FortSask

After almost three years in Fort Saskatchewan, The Barn Door is closing.

"Unfortunately, though, some good things must come to an end." said owner Jackie Switzer on a Facebook post where she announced the closure.

The Barn Door came to Fort back in early 2020 as Switzer's passion project. The store sells a variety of home decor in several styles.

"I sell vintage, I sell furniture, candles, Christmas, lotions, pillows, you name it, we probably have it here," Switzer said.

Former Conservative interim leader and longtime Manitoba member of Parliament Candice Bergen has announced she is stepping down. 

Bergen said in a video posted to Twitter that she submitted a letter of resignation as the representative for Portage-Lisgar after meeting with her party's caucus. 

The MP said last September, after serving as interim leader of the party following the ouster of former leader Erin O'Toole, that she was not planning to run in another federal election.

A Sherwood Park native and former Fort Saskatchewan FedEx driver has brought some movie magic back to his hometown.

Marcus Rosner has been acting and producing made-for-TV romance films for the last decade. In his newest project, he wanted to film a movie where he grew up.

The film, From Italy with Amore, features several spots in Sherwood Park and Edmonton, including the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market, the Muttart Conservatory, and a restaurant called Vicky's Bistro.

The Federal Minister of International Trade Mary Ng says Canada is disappointed that the United States has requested a dispute settlement panel.

It's been a tough few years for Canadians in terms of employment. 

The pandemic hit the market hard and caused many to either leave their jobs or go through layoffs. So, how did Fort Saskatchewan handle these tough last few years? 

Well, a quick look at some of the most recent Canadian censuses shows a few interesting statistics. 

In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, Fort Saskatchewan had a total of 14,690 people in the labour force. Of those people, 1,575 were unemployed, which gave Fort Saskatchewan an unemployment rate of 10.7 per cent. 

Cereals Canada was finally able to resume its annual New Wheat Crop Trade and Technical Missions after a two year pause. 

During December and January four delegations travelled to 15 countries including Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Gulf Region.

The chief executive officer for Cereals Canada, Dean Dias says over the past two years their team has done an excellent job presenting the information to customers in an online-only format.

Strathcona County's council approved $1.17-million in funding to support local non-profit organizations.

This funding, called the 2023 Social Framework Community Grants program, has $77,000 more in funding than it did the year before.

“Our community’s needs are ever-changing and increasingly complex. The Social Framework Community Grant is critical funding that supports the well-being of all residents, especially those who may find themselves in challenging circumstances,” says Mayor Rod Frank.

Have you ever wondered how much money the average Fort Saskatchewanite makes in a year? 

According to statistics from the 2021 Canadian census, the biggest pay group in Fort Saskatchewan are people who make between $100,000 and $149,999 per year.

According to the census, 2,395 people in Fort Saskatchewan make that much money. This is up from the 2,290 shown in 2016's census.

The second highest pay group is those who make between $20,000 and $29,999 per year, which is 2,365 residents.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has announced a 255-hectare conservation project just outside Waterton Lakes National Park.

The area is home to a variety of at-risk species like the American badger, bobolink and horned grebe.

The land is located in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek and Cardston County and serves as an important corridor for a variety of wildlife including the grizzly bear.

The United States is filing another formal dispute over what it considers Canada's failure to live up to its trade obligations to American dairy farmers and producers.

It's the second time the U.S. has launched such a dairy-driven escalation, formally known as a dispute settlement panel, in less than two years.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai says the new panel has become necessary because Canada has so far refused to take the steps necessary to properly address the first one.