Airdrie

Pioneer Acres is gearing up to host its 55th annual show, and this year’s celebration promises to be bigger and better than ever.

“Oh yes, we have our 55th annual show coming up,” said Diana Rowe, marketing coordinator for Pioneer Acres. “We’re very excited about it this year. We are going to have some big equipment on site for this year's show.”

Held over three days from August 8 to 10, the event is a full-scale heritage experience, showcasing vintage machinery, traditional farming techniques, and family-friendly fun.

Labour experts say another postal service strike is unlikely after unionized Canada Post workers rejected their employer's latest round of offers in a forced vote and the parties mull their next steps.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that the roughly 55,000 members represented by the union shot down the Canada Post's latest proposal, which would've seen wage hikes of about 13 per cent over four years and restructuring to add part-time workers to the deal.

Environment Canada has lifted a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Rocky View County, including the areas near Airdrie and Crossfield.

The warning was issued at 2:26 p.m. Monday and remained in effect until just after 4 p.m. 

At 12:45 p.m., meteorologists had been tracking a storm near Priddis and just east of Cochrane, moving southeast at 25 kilometres per hour. The storm was capable of producing up to nickel-sized hail and heavy rain.

A collision southbound QEII near Balzac has been cleared, but traffic remained slow Monday afternoon due to earlier backups.

Just after 2 p.m., Google Maps showed possible collisions at three points along the route between Airdrie and Calgary, near Highway 566 and CrossIron Drive. The number dropped to two shortly after, and 511 Alberta later reported one confirmed collision in the area.

There was no official word on injuries. Drivers were advised to consider alternate routes.

Some premiers say they want to have more local control over the immigration system — but experts say what the system really needs is a national conversation on immigration reform that shores up public support.

"Most of the existing policies have been formulated on the fly without any evidence or serious impact evaluations of what the various classes of immigrants are, how they're performing economically and otherwise," said Michael Trebilcock, a retired academic and co-author of two books on immigration policy.

"So it's basically research-free."

Dominic LeBlanc said Sunday that he expects Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will speak "over the next number of days" as the United States ratchets up pressure in trade talks.

The Canada-U.S. trade minister appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" and spoke about where talks stand between the two countries.

LeBlanc told host Margaret Brennan that while Canada is "disappointed" with Trump's new 35-per-cent tariffs, he is continuing to work toward a deal that would hopefully strike down trade restrictions between the nations.

A section of Highway 40 in Kananaskis Country remains closed Sunday following a mudslide south of the Mount Lipsett Day Use Area.

Ottawa's new trade minister says he's looking to sign deals in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond — and to convince businesses to actually use the trade agreements Canada has already signed.

"My primary role as Canada's top salesman is to be out there hustling, opening doors for businesses and accessing new markets," Maninder Sidhu told The Canadian Press.

"My phone has been ringing with opportunities because people want to deal with reliable, stable trading partners."

Alberta Parks has issued two separate bear warnings for popular hiking areas in Kananaskis Country after encounters involving deployed bear spray and a bluff charge.

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• Bear alerts and free park access: Long weekend tips for Airdrie families

Airdrie’s damp start to August is picking up where July left off — with more rain in the forecast and a risk of thunderstorms overnight.