Edmonton Companies News & Discussion

[thommyjo]

This sorta quote on “why Edmonton” doesn’t make me feel great…

“It’s the foundation for CWB, and I think we wanted to respect that, and I think it’s a great to have recognized history.”

Discussion about National Bank's presence (and future growth) in Edmonton.

National Bank CEO talks Edmonton CWB takeover, Iran war, pipelines, inflation, trade

'My concern right now is our starting point as an economy — consumers — are not in a great place'

ca.news.yahoo.com

 

[Gronk!]

A more positive version of this story

The Pulse: April 9, 2026

In this edition: Jane's Walk organizers pass the torch to ECAMP after 16 years; Edmonton's annual Spring Sweep underway; and more headlines and happenings

edmonton.taproot.news

• Laurent Ferreira, CEO of National Bank of Canada, outlined the bank’s strategy in Western Canada during an interview with Postmedia, after its $5-billion acquisition of Edmonton-based Canadian Western Bank in February 2025. Ferreira said that Edmonton now serves as National Bank’s regional headquarters for Western Canada. With nearly 2,000 of its about 3,000 Western Canada employees in Alberta, the bank aims to double its regional presence in five years, focusing on commercial banking, retail, and wealth.

 

[David A]

This sorta quote on “why Edmonton” doesn’t make me feel great…

“It’s the foundation for CWB, and I think we wanted to respect that, and I think it’s a great to have recognized history.”

Yeah, although I think his response makes sense and is fairly reasonable. It is more the question that leads me to wonder about the quality of the journalism here or the journalist behind this article.

Anyone doing such a story should already know this history and not have to ask this or ask in this way. There is also an assumption behind their question that is bothering me.

I have said many times that the Canadian media is dominated by people in our largest cities who sometimes do not make enough effort to understand or appreciate other parts of the country and I feel this is yet another example of that.

 

[David A]

Here is much better article which covers essentially the same story. Ironically in the Vancouver Sun.

National Bank CEO looks west for economic potential, especially LNG​

MSN

 

[_urbanite]

Shameless plug for a friend's pet shop on 104 st in one of the CRUs at Hillside Estates

Edmonton Downtown: Celebrating National Pet Day every day at Azzy’s Pet Shop

Azzy’s Pet Shop

 

[ADob]

Shameless plug for a friend's pet shop on 104 st in one of the CRUs at Hillside Estates

Edmonton Downtown: Celebrating National Pet Day every day at Azzy’s Pet Shop

Azzy’s Pet Shop

We walk by it all the time, alas, our cat is so low maintenance he prefers playing with zip ties over cat toys and will not touch fancy cat food.

 

[archited]

^ You have been cat-ified. Meow!

 

[Avenuer]

Spent this past weekend in Calgary and I always wonder why Edmonton does not see the same level of corporate and private sponsorship that Calgary does. I get that they have more rich people than Edmonton, but that is not to say that Edmonton is not a wealthy city (we have the second highest GDP per capita in Canada for major cities, after Calgary). The Calgary Zoo, Telus Spark, etc. have corporate and private sponsors for many exhibits, which you can see were either built new, expanded or renovated with the resulting funding.

Just imagine if the Valley Zoo, Muttart, Fort Edmonton Park, etc. received the same level of support - the City would be less on the hook for investment as a result of those gifts.

The Werklund Centre in Calgary (formerly Arts Commons) is a great example - Dave Weklund donated $75 million to its expansion in 2024 and thus received the naming rights for the facility in his honour. That is wild, considering the Winspear here could not even fundraise half of that amount from its donor pool.

I think the wealthy people and corporations of Edmonton and area need to do a better job of stepping up and supporting our regions' arts, culture and attractions, as their counterparts down in Calgary seem to be much more generous.

 

[David A]

Spent this past weekend in Calgary and I always wonder why Edmonton does not see the same level of corporate and private sponsorship that Calgary does. I get that they have more rich people than Edmonton, but that is not to say that Edmonton is not a wealthy city (we have the second highest GDP per capita in Canada for major cities, after Calgary). The Calgary Zoo, Telus Spark, etc. have corporate and private sponsors for many exhibits, which you can see were either built new, expanded or renovated with the resulting funding.

Just imagine if the Valley Zoo, Muttart, Fort Edmonton Park, etc. received the same level of support - the City would be less on the hook for investment as a result of those gifts.

