Alberta
Financial boost will engage Red Deer Polytechnic with partners working on medical device innovations

Red Deer Polytechnic’s CIM-TAC receives national funding
Two years after being designated a Technology Access Centre through a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Red Deer Polytechnic’s Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing (CIM-TAC) is celebrating new funding. The national funding – and the equipment it supports – were highlighted at the CIM-TAC Open House, hosted yesterday at the industrial research facility.
“The Open House provided an opportunity for stakeholders and community members to come to CIM-TAC and gain a better understanding of the first-class innovation and opportunities that are available here,” says Jim Brinkhurst, Interim President of Red Deer Polytechnic. “The prestigious grant funding that the CIM-TAC has received over recent years allows us to grow the knowledge, expertise and equipment available to support research and innovation – in central Alberta and beyond.”
NSERC announced in April that the CIM-TAC would receive $300,000 over two years in an Applied Research and Technology Partnership (ARTP) grant to promote the growth of innovations in health care assistive devices in Alberta. CIM-TAC’s business and industry clients will be able to accelerate commercialization of their devices through the addition of engineers and technologists with specialties in mechanics, mechatronics and robotics, as well as students in engineering, business, and health sciences to assist on projects.
“The TAC grant in 2020 allowed us to increase our capabilities to include design engineering and material experts,” says Dr. Tonya Wolfe, CIM-TAC Manager. “The additional staff we’ll be able to take on with the ARTP grant will give us an integrated team of specialists capable of accelerating new product development for our industry clients. Additionally, we will be able to provide a new focus area for central Alberta’s existing manufacturing base, many of whom have already expressed a desire to find areas for new opportunities as the traditional economy of our region changes.”
The majority of medical devices used in our healthcare system are imported. By encouraging the growth of innovations in health care assistive devices in the region, it will enable Alberta’s manufacturers to diversify into this market through the adoption and integration of digital manufacturing, which is key to meeting the changing realities of Alberta’s economy.
“With our enhanced capacity, CIM-TAC is able to provide Alberta’s assistive health care companies an integrated one-stop applied research shop to accelerate the commercialization of their homegrown innovations,” says Wolfe. “Our expertise includes design for manufacturing, validation, and manufacturing optimization – all intended to support SMEs at every stage of the innovation cycle as they focus on improving their manufactured products and processes.”
Darryl Short of Karma Medical Products (KARMED) gave a keynote address at the Open House event about his collaboration with the CIM-TAC in the development of a system for hand and upper extremity therapy. The product assists patients in gaining flexibility, strength, and functional independence. CIM-TAC worked with KARMED on prototyping and in the scale up stage.
“Through our recent funding and the opportunities it provides, Red Deer Polytechnic’s CIM-TAC is positioned to collaborate with innovators and industry to meet an important need across our province,” says Brinkhurst. “We look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to achieve positive short-term and long-term goals that will benefit Albertans.
About the Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing (CIM-TAC):
While its Technology Access Centre designation was awarded in 2020, the CIM opened in 2009 as one of the key facilities of RDP’s Four Centres. Since then, they have collaborated with hundreds of small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs to create solutions to numerous real-world manufacturing challenges. In 2021, the CIM-TAC had more than 500 engagements with business and industry clients interested in applied research and advanced manufacturing. Out of these, 28 new products and processes were developed, and 41 existing products were improved.
Alberta
Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

From the Fraser Institute
By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.
Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.
In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.
Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.
The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.
Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.
Alberta
Owner sells gas for 80 cents per litre to show Albertans how low prices ‘could’ be

Undoubtedly some of the motorists driving past The Whistle Stop Cafe at Mirror on Tuesday morning thought it was an April Fools prank. It wasn’t.
Chris Scott, owner of the gas station at The Whistle Stop Cafe offered a one day promotion on April 1st. Scott sold 8000 litres of regular gasoline for $0.80/ litre.
The promotion was funded by Scott and the Alberta Prosperity Project. In this video posted to his social media, Chris Scott explains why they did it.
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