Montreal-based Deep Sky Corp. operates its Deep Sky Alpha direct air capture facility near Innisfail, Alberta, where it pulls carbon dioxide from the air, stores it underground, and sells offset credits to buyers including TD Bank Group, Microsoft Corp., and Royal Bank of Canada. The company utilizes a refundable federal tax credit covering up to 60 percent of eligible spending on direct air capture equipment through the end of 2035. GE Vernova Inc., a U.S.-based partner, is bringing a machine to the Alpha site designed to capture up to 1,500 tonnes of carbon annually by late 2026.

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• Northern Alberta communities raise concern over week-long foul odour from oilsands site, benzene leak speculation debunked

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-16 15:30:16.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Resources, Public Safety]

  Residents in the Wood Buffalo region of Northern Alberta reported a week-long foul odour extending from Fort McKay to Fort McMurray, prompting investigations by the Alberta Energy Regulator. The Alberta Energy Regulator confirmed the smell originated from scheduled tank maintenance at the Syncrude Mildred Lake oilsands facility, which is operated by Suncor Energy. Suncor Energy debunked community speculations regarding a toxic benzene leak, stating that air monitoring data from Wood Buffalo Environmental Association stations showed no exceedances of applicable air quality limits or human health thresholds.

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• Ottawa’s giant tax write-off could win over investors for oilsands carbon storage project: industry

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-15 23:36:03.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, Energy, Environment, Taxation, Industry]

  Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed a productivity mega deduction at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, allowing businesses to deduct the full cost of new equipment and long-term assets in their first year. Industry representatives from the Pathways Alliance, including President Kendall Dilling, stated this federal tax policy addresses a crucial hurdle for financing the alliance's multi-billion-dollar carbon capture and storage project in Alberta. The Pathways Alliance project aims to cut approximately six million tonnes of emissions annually and is targeting a November 15 memorandum of understanding deadline for final binding agreements, with pipeline construction projected around 2030.

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• Saskatchewan, Alberta and Northwest Territories Sign Nuclear Energy Agreement to Strengthen Grid Reliability

  Source: Saskatchewan - Government News
  Date: 2026-09-14 21:05:00.0
  Tags: [Saskatchewan, Alberta, National, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment]

  Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan, Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta, and Premier R.J. Simpson of the Northwest Territories have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on nuclear energy generation and electricity interconnections. The agreement establishes a framework for evaluating large-scale nuclear reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs), and microreactors, alongside the development of regional transmission infrastructure and interties. The partnership builds upon previous cross-jurisdictional agreements, including Saskatchewan's March 2026 Partnership Agreement on Transmission Interties and a 2024 MOU between Saskatchewan and Alberta, to enhance grid reliability, support carbon-neutral power generation, and secure long-term regional energy security.

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• Health study begins examining potential oilsands impacts on Fort Chipewyan

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-09-10 12:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, Indigenous, Healthcare, Environment, Energy]

  A 10-year, $12-million federally funded health study named Project Monument Hill has officially begun to examine potential links between oilsands developments and cancer rates among residents in the northern Alberta Indigenous community of Fort Chipewyan. Overseen by the Métis Nation, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and the Mikisew Cree First Nation—with the federal government playing an observer role—third-party researchers will analyze current and historical health data, monitor environmental conditions, and evaluate traditional land use. The study follows decades of community concern regarding industrial projects upstream along the Athabasca River, such as Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine and Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills mine.

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• Alberta declares a race with the U.S. on carbon storage, as Canada's biggest project opens

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-10 11:00:01.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Climate, Resources, Industry]

  Enhance Energy Inc. has broken ground on the Origins CCS Hub in Clive, Alberta, representing Canada's largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, which is scheduled to become operational by January 2027. The facility will initially store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year in deep saltwater formations, equivalent to removing over 500,000 cars from the road, utilizing the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line and pipelines built from Canadian steel. Alberta Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean framed the initiative as a race against the United States to capture carbon, which the province deems necessary to support its long-term goal of doubling oil production to eight million barrels per day. Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson noted that the federal government is collaborating with Alberta via a memorandum of understanding to establish a functioning carbon market.

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