Strathmore

The federal government is slashing immigration targets to levels that will flatten population growth as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits the government did not get the balance right after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government had targeted bringing in 500,000 new permanent residents in both 2025 and 2026.

Next year's target will instead be 395,000 new permanent residents, and that will fall to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

The Alberta government has announced that several municipalities will soon allow golf carts to be driven on municipal roads.

The Town of Coaldale was the first to launch the pilot project and the program will run for the next five years. 

"Pilot projects like this one hold the key to unlocking new modes of transportation for everyone," said Devin Dreeshen, minister of transportation and economic corridors.

Halloween is fast approaching, and Chestermere RCMP is asking residents to protect themselves while out trick or treating.

Tips include:

Strathmore Town Council heard from over a dozen local community groups requesting funding for 2025.

The meeting took place on Wednesday (Oct. 23), and included asks from the following organizations:

The Agra Risk Wheatland Kings are hosting a special hockey game Friday night (Oct. 25) in Strathmore.

The Kings have partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society to raise funds and generate awareness for the organization.

"Friday night is Hockey Fights Cancer night at the Family Centre. What that means is we have a couple of different activations for fans to kind of get involved and promote the cause on social media," says Cody Holdaway general manager for the club.

Highway 842 at Cluny will be closed for rail crossing repairs starting at 12 a.m. on Friday (Oct. 25).

According to Wheatland County, Alberta Transportation will detour traffic to other routes while the work is happening, including Highway 901 for anyone needing access to Highway 842.

It'll be a special weekend for residents in Strathmore and the surrounding area full of spooky scares and fun events.

Here are five things taking place.

Business Excellence Awards: The Strathmore Wheatland Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to host the Business Excellence Awards on Friday (Oct. 25) at 6:30 p.m. The festivities will run at the Strathmore Civic Centre.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has no intention of stepping down as the leader of the Liberal party by next week. 

A letter signed by two dozen Liberal MPs asking Trudeau to step down was presented to the prime minister Wednesday at a tense caucus meeting in Ottawa.

The letter asked for him to let the caucus know by Oct. 28 what he decides to do.

Trudeau told MPs he would reflect on what was said, but when asked today if he would stay on as prime minister after that date he answered a definitive "yes." 

The Calgary Co-op in Strathmore's Edgefield neighbourhood has reopened to the public. 

The grocery store suddenly closed on Wednesday morning (Oct. 23). According to staff, a blown transformer had led to power issues.

At around 9 p.m. that same day, it was announced that power had been restored. The store opened the following morning. 

The Co-op gas bar dealt with debit machine issues, but they've also been fixed.

FortisAlberta helped to bring in a new transformer for the store.

The federal housing minister and the Alberta minister in charge of the file have spoken about funding to tackle encampments and homelessness.

The phone conversation comes after Housing Minister Sean Fraser said in a statement Tuesday that Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan hadn't formally responded to an offer of funding.

Officials say that during the call, Jason Nixon, Alberta's minister of seniors, community and social services, expressed his government's continued willingness to partner with Ottawa and to cost-match the additional federal funding.