The Pulse: Feb. 17, 2026

This week, council will consider a below‑market land sale in Wedgewood Heights, decide whether to remove municipal reserve land in Edmiston Industrial, and review a revised capital request from the largest non-profit social housing operator in Alberta.

There is a council meeting scheduled for Feb. 17 and 18, and a non-regular council meeting scheduled for Feb. 20.

Here are some key items on the agenda:

• Administration has proposed selling a portion of a surplus school site in Wedgewood Heights for $1 to Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta for a 60-unit mixed-market affordable housing development. If council approves the sale, administration will use part of its Housing Accelerator Fund allocation to expedite the development. Some nearby residents have opposed development on the site in Ward sipiyiniwak because it would remove green space from the community. Council will hold a statutory public hearing about the sale during its meeting on Feb. 18.
• Council is scheduled to debate at a statutory public hearing whether it should sell municipal reserve land in the Edmiston industrial area. The city acquired the land at 17803 114 Avenue NW in 1987 and planned to build a park, and later a new eco-station, but both uses are now deemed unnecessary. Administration plans to subdivide the property into three industrial lots. Council is required to hold a public hearing to dispose of municipal reserve land.
• Council is scheduled to review a revised capital budget request from GEF Seniors Housing. Council rejected the organization's request for an additional $4.7 million during the fall supplement budget adjustment and advised it to bring the budget down to $2.1 million. Administration said it will work with GEF to determine its operating and capital expenses for the 2027-2030 budget cycle, and said it will work to establish and fund a capital reserve to address the organization's longer-term capital needs.
• Councillors will discuss council's priorities and related performance measures for the 2027-2030 budget cycle at a non-regular meeting on Feb. 20.
• Council will meet in private to discuss a confidential negotiation, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference, council priorities, and the Office of the City Auditor's 2026 work plan.

• The City of Edmonton has activated its extreme weather response as temperatures are forecast to drop to -20°C or lower with wind chill for at least three consecutive days. The activation began on Feb. 16 at 9am and will be reassessed by Feb. 27. City facilities like recreation centres and libraries are open for warming during regular hours, while additional overnight shelter shuttles are running along north and south routes. Al Rashid Mosque will not provide additional shelter spaces during this period in observance of Ramadan.
• The City of Edmonton will institute fees for large patios on public land on April 1, after previously offering permits for such patios at no charge. "With reduced funding as a result of the 2024 Fall Supplemental Operating Budget Adjustment, the city is shifting to a shared-investment model," a city spokesperson told CBC. Large year-round patios that spill onto sidewalks will cost $6,900 per year, while seasonal ones will cost $3,700. Small sidewalk patios remain free to operate.
• A wetlands dispute over a property near the planned River's Edge neighbourhood in southwest Edmonton has left landowner Gaurav Mann with 30% of his property designated as protected wetlands. A remote survey by Stantec found 2.58 hectares of wetlands on the property, but when Mann commissioned an in-person survey by wetland ecologist Andrew Forrest, it found that only 0.04 hectares met provincial wetland criteria. Edmonton city council approved the River's Edge neighbourhood structure plan despite the dispute, after a motion to delay for updated projections was defeated 7-6.
• The Edmonton International Airport has unveiled an Indigenous-designed "YEG" installation to welcome delegates of the 2026 International Indigenous Tourism Conference, which will be held in Edmonton from Feb. 17 to 19. The installation, designed by artist Lance Cardinal from the Bigstone Cree Nation, is called "Wâhkôhtowin," which means "kinship" and denotes the interconnected nature of relationships, communities, and natural systems. "This piece is about welcome, connection, and identity," said Cardinal. "It's an invitation for visitors to understand where they are, whose land they are on, and the stories that continue here."
• The Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation raised a record $682,000 at the 16th annual Stollery Family Day Classic hockey tournament, which featured 108 teams at the Booster Juice Recreation Centre in Terwillegar. The funds will support the foundation's Giving Comfort program, which helps families making unexpected trips to the hospital. The tournament has now raised more than $5.3 million since its inception.
• The World's Longest Hockey Game concluded on Feb. 16 after raising more than $1 million for cancer research and treatment. This year's funds will support the installation of life-saving CAR T-cell immunotherapy equipment at the Alberta Cross Cancer Institute. The 40 participating players aimed to break the previous record of 264 hours, set by the same fundraiser in 2024, when it raised $1.4 million. The World's Longest Hockey Game began in 2003 and has raised more than $9 million over the years.
• BGCBigs has launched "BIG Summer," a new pilot mentoring program running from May to Aug. The program offers volunteer mentors an opportunity to try mentoring through one-on-one participation in low- or no-cost activities with mentees during the spring and summer months. Applications for volunteers are open until March 2.
• The Royal Alberta Museum recently hosted a tribute to Caribbean workers who helped build Alberta's oil industry, featuring live music, dance, and storytelling. Companies recruited skilled workers from Trinidad, Jamaica, and Barbados from the 1960s through the 1990s to meet labour demands in Fort McMurray. Many workers faced discrimination and isolation, but they built communities and established families, which continue to thrive in Alberta today.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Entrepreneur Talks: Lights, Camera, Lockdown starting at 10am at Game OVR
• Transforming Alberta's Healthcare System: A Conversation with Alberta's Health Ministers starting at 11am at JW Marriott (Edmonton ICE District)
• Mill Woods Leisure Centre Open House starting at 1pm at Mill Woods Recreation Centre
• Building Your Board Career Foundation starting at 4pm at Edmonton Unlimited
• Soup & Bannock starting at 5pm at Strathcona Community Centre and County Hall
• Have your say on nuclear energy in Alberta starting at 6:30pm
• An Evening with Edmonton's Historian Laureate starting at 6:30pm at Edmonton Public Library (Jasper Place)
• Indigenous Drumming starting at 7pm at Strathcona County Library
• Workaholics Anonymous starting at 7pm at Star of the North Retreat Centre
• Book Clubs of EPL: Palaces for the People starting at 7pm at Edmonton Public Library (Woodcroft)

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 3: Let's Find Out: About The Whale Society of Edmonton at City of Edmonton Archives
• March 5: BioAlberta's 2026 Policy Forum at Westin Edmonton
• March 9: Industrial Heartland Career Forum at Dow Centennial Centre

Visit 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.

For more on the answer to 4-Across and 2-Down, read on.