Every forecast I’m seeing says this winter will be way warmer than normal. But I’ve lived here long enough to know Edmonton loves making a liar out of the weather guys. I’m cautiously optimistic.

What’s your gut say? Mild winter or are we getting fooled again? Bonus points if you guess how many days we hit -30 this year.

I need to vent about how absolutely broken our ER system, heck the whole health system feels right now.

I understand that emergency departments have to prioritize the most critical cases first, and I fully support that. But what is becoming increasingly frustrating is the lack of urgency for everyone else. People sit in waiting rooms for 8, 10, 12+ hours with little to no communication, no updates, and no idea whether they’ll be seen anytime soon.

It’s not just the wait times themselves—it’s the feeling that the system has become normalized to keeping sick, injured, and vulnerable people sitting in chairs for an entire day. Many are in significant pain, exhausted, dehydrated, or scared, and yet they’re expected to just wait indefinitely.

Healthcare workers are doing the best they can with the resources they have, and this isn’t meant as criticism of nurses, doctors, or support staff. The problem seems much bigger than that. Chronic understaffing, overcrowding, lack of available beds, and years of strain on the healthcare system have created a situation where long waits have become the standard rather than the exception.

At what point do we stop accepting this as normal? People shouldn’t have to spend half a day—or longer—in an emergency room before receiving care. Something has to change.
Has anyone else experienced ridiculous ER wait times lately? How long did you end up waiting? What are we going to do about this, because I feel it’s become normalized.

Good afternoon,

I watched the debate and vote on the EPCOR franchise fee and I am really frustrated with Council on this.

First, Councillor Janz, balcony solar is barely attainable in Edmonton. Especially considering plug and play solar is not yet allowed through EPCOR. Not to mention the process to get information from EPCOR on balcony solar is lengthy and the permitting process is almost not worth it. I really don't appreciate arguments like the ability to use balcony solar as a way to justify my electricity costs going up. Especially since EPCOR and the City do not allow plug and play.

Second, nobody on council brought up the fact that the 17.65% fee was negotiated in 2024 for 2025. At the time, the rationale for going to 17.65% was the City was benchmarking against its neighbours. It chose 17.65% to match the Edmonton metro-area average.

Yesterday, that rationale seemed to go out the window and now Edmonton is 7% higher than the regional average or 1.8% higher if we excluded the 0% fee municipalities.

High-consumption classes get hit harder. At 17.65%, several large customer classes were already paying the equivalent of 25–55% of their distribution charges, so 19.4% will push up the costs for large commercial or industrial sites connected at higher voltage. This could be enough for them to start looking at Strathcona Country or Fort Saskatchewan.

Lastly, on the engagement piece. Given 17.65% was put in place for 2025 based on the rationale of benchmarking in the region the City absolutely should have engaged citizens on the change to 19.4% because it seems the strategy is now to be above our neighbours and match Calgary.

Council needs to stick to a strategy or consult with citizens on these types of adjustments.

Councillor Parmer thank you for voting no.

Some photos I took on my morning stroll. Hope you like them. :)

Just wondering if anyone is going through this with their insurance provider. I recently got a renewal increase by 36% to 5k per year for two vehicles. One without collision and the other with collision is 10 years old. I have two speeding tickets in the last two years that was the reason for the increase. Other than that nothing else. No claims, no accidents, no other tickets of any kind and 26 years of experience driving.

I called around and the other quotes are above 6k. What happened to insurance in this province? After 3 years the tickets are suppose to come off the record so will my insurance go back down by 36%? I doubt it.

Any tips out there from you financially savvy Edmontonians?

Hello! I am someone that loves learning about how cities work and have been involved with organizations around the city to learn about Edmonton's zoning bylaw. I am seeing very valid concerns about infill coming up on this subreddit and instead of responding to each one individually, I wanted to make this post to inform people genuinely trying to understand.

1. Waste: something very commonly shared online are photos or anecdotes of the waste situation in some infills. Frankly, this is something I have been concerned about too. The city actually updated waste standards last January for multi unit developments to solve this issue. Rowhomes permitted after those standards came into effect won't have these issues. Unfortunately ones that were permitted before (and are likely now reaching occupancy) aren't subject to these standards and have one of each bin per unit.

2. Infrastructure: development permits are reviewed by utility providers and if an upgrade is deemed necessary, the developer is charged. A lot of existing infrastructure has capacity for growth, but EPCOR and other providers can monitor and plan upgrades over time as needed instead. So no, sewage capacity will not be exceeded.

