Lacombe

The Sylvan Lake Food Bank received a large donation through the Sobeys “Joy of Giving” fundraiser in December.   

Through community donations and a matching donation of $2,000 from Empire Foods, a total of $19,766 was raised.  

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call a federal election on Sunday for a vote as early as April 28.

Sources would not confirm the specific date of the vote, but federal campaigns must run at least 37 days.

This will be Canada's 45th federal election.

Canada's political parties have been mobilizing campaigns by nominating candidates and organizing leaders' tours.

Carney was elected as Liberal leader to succeed Justin Trudeau on March 9 and was sworn in as prime minister along with his new cabinet on March 14.

Alberta Education has granted $50,000 to fund partnership planning and site confirmation work for a proposed collegiate campus in Sylvan Lake. 

The planned campus will house a high school for Chinook's Edge School Division and a high school for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.

The $50,000 grant will enable the divisions to:

For the third straight year, the Sylvan Lake Wranglers will face the Okotoks Bisons for the Heritage Junior B Hockey League Championship banner.

The Wranglers were the top team in the Northern Division during the regular season with 69 points, while the Bisons led the Southern Division with 65 points.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Wednesday that China has executed four Canadians in recent months.

The minister said all four were "dual citizens" and were all "facing charges linked to criminal activities according to China, linked to drugs."

"This is an issue that I've been following very, very closely, personally, for months, and I've asked personally also (for) leniency," Joly said, adding former prime minister Justin Trudeau also urged China not to execute the Canadians.

With polls suggesting U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration's use of punishing tariffs are a top-of-mind issue for Canadians ahead of the upcoming federal election, Trump has now offered his thoughts on which political party he would rather work with.

"I'd rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservative," Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham Tuesday.

During the interview he reiterated his call for Canada to become a U.S. state and his false claim that the U.S. subsidizes Canada by $200 billion a year.

Another funding commitment has been made towards a multi-million-dollar capital campaign by Cereals Canada. 

Cereals Canada says it is hoping to break ground this year on the construction of a new building in downtown Winnipeg. The organization says it is nearing the end of its lease in a building that is no longer able to meet its current and future goals. 

Their lease expires on March 31, 2027, and with this date now just over two years away, it says a new home is needed to continue to build on the vital work being done to advance the Canadian grains value chain.

There will be a temporary water service outage for properties on 45 A Street between Highway 53 and 42 Avenue in Ponoka. This will begin tomorrow morning sometime after 8 a.m. as crews work to repair a watermain break in the area.

Updates will be provided as they are available, including an estimate on when water service will be restored.

To prepare for the water outage, residents are advised to fill containers and their bathtubs with water.

The Ponoka RCMP issued a report on some of the calls received between Feb. 23 and March 18.

Here are the calls:  

Base and consumption rates for residential and commercial water and wastewater in Rocky Mountain House will increase starting April 1.  

The new rate will appear on the May invoice and apply to April consumption.  

Utilities operate on a cost-recovery model. The town charges what it costs to deliver utilities to residents and businesses.