Retrospective: Mind the Gap
In the spring of 2011, Naheed Nenshi flew off on his first big overseas junket as mayor of Calgary—a trade mission to China. His destination was Beijing, and he arrived after a gruelling flight [...]
By Chris Turner
Infrastructure
Infrastructure
The $35-Billion Build
After its hangover softened in late May 2015, the NDP likely felt winner’s remorse. The new government inherited hundreds of decaying hospitals and schools, many with leaking roofs, toxic mould [...]
Beyond Books
Each morning, David McMain tries to get to work an hour before he officially starts. But he doesn’t head straight to his office at Edmonton’s Stanley Milner library, where he is an outreach [...]
By Jay Smith
The Two-Wheel Challenge
Ask any cyclist who manoeuvres Calgary’s or Edmonton’s roads during rush hour if they feel comfortable or even respected by drivers. The answer is usually a resounding “no.” Ask any driver if [...]
Wild Rose Bullet
If Sir William Cornelius Van Horne were alive today, he’d surely be first in line to weigh in on the notion of a Calgary/Edmonton high-speed rail link. Haughty, wealthy and totally uncompromising [...]
Money Pit: The Case Against P3s
Communities are built around public facilities and the services they deliver. Town halls, libraries, hospitals, schools, arenas, recreation centres, roads and water treatment plants are [...]
MOST READ
MOST READ
The Lesson of Lougheed
For 100 years, between 1905 and 2005, Albertans changed their government only three times (1921, 1935, 1971). The last of these elections, the most portentous, happened 50 years ago this August. Alberta has now changed government twice in the past six years. The next election may see yet another new government—meaning ...
The Assault on Higher Education
The Kenney government proclaimed in fall 2019 that Alberta’s post-secondary institutions were “overly dependent” on government funding—which is an odd thing to say about a public good. Then it declared that the province’s grant to the schools should be reduced by 20 per cent by 2023. The rationale for this ...
Rediscovering a River
The Cree called it Kisiskâciwanisîpiy—the swiftly flowing river. For the Blackfoot, it was omaka-ty—the big river. It starts in the Columbia Icefield, at the toe of the Saskatchewan Glacier, and cuts the province in half as it flows through Banff and Jasper national parks, northeast to Edmonton, then east-by-southeast across the ...