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Alberta

Alberta wildfire situation: Update 3

Published

2 years ago

9 minute read

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 24,000 individuals have been evacuated from communities throughout north and central Alberta.

Those evacuated due to wildfires are asked to register at local reception centres or at emergencyregistration.alberta.ca.

Current situation

  • Alberta has declared a provincial state of emergency. Visit Alberta.ca/emergency for information or call 310-4455.
  • Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for the following areas. Please check alberta.ca/emergency or download the Alberta Emergency Alert mobile app for complete information:
    • Parts of Brazeau County. Evacuees should register in Edmonton at the Expo Centre, Hall C, at 7515 118 Avenue.
    • Parts of Northern Sunrise County.
    • Parts of Mackenzie County. Evacuees should register at the High Level Rural Hall.
    • The entire Town of Rainbow Lake. Evacuees should register in High Level at the High Level Arena, at 10101 105 Avenue.
    • Fox Creek, Little Smoky and surrounding areas. Evacuees should register at the Allan and Jean Millar Centre, at 58 Sunset Boulevard in Whitecourt.
    • Parts of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and the Municipal District of Greenview. Evacuees should register at Memorial Hall, 4808 50 Street in Valleyview.
    • Parts of the County of Grande Prairie. Evacuees should register at the Bonnets Energy Centre, 10017 99 Avenue, Grande Prairie.
    • Parts of Big Lakes County. Evacuees should register at Elks Rodeo Hall on Highway 749.
    • Parts of Lac Ste Anne County. Evacuees should register at the Mayerthorpe Diamond Centre, at 4184 54 Street.
    • Parts of Yellowhead County, including the Town of Edson.
    • The communities of Whitefish River and Aitkameg. Evacuees should register at the Town of Slave Lake office, at 10 Main Street, Slave Lake.
    • The Hamlet of Entwistle. Evacuees should register at Wabamun Jubilee Hall, at 5132 53 Avenue in Wabamun.
    • Parkland County and the Hamlet of Entwistle. Evacuees should register at Wabamun Jubilee Hall at 5132 53 Avenue in Wabamun.
  • Residents of the following areas should be prepared to evacuate on short notice:
    • The Grovesdale area of the Municipal District of Greenview
    • The area west of Beaverdam Provincial Recreation Area and east of the Bighorn Dam, including the hamlet of Nordegg.
    • Parts of the County of Grande Prairie, including Pipestone Creek area.
    • The town of High Prairie.
    • Parts of Wetaskiwin County.
  • Sixteen declared states of local emergency and two band council resolution include:
    • Big Lakes County
    • Brazeau County
    • County of Grande Prairie
    • Clear Hills County
    • Clearwater County
    • Drayton Valley
    • Town of Edson
    • MD of Fairview
    • Town of High Prairie
    • Northern Sunrise County
    • East Prairie Metis Settlement
    • Saddle Hills County
    • Lac St. Anne County
    • Parkland County
    • Rainbow Lake
    • Yellowhead County
    • The Little Red River Cree Nation (Fox Lake) has declared a band council resolution
    • Whitefish Lake First Nation has declared a band council resolution

Information for evacuees

  • Evacuees should register at the reception centre identified for their community so staff can quickly assist them and connect them with the resources they need.
  • Evacuees with special needs who are unable to stay in an evacuation centre can request emergency financial assistance to cover hotel accommodations.
    • Special needs could include having a disability, a medical condition or other family needs.
    • Apply for emergency financial assistance by visiting an Alberta Supports Centre or calling the Income Support Contact Centre at 1-866-644-5135. Information is also available through the Alberta Supports Contact Centre at 1-877-644-9992.
  • Albertans affected by wildfires, including evacuees, can access supports by calling the Alberta Supports Contact Centre at 1-877-644-9992.
    • The centre is open from 8:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
  • The Income Support Contact Centre is also available 24-7 and provides emergency financial assistance. It can be reached at 1-866-644-5135.

