A 70-year-old man from Sherwood Park has died after an SUV collided head-on with a school bus on a rural road south of Edmonton. RCMP were called to the intersection near Millet shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday, where officers found the SUV driver deceased at the scene. Police say five people were on the bus, including four students, and none of them were injured. The bus was operating within the Wetaskiwin-area school system, which serves families across central Alberta, including commuters who regularly travel the region’s grid roads during winter weather. Investigators say poor road conditi

Alberta’s provincial health authority is undergoing another leadership change as Alberta Health Services says chief executive officer Andre Tremblay has taken a leave of absence. The organization did not disclose the reason for his departure, citing personnel limitations. The provincial government has appointed senior AHS official Erin O’Neill to oversee the agency on an interim basis. She will serve both as acting CEO and temporary board chair as the organization continues its transition into a dedicated provider of hospital and clinical services under the government’s health system res

Alberta has consolidated its police oversight system under a new Police Review Commission, a move the provincial government says will simplify how the public files concerns about police conduct. Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis announced the start of operations on Monday, saying the province wanted a clearer and more consistent process for handling complaints. The new commission replaces a mix of police service units and external agencies that previously managed different parts of the disciplinary process. The province says the centralized model is intended to reduce confusion for residents a

A provincewide petition asserting that Alberta should remain within Canada has met the legal threshold and has been formally validated by Elections Alberta. The petition, launched by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, gathered more than 400,000 verified signatures, surpassing the minimum needed to trigger a legislative review. Under provincial law, the successful verification sends the matter to an all-party committee of the Alberta legislature, which will determine whether a provincewide referendum on national unity should move ahead. The process is part of Alberta’s citizen-initiative

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is stressing that the United Conservative Party remains committed to working within Canada, even as internal divisions over the province’s future surfaced at the party’s weekend convention. The gathering came one week after Alberta and the federal government announced a major energy agreement, a deal that drew a mixed response from grassroots members and prompted renewed questions about the party’s stance on Confederation. During the convention, several figures associated with the party’s pro-independence movement received strong support, including standi

A man was killed and another person injured after a boom truck left Highway 20 northwest of Red Deer over the weekend, according to RCMP. Police say the southbound vehicle went into the ditch, causing fatal injuries to the driver. Officials confirm the 44-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger was transported to hospital with injuries that were assessed as non life threatening. Highway 20 is a key route for rural communities west of Red Deer, and collisions in the corridor have raised ongoing concerns about winter driving safety in central Alberta. RCMP continue to investig

Alberta is now forecasting a $6.4-billion deficit for the current fiscal year as softer oil prices and ongoing trade uncertainty continue to weigh on the province’s finances. The updated number represents only a modest improvement from the $6.5-billion shortfall estimated in the summer fiscal outlook. The new projection marks a significant reversal from last year’s $8.3-billion surplus, underscoring how quickly Alberta’s resource-driven revenues can shift. According to the province, non-renewable resource income has fallen by roughly 30 per cent compared with last year, a decline driven

Alberta RCMP say two people now living in Wetaskiwin County have been charged in connection with a sexual assault investigation launched in northern Ontario, involving incidents reported to have occurred several years ago. According to the Ontario Provincial Police, the alleged offences took place in Gillies Township, a rural community southwest of Thunder Bay, between 2020 and 2022. Investigators have charged a 73-year-old man with two counts of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault involving a person under the age of 16. A 63-year-old woman is facing three counts of assault. P

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says members of her United Conservative caucus are ready to defend their work as several MLAs face active recall petitions across the province. More than a dozen campaigns have been launched under Alberta’s recall legislation, which allows constituents to attempt to remove an elected official before the next general election. Smith pointed to two senior ministers as examples of what she described as a strong government record. She said Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has overseen significant increases to school operating and capital budgets, and that Se