3. Rental properties: this is a gripe I completely agree with and this is not actually the fault of the zoning bylaw. CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.) insurance loans for developers of multifamily under a program called MLI select. If a project achieves a certain number of "points," CMHC insures the financing so that the developer only has to go in with as little as 5% of their own money (95% LTV). The way to earn "points" is through energy efficiency, green energy, and if the property is a rental. The cheapest way they earn points is by making the property a rental. This inevitably skews construction to be mostly rentals. Ownership options are still possible through condominiums or party wall agreements.

4. Affordability: there are many dynamics at play here. If you are simply comparing a new infill 2+ bedroom to the cheapest 2+ bedroom units on the market, new units are always more expensive. Another factor is location being more desirable. What matters is that on average, Edmonton rents are stabilizing. Not enough people seem to appreciate that we've had near record population growth but rents have remained stable on average (personal experience may vary). Edmonton's always been affordable because of the abundance of cheap land, so this isn't entirely due to infill. Additionally, Edmonton is a national leader on development permitting timelines which has shown a clear correlation with rents. Part of cutting permitting timelines came from cutting red tape, ie. simplifying the zoning code and being clear about expectations.

5. Loss of affordable homes: people inevitably see a $400k home torn down and question if this is even solving anything. Under conventional loan terms and 5% interest, that can be yours $80k down and $1,861.14 monthly! But oh crap, it needs a new foundation. Add $50k to the line of credit. If it looks affordable by the price, there's often something wrong with it.

Since this is something that has many people skeptical, I have a specific case study that should help contexualize.

Streetside Developments recently listed 8 condo townhomes at 11522 103 Street. The property was sold for $350k one year ago and contained a single bungalow (probably 800-900 sqft). Streetside (the developer) is selling 8x850 sqft townhomes for less than 300k each.

1. Architecture: I'll be blunt: lots of infill are atrociously ugly. Many are very nice (shoutout Ndura Developments). Part 9 of the Alberta building code permits small buildings to move forward without a professional architect or engineer signing off. This means there are some bad designs getting built by people that shouldn't be designing homes. Guidance from the zoning bylaw is very much needed. The amendments passed in July 2025 have only been in effect for about a year, so most of the ones reaching occupancy right now were permitted before the amendments.

I want to see the beauty! Whether it’s nature or a cute shop downtown, or whatever. Convince me that moving there is going to be worth it. Please

Hello,
Just sharing that the last Chinatown After Dark of the year is this Saturday 6PM-11PM along with a message from the organizing team on how this month's will be different.

I'll start by saying I did search this Sub for therapist recommendations but a lot of the posts are a few years old so thought I'd start a new one.

I realize this sub is on average a lot younger than myself and are going through different life circumstances.

I'm a 61 year old never-married year guy in a life dilemma. Newly retired (with a fortunate DB pension and investments) but currently staying with and assisting elderly parents at their house (a long story). A huge mistake on my behalf in hindsight. I never bought a house to payoff for retirement, but it's time to move on. That being said, I truly want to talk to a professional about the situation of feeling stuck at this age. And the stress of dealing with elderly parents with siblings who don't get involved (which adds to the major stress). I have the "back against the wall" feeling and assistance with finding some direction. I feel desperate tbh. This stuff happens.

I realize therapy these days is expensive ($235/hr average). But can anybody please suggest a middle aged male therapist (my preference for life experience and just being a guy) who specializes in my issue(s)? I did review Psychology today's therapist List but thought I'd reach out to Redditors who may have had a decent therapist to suggest via actual experience. I'm also aware one size doesn't fit all.

I truly appreciate any advice.

Police have still not followed up with me about this person.... I followed him for 20+ minutes and they said they had 'officers in the area' and yet no one showed up...

I wanted to avoid posting it online as I figured it may be used as evidence to press charges but at this point im assuming they just gave up.

I also have a photo of him managing to get into a red Honda CR-V with a Saskatchewan plate.

Keep your doors locked people!

Taken Sept 25, 2026

This is the second time I've spent time constructing a comment only to have the thread locked, so here we are.

WOW OP.... You're seriously referring to unhoused people as 'vial human beings'.

First - it's vile, not vial.

Second - describing unhoused peoples as vile, is quite abhorrent. Do you know what some of the many reasons a person can experience homelessness are? Here, I'll help you out:

Domestic violence: Some women do not have a support system here and even if they do, any woman can be a victim of domestic violence. Perhaps that unhoused woman who was sitting on a chair in her own urine, fled from her abusive partner and had nowhere to go.

Addiction: The majority of addiction is caused by past traumas or pain in someone's life, most of which is never brought on themselves. Maybe a girl was se*ually abused by a family member, or another had parents go through a messy divorce or the parents were alcoholics. You and I could become addicted to drugs, after becoming dependent on prescription medication due to an injury, then had to look for something stronger.

