Opinion: Municipal parties a game changer for Edmonton elections
Article content
When I ran for mayor in 2021, I saw firsthand the challenges of standing alone in a crowded field. I spoke with other candidates who shared common values, goals, and aspirations, yet there was no formal way for us to work together. Every campaign operated in isolation, with limited resources and no framework
for collaboration. It didn't have to be that way.
Edmontonians are already familiar with political parties at the provincial and federal level. Those structures help voters understand where candidates stand and how they'll work together. Why shouldn't we offer the same benefits at the municipal level?
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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Smoke blankets Alberta as fight against western wildfires continues
Smoke from wildfires burning across Alberta has blanketed much of the province, including the Edmonton region. Edmontonians woke up to worsening air quality — the distinct smell of burning wood and morning skies cloaked in an orange haze. Environment Canada has issued special air quality statements for the city and surrounding regions, while air quality warnings remain in effect for a swath of communities across the northern portion of the province. Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke could fluctuate from hour to hour and as smoke levels increase, so do the health risks, Environment Canada cautioned. As of Tuesday morning, the Air Quality Health Index for the Edmonton region was rated at 10+, meaning that residents are at a very high risk from the current levels of air pollution. Christy Climenhaga, a scientist with Environment Canada, said Alberta hasn't recorded any smoke hours yet this year. Smoke hours are recorded when visibility is reduced below 10 kilometres due to smoke. She said this is typically when the general population will feel the effects of smoke inhalation. "But, there are certain sectors of the population that are more vulnerable to the effects of wildfire smoke. So I mean, some people will feel those effects earlier than others," she said. So far, Climenhaga said there have been four days in June with air quality at high risk. Environment Canada is urging people to limit their time outside and to monitor themselves for symptoms of prolonged exposure, including difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest pains or severe cough. WATCH | How to protect yourself from fine particles in wildfire smoke: Environment Canada meteorologist Steven Flisfeder said that from B.C. to Quebec, Canadians could likely see and smell wildfire smoke. "We're seeing smoke present almost everywhere," Flisfeder said. "When we look at satellite imagery, we can see the presence of smoke stemming from these wildfires making their way across the Atlantic toward the U.K. and parts of Europe." Flisfeder added that winds are expected to shift in the coming days. Anne Hicks, a professor of pediatric respiratory medicine at the University of Alberta, said exposure to wildfire smoke can have a broad range of health impacts. People will most often experience breathing difficulties but for people with chronic illness, the symptoms can be more extreme. Smoke has been known to trigger heart attacks and strokes, she notes. "If you can smell it or taste it, you're definitely breathing it in and bringing it into your body. Try and avoid exposures when you can," she said. "You do see long-term impacts the same as you would with any other kind of air pollution." She said more research is needed on the lingering health impacts of wildfire smoke, not only for people passively exposed to the pollution but firefighters who face prolonged and extreme exposure and acute symptoms that can linger for years. "These are people who are putting themselves in significant danger physically during their wildfire fighting." Smoke is drifting in from the northwest from fires burning in northern Alberta as well as northeastern B.C. Western Canada has faced a volatile start to wildfire season with explosive fire conditions and expanding evacuation orders straining emergency resources across the west. Between 10,000 and 15,000 remain under evacuation in Saskatchewan and another 21,000 have been forced from their homes in Manitoba, one of the largest evacuations in the province's history. Close to 3,000 Albertans remain on evacuation orders. Firefighters from Australia are bound for Alberta to help in the battle against more than 60 fires raging across the province. WATCH | Crews brave the flames to defend Manitoba homes under threat: As of noon Tuesday, 66 wildfires were raging across the province, 25 of which are burning out of control. Seven of the fires are considered an imminent threat to critical infrastructure or communities. Among them is a blaze along the Alberta-B.C. border, which has grown relentlessly for days, triggering a string of evacuation orders. The blaze, known as the Kiskatinaw River wildfire, continues to burn out of