The Pulse: Aug. 26, 2025

Leaders at Interactive Arts Alberta and the Walkthrough Collaborative Centre are launching an accelerator that offers $25,000 for video game studios called Baby Ghosts Alberta, hoping to share the lessons they learned while participating in the Baby Ghosts peer accelerator in Toronto.

"Baby Ghosts is focused on marginalized developers, but also on worker-centric values and the cooperative style," Madison Côté, the executive director of Interactive Arts Alberta, told Taproot. "It provided us time to actually focus on the studio itself, rather than rush (out a game). There are a bunch of accelerators where their milestones are, 'Have you hit this point in production? How close are you to release?' But they don't care how healthy the dynamic of the team is. They don't care if you're going to make it past your first game."

Over six months in 2023 and 2024, Côté participated in the Baby Ghosts accelerator as part of Cohort 3. Côté worked there on Cozy Comet Games alongside Derek Kwan, her colleague at both the worker-cooperative game studio and IAA. The next year, Côté and Kwan acted as peer mentors for Baby Ghosts Cohort 4.

Now, the two are partnering with Baby Ghosts to launch Baby Ghosts Alberta, which will run from late fall through April. The accelerator offers peer- and mentor-based learning, and participants receive a $25,000 stipend as they work on their game. Côté and Kwan want to include at least four independent studio teams that include people who are Indigenous, Black, racialized, ethno-religious minorities, persons with disabilities, or from 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Applications for Baby Ghosts Alberta will open in September, and the accelerator will begin in either late October or early November.

Côté said the accelerator is especially needed right now because game studios need support. Though created by ex-pats from the Edmonton success story BioWare, both Inflexion Games and Humanoid Origin have rolled out layoffs, or completely shut down, respectively.

"The past few years have been pretty tumultuous for the games industry," Côté said. "A lot of studios have either collapsed or been acquired, so the big focus for us is quality, studio sustainability, and resilience."

Côté and Kwan told Taproot about crunch culture and burnout in the video game industry when launching Walkthrough, their coworking-esque space on Whyte Avenue for indie game developers. Walkthrough will host part of the Baby Ghosts Alberta programming here in Edmonton, though studios from anywhere in Alberta can apply. The accelerator is predominantly in-person to better foster collaboration, Kwan told Taproot.

A major part of the curriculum is about autonomy from corporate acquisition, which runs contrary to the conventional "success" narrative. "A lot of what we're trying to do with the accelerator is to create a pathway for founders, for people who own their own intellectual property, to not have to sell (their IP) in order to survive," Kwan said. "(We want to support) the local industry that will be that foundation for the growth of other studios."

Kwan said the Canada Media Fund's Changing Narratives Fund is supplying about two-thirds of the funding for Baby Ghosts Alberta, while the province is supplying the rest through the Northern and Regional Economic Development Program. He added that IAA is working on one more potential funder so it can have five studios in the accelerator cohort rather than four.

Beyond Baby Ghosts, there are other mentorship programs for game studios in Edmonton and Alberta. Edmonton Screen has the Summit Push Program and The Trailhead Program; the Scaffold Institute, meanwhile, offers a Venture Acceleration Program, and the GameCamp Edmonton Game Developers Association has a variety of programs.

• Edmonton city council approved a contentious master agreement for a new event park at ICE District, alongside plans to build 2,500 housing units in the Village at ICE District and to demolish the Coliseum. The $408.2-million project, shared by the city, province, and OEG, passed with a vote of nine to four. Councillors expressed concerns about public funds for private projects and potential competition with the Edmonton Convention Centre. In a release, Edmonton City Manager Eddie Robar and Downtown Business Association CEO Puneeta McBryan highlighted the investment's potential to boost housing, public infrastructure, and economic opportunities in Edmonton's core. OEG has committed to completing the first 354 housing units by late 2028.
• Nearly 70% of candidates in the upcoming Edmonton and Calgary municipal elections are running as independents, Postmedia reported, despite new provincial legislation allowing candidates to list a party label for the first time in decades. In Edmonton, 60 of 81 candidates are independents, with 21 affiliated with either Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton or Better Edmonton. Better Edmonton is led by mayoral candidate Coun. Tim Cartmell and includes incumbent Karen Principe. Candidates have until Sept. 22 to complete nominations for the Oct. 20 election.
• Alberta teachers, represented by the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA), resumed mediated contract talks aiming to avoid a potential provincewide strike that could start as early as next week. ATA President Jason Schilling said that teachers, who voted 95% in favour of strike action, are demanding improvements in pay, classroom conditions, and resources. Premier Danielle Smith believes current funding levels are adequate, but Schilling argues issues stem from chronic underfunding. Edmonton Public Schools is developing contingency plans, while St. Albert Public Schools advised families to prepare for alternate childcare arrangements if a strike happens.
• The Evelyn Memorial Search Team, a group from Manitoba, has joined the search for missing teenager Samuel Bird. The group is using AquaEye, a sonar device, to search the North Saskatchewan River. Bird was last seen in June in the west Edmonton neighbourhood of Canora.
• Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen joined Edmonton residents angry over new bike lanes in the Delton neighbourhood. Residents, including Jeremiah Rawling who led a 700-name petition, expressed frustration that city council ignored its opposition to lanes planned for 124 Avenue, 92 Street, and 96 Street. They argue Edmonton's $100-million Active Transportation Network Expansion Program relies on outdated 2019 consultations and duplicates existing infrastructure. Karl Tracksdorf of Bike Edmonton, while supporting design modifications, warned provincial intervention could add red tape and increase costs.
• Former Alberta Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk is taking his "Forever Canadian" petition to the streets to establish remaining in Canada as Alberta's official policy. He aims to collect 294,000 signatures by the end of October for a referendum. This effort, supported by 3,000 volunteers, contrasts with the Alberta Prosperity Project's push for a referendum on Alberta becoming a sovereign country.
• First-year students at the University of Alberta experienced nerves and emotions during their move-in day on Aug. 25. This event marked the start of their university journey, welcoming the Class of 2029 to the Edmonton campus ahead of the fall semester.
• The Edmonton Oilers prospect pipeline ranked 31st in the NHL for 2025, dropping from 30th in 2024. The Athletic reported that the assessment highlights Matthew Savoie and Isaac Howard as the only "legit pro prospects" poised to help soon.