The Werklund Centre in Calgary (formerly Arts Commons) is a great example - Dave Weklund donated $75 million to its expansion in 2024 and thus received the naming rights for the facility in his honour. That is wild, considering the Winspear here could not even fundraise half of that amount from its donor pool.

I think the wealthy people and corporations of Edmonton and area need to do a better job of stepping up and supporting our regions' arts, culture and attractions, as their counterparts down in Calgary seem to be much more generous.

Yes, I agree both that Edmonton is actually also a fairly well off city and that our corporate community needs to step up more. There was an older generation here that was quiet generous like the Allards or Winspears, but they now seem to mostly be gone and the current one is not as impressive.

I also feel there is much more wealth and interest in philanthropy there partly because they have more larger and public companies, while Edmonton has been more content to remain a blue collar, branch plant city where wealth is created but is not as much attracted to or stays.

 

[Avenuer]

Yes, I agree both that Edmonton is actually also a fairly well off city and that our corporate community needs to step up more. There was an older generation here that was quiet generous like the Allards or Winspears, but they now seem to mostly be gone and the current one is not as impressive.

I also feel there is much more wealth and interest in philanthropy there partly because they have more larger and public companies, while Edmonton has been more content to remain a blue collar, branch plant city where wealth is created but is not as much attracted to or stays.

Don't forget about the Muttarts - we would not have the Conservatory without them!

 

[TAS]

Spent this past weekend in Calgary and I always wonder why Edmonton does not see the same level of corporate and private sponsorship that Calgary does. I get that they have more rich people than Edmonton, but that is not to say that Edmonton is not a wealthy city (we have the second highest GDP per capita in Canada for major cities, after Calgary). The Calgary Zoo, Telus Spark, etc. have corporate and private sponsors for many exhibits, which you can see were either built new, expanded or renovated with the resulting funding.

Just imagine if the Valley Zoo, Muttart, Fort Edmonton Park, etc. received the same level of support - the City would be less on the hook for investment as a result of those gifts.

The Werklund Centre in Calgary (formerly Arts Commons) is a great example - Dave Weklund donated $75 million to its expansion in 2024 and thus received the naming rights for the facility in his honour. That is wild, considering the Winspear here could not even fundraise half of that amount from its donor pool.

I think the wealthy people and corporations of Edmonton and area need to do a better job of stepping up and supporting our regions' arts, culture and attractions, as their counterparts down in Calgary seem to be much more generous.

Good points. Even their free fare lrt zone was sponsored by TD Bank. That additional corporate or philanthropic support adds a lot of value. But certainly a big thanks to those in Edmonton community who have made contributions.

 

[MacLac]

Have NO idea what this means but it sounds cool……

#directaircapture #dac #ccus #alberta #climatetech #cleanenergy #projectdevelopment #carbonremoval | Amit Modi

Direct Air Capture is starting to move from pilot to real project deployment. Excited to share that SCW Systems (CO2 CleanUp) has engaged FGS to support the FEED strategy and procurement for their first commercial-scale Direct Air Capture project in Edmonton, Alberta. SCW Systems brings real...

www.linkedin.com

 

[policyenthusiast]

Have NO idea what this means but it sounds cool……

#directaircapture #dac #ccus #alberta #climatetech #cleanenergy #projectdevelopment #carbonremoval | Amit Modi

Direct Air Capture is starting to move from pilot to real project deployment. Excited to share that SCW Systems (CO2 CleanUp) has engaged FGS to support the FEED strategy and procurement for their first commercial-scale Direct Air Capture project in Edmonton, Alberta. SCW Systems brings real...

www.linkedin.com

I am an enthusiast and not an expert, but I believe this is essentially a carbon capture facility that is freestanding and actively filters ground-level air, rather than only filtering at an emissions source. I remember hearing about this sort of tech murmuring in the late 2000s, but it didn't really go anywhere.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/calgary-team-shows-how-to-scrub-co2-from-the-air-1.700369

 

[MacLac]

Yeah, what he said……lol

 

[David A]

Good points. Even their free fare lrt zone was sponsored by TD Bank. That additional corporate or philanthropic support adds a lot of value. But certainly a big thanks to those in Edmonton community who have made contributions.

Too bad TD doesn't do the same here.