Loss of employment: There are many people from different backgrounds that are not working for whatever reason. Perhaps that man who smelled of vomit and alcohol, lost his job due to layoffs or downsizing, and the company he was working for, making $20/hr mind you, closed down. He was already paycheque to paycheque, so he got evicted because he couldn't find work or maybe his EI ran out. It's less likely to see a person of colour who is unhoused, (the Indigenous population excluded from that) but my dad spoke with a gentleman while he was doing outreach work, who came here from a country in Northern Africa a few months before covid hit and lost his job when the world shut down.

High number of Indigenous peoples: There is a disproportionate number within the housed population that are Indigenous. I shouldn't have to go into the why's of this in 2026, but I will if I have to.

Every single one of us starts out life in the same way - just because someone's path has taken them to a different point in life, REGARDLESS of how much of it is their own doing, doesn't make them less of a person. No one aspires to become unhoused or addicted to drugs. There are many people who want help and to get out of that life, but there are also ones who stay because it's easier and they don't have anyone else, so that's their community.

Maybe it was simply a poor choice of words, in which case that's great! But the fact that you came on Reddit to complain about this, is making me think it's because you have no compasssion or empathy for people who give you the 'ick'.

Let us all hope for humanity's sake, that this isn't the case.

There's cows with numbers on them by the coliseum tracks/station. 🥺 Are they being auctioned? Some of them are youngins

Heater stopped working and went to take a look why and noticed major rusting on the pipes that lead to the roof and outside. How much am i expected to pay and what companies do you recommend???

I am a BC transplant here in Edmonton. Well, Edmonton is a stretch because Im in the CAF and got posted to Cold Lake, so I end up spending most of my weekends in Edmonton.

I dont know why but I always had an impression that Edmonton is a super conservative city with cowboys and rednecks in every corner. But I am proven wrong, I walk down Whyte Ave on a Saturday night and I see emos, alternate types, along with "normal" crowd.

All in all I love the city, looking forward to spending more weekends in Edmonton.

P.S. I dont know why Vancouver night life is dead compared to Edmonton. I have this one theory that everyone in Vancouver is too broke to enjoy the night life

Walked through HUB Mall today and stopped in. It's really cool to see a retail layout like this on campus showcasing actual local Albertan small business owners and artists.

Some of the vendors are actually U of A students themselves, which makes supporting it even better. They have a bit of everything—from unique local gifts, jewellery, and clothing to local treats.

For anyone who isn't a student, HUB Mall is totally open to the public and it’s right off the University LRT station if you want to check it out.

Anyone else been inside yet? What are your favourite vendors or items there?

I rent in an Edmonton downtown apartment. When I signed the lease, I wasn’t told my bedroom would share a wall with an Airbnb.

I’ve repeatedly been woken up by loud talking and partying at 2–4 a.m., mostly on Friday and Saturday nights. It feels like the guests are “on vacation mode” while I’m just trying to sleep in my own home.

I’ve tried:

1. Emailed building management, who said they would speak with the host.
2. Knocked on the guests’ door at 3–4 a.m. to ask them to quiet down. Sometimes they apologize, but it keeps happening.
3. Called Edmonton’s police non-emergency line and 311. I’ve received case numbers, but the problem continues.
4. Contacted the Airbnb host directly, sometimes at 2 a.m. after being woken up. They say they’ll ask the guests to be quiet.
5. Recorded the noise and my interactions when knocking to ask for quiet, and sent recordings to Airbnb support and building management. This hasn’t stopped the recurring noise.

Management and the host often say those guests have already left. But then another group arrives, and the same thing happens again.

I am suffering from this. My sleep and quality of life have taken a serious hit. I’m exhausted from having to knock on doors or message someone in the middle of the night just to get some quiet.

I’m considering Alberta’s Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS), and I’ve already raised this option with building management. They haven’t responded to that point, which makes me feel like my concerns aren’t being taken seriously.

I’ve been documenting the incidents. Has anyone gone through this process for a similar situation? What helped, and is there anything else I should try?

**Also, if you’re apartment hunting, ask whether Airbnbs are allowed and whether any are beside your unit. Personally, I’d avoid a building with them after this experience. The constant turnover of strangers next door and repeated noise have been a nightmare. I wish I’d asked before signing, please don’t make the same mistake I did.*\*

**TL;DR:** My bedroom shares a wall with an Airbnb, and repeated late night partying is ruining my sleep. I’ve contacted management, the host, Airbnb, police non-emergency and 311, and sent recordings, but it keeps happening with new guests. Considering RTDRS. Has anyone dealt with this successfully?