The co-hosts of Episode 320 of Speaking Municipally explored a river valley development policy, a downtown student housing incentive, and where mayoral candidates stand on infill. Here's a quick snapshot.

1. River Valley bylaw

Co-hosts Stephanie Swensrude and Mack Male examined the city's new river valley redevelopment plan and its critics, which Postmedia reported on. The plan, which council passed on Aug. 18, will allow administration to approve developments in the river valley of up to 10,000 square metres without council's permission. For context, Swensrude said the surface parking lot at the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market is about 7,750 square metres. The co-hosts noted that the North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society opposed parts of the plan, taking issue with its somewhat vague language and the reduced oversight it gives council on development proposals. For context, the conservation society wanted the threshold for needing to seek council oversight to drop to just 500 square metres.

"That does seem like a large amount of space," Male said, about the newly passed threshold. "You can build quite a bit on 10,000 square metres, and for no council oversight to happen there is definitely a change."

Swensrude, meanwhile, suggested the river valley won't drastically change in the immediate future. "I don't think that there's going to be a hotel in the middle of the river valley anytime soon," she said.

2. Downtown student housing

On Aug. 13, executive committee recommended that council approve a $15 million downtown student housing incentive. Funded by the federal Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the incentive offers developers $30,000 per unit to those who build student housing downtown. The priority zone is concentrated around the planned Warehouse Park, close to MacEwan University and NorQuest College. The city's aim is to address the needs of the more than 80% of Edmonton post-secondary students who spend more than 30% of their income on rent. It also aims to bring more to downtown in the process.

Swensrude said there's evidence that students brighten up the neighbourhoods they live in. "(The incentive) addresses affordability for students who are, famously, a very broke segment of society. It addresses the vibrancy of downtown," she said. "I go to Whyte Avenue, and the young people certainly contribute to a vibrant nightlife."

3. Mayoral candidates fill us in on infill

Both co-hosts said a recent Postmedia article that compiled where mayoral candidates stand on infill had notable details. They honed in on mayoral candidates who are current councillors, like Andrew Knack, who said he wants to protect trees on private property, and Tim Cartmell, who said he wants to change the rules to reduce the maximum size of houses to four units when they are mid-block and six units on corners. Cartmell also said he wants at least half a parking stall allotted per new unit of housing, despite the fact Edmonton was the first large city in Canada to institute open option parking rules in 2020.

"(Open option parking is) something Edmonton has been widely praised for," Male said. "(A minimum parking requirement) actually seems like an odd thing to want to bring back."

The Aug. 22 episode also includes discussion of the receivership of Edmonton City Centre, the possible changes to city council's schedule, Taproot's election project, and more. Listening and subscription options are all right here.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• We Care For Patients - Pitch Application Information Session starting at 12:30pm
• Ardrossan Farmers' Market starting at 4:30pm at Ardrossan Memorial Hall
• ILEA Alberta Chapter Annual General Meeting starting at 5pm at CKUA
• Grove Gatherings: Jed and the Valentine starting at 6:30pm at Columbus Park

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 30: In the Woods Music Festival at SebaHub Recreation and Event Centre
• Sept. 5: Purple City Music Festival
• Sept. 7: Alberta Bike Swap at Alberta Aviation Museum

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

Test your crossword prowess and deploy a little of your Edmonton knowledge. Complete the puzzle.

If you'd like to go back and do a puzzle you missed, here's the archive.