control since crossing the border into Alberta. The fire flared dangerously over the weekend, forcing an evacuation of Kelly Lake in northeast B.C., and destroying several structures within the remote community. Aggressive fire behaviour Sunday afternoon prompted the County of Grande Prairie to issue an expanded evacuation order and alert. The fire grew significantly overnight Sunday and continued to grow rapidly Monday. It now covers 21,679 hectares. Drier fuels and poor overnight humidity recovery are expected to fuel the fire, especially in exposed areas and spruce stands. The wildfire continues to progress toward containment lines along the north side, officials said. On Tuesday, as the heat and wind returned, a string of new evacuation orders in northern Alberta were issued, including in the Municipal District of Greenview. According to an alert issued at 11 a.m., a fire burning out of control about 81 kilometres southeast of the City of Grande Prairie, is spreading toward homes on Forestry Trunk Road near the Bison Flats recreation area. The evacuation order applies to everyone between the Smoky River and the Forestry Trunk Road, along all points accessed from the Forestry Trunk Road from Kilometre 70 to Kilometre 126. Residents were told to leave immediately and bring enough supplies to last three days. 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Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Are Edmonton Oilers watch parties really one of the worst things going? As if
Move over, Moss Pit. Article content The Edmonton Oilers might be one of the two best teams this year, but apparently, the experience of watching doesn't quite live up to expectations. Article content Article content If you aren't one of the 18,347 lucky spectators in the stands for a game, but do the next best thing and gather among fellow fans for the watch parties surrounding Rogers Place, a new study suggests Edmontonians will be getting a subpar experience in next year's playoffs. Article content Article content Some outfit called Time2play analyzed what they determined to be the key elements that 'make an NHL watch party fun,' and ranked all 32 NHL teams based on fan engagement, local food and drink options, best weather and overall hype. Article content Article content And guess what, Edmonton. The results aren't great. Article content This city wouldn't even make the playoff cut among the top half of teams. No, the Alberta capital appears all the way down in the bottom 10 of the rankings. Article content But, hey, it calls itself a study. And even uses words such as 'methodology,' and 'metrics.' And it has a press release and everything. So, let's give it a chance here (after we remove tongue from cheek, that is). Article content 'To create the NHL watch party index, the study analyzed a range of fan experience metrics, including average attendance, arena Google reviews, surrounding food and drink ratings, average local temperatures, fan hype around watch parties (search trends for each team's watch parties and playoff drought length) to capture the sense of anticipation,' the study states. Article content Article content Article content So far, it sounds about as convincing as your typical dirt-lot used car salesman. Maybe let's just jump to the conclusion. Article content Article content 'According to the results, Edmonton Oilers fans came 27th in the rankings, scoring 23.9 out of 100, coming close to landing the title for worst watch party.' Article content Alright, let's take a look at the list and see what fans are better: Article content 1. Tampa Bay Lightning (62.5) 2. Washington Capitals (53.8) 3. Buffalo Sabres (52.7) 4. Anaheim Ducks (52.1) 5. Detroit Red Wings (47.1) 6. Columbus Blue Jackets (46.5) 7. Chicago Blackhawks (46.4) 8. Philadelphia Flyers (45.7) 9. New York Rangers (39.3) 10. Dallas Stars (38.9) 11. Nashville Predators (38.6) 12. Pittsburgh Penguins (38.4) 13. Seattle Kraken (37.9) 14. San Jose Sharks (36.2) 15. Florida Panthers (35.6) 16. Los Angeles Kings (33.3) 17. Vegas Golden Knights (33.0) 18. Vancouver Canucks (32.8) 19. Minnesota Wild (32.7) 20. Calgary Flames (30.4) 21. Boston Bruins (29.2) 22. Toronto Maple Leafs (28.3) 23. Colorado Avalanche (28.2) 24. Montreal Canadiens (25.7) 25. New Jersey Devils (25.4) 26. St. Louis Blues (25.4) 27. Edmonton Oilers (23.9) 28. Carolina Hurricanes (23.4) 29. Utah Mammoth (23.4) 30. Winnipeg Jets (22.6) 31. New York Islanders (22.3) 32. Ottawa Senators (18.2)
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
Are Edmonton Oilers watch parties really one of the worst things going? As if