Fire bans and other restrictions

  • Unusually warm, dry weather and strong winds mean it is easier for a wildfire to start and spread.
  • As a result of these conditions, the entire province is under a fire ban. No open burning is allowed, including backyard fire pits inside the Forest Protection Area. Alberta Parks and many municipalities and communities have ordered their own bans and restrictions. For more information, visit Albertafirebans.ca.
  • A provincial off-highway vehicle restriction is also in place, which means the recreational use of off-highway vehicles on public land, including on designated OHV trails, is prohibited.

Wildfire activity updates

  • There are currently 110 active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area, 37 of which are classified as out of control.
    • Information on all wildfires is on the Alberta Wildfire dashboard and the Alberta Wildfire app.

Travel

  • There are multiple road closures and advisories for north and central Alberta.
  • Visit 511.alberta.ca for up-to-date information on road closures and travel advisories.

Health

  • Alberta Health Services is supporting the evacuation of the Drayton Valley Hospital.
    • Patients will be moved to Rocky Mountain House and Edmonton hospitals.
  • Edson Healthcare Centre has been fully evacuated with patients/continuing care residents and families being notified of new location of all patients and continuing care residents.
  • Evacuation of the Fox Creek Health Centre is currently underway.
    • AHS continues to work in providing care in the community to transport residents to other facilities in Alberta and Edmonton.
  • EMS and zones continues to be fully engaged to ensure safe transport and care of all patients/residents. Other zones and provincial programs are assisting with reception centres, and ensuring availability of spaces/equipment as needed.
  • Alberta Health Services is deploying mobile air quality monitoring, as multiple communities are reporting high levels of smoke and ash residue.
  • Residents affected by the wildfires who have health care-related questions and are looking for up-to-date information about the wildfires or health care resources, should visit the Alberta Health Services Wildfire Resources webpage.
  • For non-emergency health advice, including information on their health care options, residents should call Health Link at 811.

Justice

  • Due to the wildfire evacuation of Evansburg, Evansburg court sittings on Monday, May 8 have been relocated to Stony Plain.
  • The Drayton Valley circuit court is within the Town of Drayton Valley’s evacuation order. The next sitting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16.

Agriculture and livestock

  • Agricultural societies may have room for livestock evacuated from wildfire areas: Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies.
  • Evacuated farmers and ranchers:
    • can contact the wildfire resource line at 310-4455 with agriculture and livestock related questions.
    • should register at the reception centre identified for their community so staff can quickly assist them and connect them with the resources they need.
    • may need re-entry permits if they want to go back into an evacuated area to check on livestock, and should check with their municipality before entering.

Alberta Emergency Alerts

  • For up-to-the-minute Alberta Emergency Alert information, visit Alberta Emergency Alert.
  • Albertans are encouraged to download the Alberta Emergency Alert mobile app, which immediately pushes all alerts out to subscribers.

Before Post

Related Topics:

This is a news release from the Government of Alberta.

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Albertans have contributed $53.6 billion to the retirement of Canadians in other provinces

Published on March 27, 2025

By

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Nathaniel Li

Albertans contributed $53.6 billion more to CPP then retirees in Alberta received from it from 1981 to 2022

Albertans’ net contribution to the Canada Pension Plan —meaning the amount Albertans paid into the program over and above what retirees in Alberta
received in CPP payments—was more than six times as much as any other province at $53.6 billion from 1981 to 2022, finds a new report published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Albertan workers have been helping to fund the retirement of Canadians from coast to coast for decades, and Canadians ought to know that without Alberta, the Canada Pension Plan would look much different,” said Tegan Hill, director of Alberta policy at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Understanding Alberta’s Role in National Programs, Including the Canada Pension Plan.

From 1981 to 2022, Alberta workers contributed 14.4 per cent (on average) of the total CPP premiums paid—Canada’s compulsory, government- operated retirement pension plan—while retirees in the province received only 10.0 per cent of the payments. Alberta’s net contribution over that period was $53.6 billion.

Crucially, only residents in two provinces—Alberta and British Columbia—paid more into the CPP than retirees in those provinces received in benefits, and Alberta’s contribution was six times greater than BC’s.

The reason Albertans have paid such an outsized contribution to federal and national programs, including the CPP, in recent years is because of the province’s relatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes, and younger population.

