Province to pay evacuees from High Level

From the Province of Alberta

Help is on the way for wildfire evacuees

Residents of northwest Alberta who were evacuated under mandatory order due to wildfire will receive funding of $1,250 per adult and $500 per dependent child.

Evacuees can begin registering for their MyAlberta digital ID anytime and can apply for emergency payments beginning Sunday at noon. Funds can take up to 24 hours to flow into accounts. Debit cards will be available starting Monday for those who are unable to receive e-transfers.

“Our government is committed to ensuring no one is left behind as a result of this wildfire. That means supporting evacuees with their short-term financial needs while they are away from their homes and communities. We understand the significant stress evacuees are under right now, and will be there for them in their time of need.”Kaycee Madu, Minister of Municipal Affairs

“These one-time emergency payments will help defray the costs that residents have incurred because of the mandatory evacuation order. We hope that sharing the costs of day-to-day, essential expenses will provide some peace of mind for residents during this stressful time.”Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Community and Social Services

“Conditions in northwest Alberta remain dangerous and still require caution. These emergency payments will make it easier for families to be out of their homes until it is safe to return.”Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry

Quick facts

Local updates can be found at:
- http://www.highlevel.ca/
- https://www.facebook.com/TownofHighLevel/
Information on the process can be found at www.alberta.ca/emergency
You can apply for your evacuation payment at www.account.alberta.ca/signin
The application will ask you to log in to your MyAlberta Digital Identity account. If you don’t have an account, you’ll be able to sign up for one through the evacuation payment application.
To receive your payment via Interac e-Transfer, you will also need a personal email address.
Persons unable to register electronically or seeking a debit card instead of e-transfer should visit one of the reception centers starting Monday located at:

Slave Lake Legacy Centre
400 6 Avenue
1-800-863-6582

High Prairie Sports Palace
5409 49 Street
780-843-9563

Peace River Misery Mountain Ski Hill
10408 – 89 Street
780-624-4881

La Crete
25411 TWP RD 1060, south of La Crete
780-928-4447 (If you can’t get through, keep trying and refrain from leaving a message. You can also call the Incident Command Centre at 780-927-3718)

Grande Prairie Regional College
10726 106 Avenue

Fort Vermilion Community Cultural Complex
5001 44 Avenue

Hay River Dene Wellness Centre
In K’ atl’ Odeeche First Nation, located 17 kilometres east of Hay River
1-867-874-2652

Duane Rolheiser

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:

“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.

“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.

“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.

“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.

“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

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Published on April 2, 2025

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jock Finlayson

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.