The Pulse: April 9, 2026

The original organizers of Jane's Walk YEG are stepping aside to let the Edmonton City As a Museum Project take over the festival of community-led neighbourhood tours.

"They've got the social media folks, and web people with more web skills, and a broader range of contacts in the community," said Ian Hosler, one of the first organizers of the Edmonton version of Jane's Walk, which marks its 16th anniversary this year, starting on May 1. "So we see it as a really positive and more sustainable sort of transition."

ECAMP, a program born out of the Edmonton Heritage Council, focuses on exploring history in unique places around the city.

"It is essentially a museum without walls," said Kesia Kvill, the community engagement manager for the heritage council. "We're really all about promoting what it is to be Edmontonian and connecting people with each other and the community through the heritage and stories of the city."

So Jane's Walk is a good fit, and ECAMP plans to keep the festival free, grassroots, and diverse.

Jane's Walk began as a celebration of Jane Jacobs, an American-Canadian urban activist who wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Jacobs was instrumental in stopping the lower Manhattan expressway in the 1960s.

"In her later years, she moved to Toronto and carried on with a lot of that work," Hosler said. "After her passing, some of her friends thought, 'Wouldn't be a great legacy for her life to host these walks?'."

Jane's Walks now happen all over the world on the first weekend in May, and Edmonton has held one annually since 2010. To both Hosler and Kvill, handing the festival to ECAMP made sense based on the shared interests of both organizations.

"We realized that there was potentially some opportunity for us to step into that space to ensure the sustainability and ongoing success of Jane's Walks," Kvill told Taproot. "It's kind of a perfect extension of the summer tour programming that we offer now."

• The City of Edmonton's annual Spring Sweep to clear debris from roads and active pathways runs from April 8 to June 1. The City said the work improves road safety, air quality, and prevents storm drain blockages. Major roads will be cleaned starting April 8, with crews operating 24 hours a day and no parking ban. Residential road cleaning begins April 20, with temporary parking bans in effect weekdays from 7am to 7pm. Residents must move their vehicles off the road to avoid a $250 fine. Vehicles will not be towed. Schedules will be available online, and signs will be posted 24 hours in advance.
• Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford said she is disappointed over the reduced capacity of the planned Southeast Transit Garage in Edmonton. The facility's capacity was scaled from 430 to 255-290 buses. Rutherford said she is concerned it will hit capacity by 2036, just four years after its projected opening at the end of 2031. Edmonton Transit Service has maxed out existing garage space, which is hindering service expansion. The $670.8-million project will support both diesel and zero-emission fleets.
• Edmonton hosted its third Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Takeover Tour game as the league ponders expansion for the 2026-27 season. Edmonton has hosted the most Takeover Tour games of any Canadian city, previously drawing 17,518 fans last season and 10,264 on Dec. 27. PWHL advisory board member Stan Kasten said the league is ready for expansion, with many cities eager to host either Takeover Tour games or full-time teams.
• Laurent Ferreira, CEO of National Bank of Canada, outlined the bank's strategy in Western Canada during an interview with Postmedia, after its $5-billion acquisition of Edmonton-based Canadian Western Bank in February 2025. Ferreira said that Edmonton now serves as National Bank's regional headquarters for Western Canada. With nearly 2,000 of its about 3,000 Western Canada employees in Alberta, the bank aims to double its regional presence in five years, focusing on commercial banking, retail, and wealth.
• A rally in downtown Edmonton's Sir Winston Churchill Square on April 8 gathered about 200 First Nations leaders and supporters to oppose an Alberta separation referendum. Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Blackfoot Confederacy, and Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation are challenging the chief electoral officer's approval of a petition for a referendum by Stay Free Alberta. "We talk about separation here — people have to understand that these lands belong to us and we will not sit idly by," Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi said.
• Edmonton Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram earned the team's nomination for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which recognizes "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." Ingram previously won it in 2023-24 with Arizona after overcoming mental health struggles, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and alcoholism.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Table Top Games Night starting at 5pm at Earth's Refillery Coop
• Ward Dene In-Person Engagement for 2027-2030 Budget starting at 5:30pm at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Junior High School
• Garlic Fest Wine Dinner: Sorrentino's Downtown starting at 6:30pm at Sorrentino's (Downtown)
• Parkland Poets Online Reading Series starting at 6:45pm online
• Holding Liat starting at 6:45pm at Garneau Theatre
• Get Ready in the Neighbourhood starting at 7pm at The Meadows Community Recreation Centre
• Understanding Arthritis starting at 7pm at St. Albert Public Library (Downtown)
• The Wizard of Oz starting at 7:30pm at Citadel Theatre
• Suburban Fury starting at 9pm at Garneau Theatre
• Rat Academy at Roxy Theatre (until April 12)
• Marjorie Prime at Varscona Theatre (until April 19)

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• April 18: Waskahegan Trail Association Annual General Meeting at St. Thomas Anglican Church
• April 23: YEG Trivia Night with ECAMP and Taproot at The Canadian Brewhouse (Downtown)
• April 26: Dreaming of Fireflies: Native Plant Workshop at Ritchie Community Hall

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

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