As such, if Alberta withdrew from the CPP, Alberta workers could expect to receive the same retirement benefits but at a lower cost (i.e. lower payroll tax) than other Canadians, while the payroll tax would likely have to increase for the rest of the country (excluding Quebec) to maintain the same benefits.

“Given current demographic projections, immigration patterns, and Alberta’s long history of leading the provinces in economic growth, Albertan workers will likely continue to pay more into it than Albertan retirees get back from it,” Hill said.

Understanding Alberta’s Role in National Programs, Including the Canada Pension Plan

  • Understanding Alberta’s role in national income transfers and other important programs is crucial to informing the broader debate around Alberta’s possible withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
  • Due to Alberta’s relatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes, and younger population, Albertans contribute significantly more to federal revenues than they receive back in federal spending.
  • From 1981 to 2022, Alberta workers contributed 14.4 percent (on average) of the total CPP premiums paid while retirees in the province received only 10.0 percent of the payments. Albertans net contribution was $53.6 billion over the period—approximately six times greater than British Columbia’s net contribution (the only other net contributor).
  • Given current demographic projections, immigration patterns, and Alberta’s long history of leading the provinces in economic growth and income levels, Alberta’s central role in funding national programs is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
  • Due to Albertans’ disproportionate net contribution to the CPP, the current base CPP contribution rate would likely have to increase to remain sustainable if Alberta withdrew from the plan. Similarly, Alberta’s stand-alone rate would be lower than the current CPP rate.

 

Tegan Hill

Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute

Nathaniel Li

Senior Economist, Fraser Institute
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Alberta

Alberta Institute urging Premier Smith to follow Saskatchewan and drop Industrial Carbon Tax

Published on March 27, 2025

By

From the Alberta Institute

Axe Alberta’s Industrial Carbon Tax

Aside from tariffs, carbon taxes have been the key topic of the election campaign so far, with Mark Carney announcing that the Liberals would copy the Conservatives’ long-standing policy to axe the tax – but with a big caveat.

You see, it’s misleading to talk about the carbon tax as if it were a single policy.

In fact, that’s what the Liberals would like you to think because it helps them hide all the other carbon taxes they’ve forced on Canadians and on the Provinces.

Broadly speaking, there are actually four types of carbon taxes in place in Canada:

  1. A federal consumer carbon tax
  2. A federal industrial carbon tax
  3. Various provincial consumer carbon taxes
  4. Various provincial industrial carbon taxes

Alberta was actually the first jurisdiction anywhere in North America to introduce a carbon tax in 2007, when Premier Ed Stelmach introduced a provincial industrial carbon tax.

Then, as we all know, the Alberta NDP introduced a provincial consumer carbon tax in 2017.

The provincial consumer carbon tax was short-lived, as the UCP repealed it in 2019.

But, unfortunately, the UCP failed to repeal the provincial industrial carbon tax at the same time.

Worse, by then, the federal Liberals had introduced a federal consumer carbon tax and a federal industrial carbon tax as well!

Flash forward to 2025, and the political calculus has changed dramatically.

Mark Carney might only be promising to get rid of the federal consumer carbon tax, but Pierre Poilievre is promising to get rid of both the federal consumer carbon tax and the federal industrial carbon tax.

This is a clear opportunity, and yesterday, Scott Moe jumped on it.

He announced that Saskatchewan will also be repealing its provincial industrial carbon tax.

Saskatchewan never had a provincial consumer carbon tax, which means that, within just a few weeks, people in Saskatchewan could be paying ZERO carbon tax of ANY kind.

Alberta needs to follow Saskatchewan’s lead.

The Alberta government should immediately repeal Alberta’s provincial industrial carbon tax.

There’s no excuse for our provincial government to continue burdening our industries with unnecessary costs that hurt competitiveness and deter investment.

These taxes make it harder for businesses to thrive, grow, and create jobs, especially when other provinces are taking action to eliminate similar policies.

Premier Danielle Smith must act now and eliminate the provincial industrial carbon tax in Alberta.

If you agree, please sign our petition calling on the Alberta government to Axe Alberta’s Industrial Carbon Tax today:

 

 

After you’ve signed, please send the petition to your friends, family, and wider network, so that every Albertan can have their voice heard!

– The Alberta Institute Team

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