Move over, Moss Pit. The Edmonton Oilers might be one of the two best teams this year, but apparently, the experience of watching doesn't quite live up to expectations. If you aren't one of the 18,347 lucky spectators in the stands for a game, but do the next best thing and gather among fellow fans for the watch parties surrounding Rogers Place, a new study suggests Edmontonians will be getting a subpar experience in next year's playoffs. Some outfit called Time2play analyzed what they determined to be the key elements that 'make an NHL watch party fun,' and ranked all 32 NHL teams based on fan engagement, local food and drink options, best weather and overall hype. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. And guess what, Edmonton. The results aren't great. This city wouldn't even make the playoff cut among the top half of teams. No, the Alberta capital appears all the way down in the bottom 10 of the rankings. Or, as the study's headline reads: 'Oilers fans among the top 10 worst hosts for NHL watch parties.' Sixth worst, in fact. But, hey, it calls itself a study. And even uses words such as 'methodology,' and 'metrics.' And it has a press release and everything. So, let's give it a chance here (after we remove tongue from cheek, that is). 'To create the NHL watch party index, the study analyzed a range of fan experience metrics, including average attendance, arena Google reviews, surrounding food and drink ratings, average local temperatures, fan hype around watch parties (search trends for each team's watch parties and playoff drought length) to capture the sense of anticipation,' the study states. So far, it sounds about as convincing as your typical dirt-lot used car salesman. Maybe let's just jump to the conclusion. 'According to the results, Edmonton Oilers fans came 27th in the rankings, scoring 23.9 out of 100, coming close to landing the title for worst watch party.' Alright, let's take a look at the list and see what fans are better: 1. Tampa Bay Lightning (62.5) 2. Washington Capitals (53.8) 3. Buffalo Sabres (52.7) 4. Anaheim Ducks (52.1) 5. Detroit Red Wings (47.1) 6. Columbus Blue Jackets (46.5) 7. Chicago Blackhawks (46.4) 8. Philadelphia Flyers (45.7) 9. New York Rangers (39.3) 10. Dallas Stars (38.9) 11. Nashville Predators (38.6) 12. Pittsburgh Penguins (38.4) 13. Seattle Kraken (37.9) 14. San Jose Sharks (36.2) 15. Florida Panthers (35.6) 16. Los Angeles Kings (33.3) 17. Vegas Golden Knights (33.0) 18. Vancouver Canucks (32.8) 19. Minnesota Wild (32.7) 20. Calgary Flames (30.4) 21. Boston Bruins (29.2) 22. Toronto Maple Leafs (28.3) 23. Colorado Avalanche (28.2) 24. Montreal Canadiens (25.7) 25. New Jersey Devils (25.4) 26. St. Louis Blues (25.4) 27. Edmonton Oilers (23.9) 28. Carolina Hurricanes (23.4) 29. Utah Mammoth (23.4) 30. Winnipeg Jets (22.6) 31. New York Islanders (22.3) 32. Ottawa Senators (18.2) The study cites Edmonton landing in the bottom three with an average temperature of 2 C as a major deterrent, not realizing that's absolutely balmy compared to what we get here throughout the regular season. Combine that with being ranked 11th for food and drink options based on Google reviews of venues within a 15-minute walk of the arena — which they actually called a stadium, in case you were wondering about the legitimacy of it all — and we get what we get. Oh, the study didn't feel the need to explain how seven of the top 10, and 11 of the top 15 teams didn't even make the postseason this year, which you would think might make for a pretty important factor in determining the overall effectiveness of a playoff watch party. Like, how much fun would an imaginary watch party be anyway? Is this watch party in the room with us right now? Can other people see this watch party? Here are some takeaways of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday, where the Florida Panthers won 6-1 to take a 2-1 series lead over the Oilers: READ MORE The Oilers never expected to dominate Stanley Cup Final Edmonton Oilers say they aren't afraid of any ghosts in Florida • Brad Marchand is turning out to be an Oilers slayer , following up a two-goal performance in Game 2, including the overtime winner, with the opening tally to set the pace Monday. Oilers fans take little solace in the fact that his addition at the trade deadline will now cost them a first-round draft pick, instead of a second-rounder had they not reached the final. • Edmonton's lone goal was a big one for Evan Bouchard, who earned an assist to record the 80th playoff point (20 goals, 60 assists in 72 games) of his career, tying him for the fifth fewest games in NHL history for a blue liner to reach the milestone, joining Bobby Orr (66 games), Paul Coffey (67 games), Brian Leetch (70 games), Al MacInnis (71 games) and Cale Makar (72 games). • Officials have been heavy on the whistles early on in games this series, calling five of the seven penalties in the first period of Game 1, and 11 of 14 in the first period of Game 2. Eight of the 32 penalties in Game 3 were called in the first period. Monday's game was the first time this series a penalty was called in the third period, which had a total of 23 infractions. Game 4 shall be interesting, not to mention pivotal. • The Panthers are a perfect 11-0 when scoring at least five goals in a game over these playoffs. Yes, they have done it 11 times. More than half of the 20 games they've played. E-mail: gmoddejonge@ On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
