Latest news with #KananaskisCountry
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Grizzly encounter on Troll Falls trail in Kananaskis
This grizzly bear followed Howard Mah and Lori Arnason along the Troll Falls trail in Alberta's Kananaskis Country on July 19, until the couple finally roared at it and the animal fled.
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Grizzly bear bluff charges lead to Kananaskis closures, warnings
Seven bear advisories — five warnings and two closures — are currently in place throughout Kananaskis Country, including at popular hiking trails and in an area near the town of Canmore. Two separate grizzly bear encounters are behind two of the advisories: a warning at the Bill Milne trail from Wedge Pond to Mount Allan Drive effective July 8, and a closure of the Rawson Lake trail and Sarrail Ridge area effective July 11. Both cases involved grizzly bears bluff-charging hikers, according to Alberta Parks. Laurie Brewster told CBC News she was hiking the Rawson Lake trail with her daughter on July 11 when she saw a grizzly bear with cubs charge another group of hikers. "It gets your heart pounding, for sure, when you can see how fast they run, and you're not sure what their intentions are," she said. She was a safe distance away from what happened, but said she reached out to Alberta Parks to provide details of what she witnessed ahead of the closure being put in place. "When she did the bluff charge, we heard people yelling 'bear, bear' really loud," Brewster said. "I understand it probably is not going to result in an attack when you see them bluff charge, but it's still a scary thing to witness," she said. Bluff charges typically occur when a bear feels threatened or is caught by surprise, bear safety expert Kim Titchener said. "If you aren't making noise … the problem now is that bear thinks that you were trying to sneak up on them, and that means that they're going to feel threatened," she said. "And if they have cubs with them, they're going to feel like you must be sneaking up on them because you want to take their cubs away or hurt their cubs." "They hear us coming, or they smell us coming, and they generally get out of the way," she said. But Brewster said the incident she saw seemed to defy that. "The thing about this bluff charge that's surreal is it wasn't a surprise encounter, because [Sarrail Ridge] is fully open and fully exposed," she said. "So that's why I wasn't understanding why she was running, because nobody's surprised her." Alberta Parks bear advisories remain in place until the bears in question leave the area, Ministry of Forestry and Parks press secretary Neil Singh told CBC News in a statement. He said incidents reported between July 11 and 16 include "a grizzly with two cubs charging hikers near Sarrail Ridge, a bluff charge by a grizzly near the University of Calgary Research Station, and a grizzly approaching hikers on the Smutwood Trail before walking away." He did not confirm how many people were involved in any of the incidents or whether there were any injuries. Commonwealth Valley and surrounding area is closed effective July 15 due to "multiple grizzly bears frequenting and feeding in the area," according to Alberta Parks. "The Kananaskis grizzly bear aversive conditioning program, in place since 2000, plays a key role in reducing conflicts and promoting coexistence," Singh said. Warnings for an increase in black bear sightings are in place for Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park and the Grassi Lakes trail system and neighbouring Reclaimer Trail. A warning is in place for all Peter Lougheed Provincial Park campgrounds, effective June 18, after "a black bear accessed and damaged an unoccupied tent at Boulton Creek Campground, which contained food attractants," according to Alberta Parks. It's unclear whether the bear accessed any human food, the warning reads. There have also been other black bear sightings at the campground, contributing to the warning. Titchener said bears are more likely to be seen along trails and near campgrounds at this time of year as they seek out buffaloberries, which often grow in places that have experienced human disturbance. "I know that people often want to walk on some of the more popular trails, or they think, 'Oh, I'm in the campground, I'm fine, I'm not going to see a bear,'" she said. "The reality is that our bear population, they're on the sides of the trails right now, they're in the campgrounds sometimes, because they're seeking out areas where there's lots of berries." Titchener said bears at campsites are also at risk of being exposed to human food and becoming food-conditioned, resulting in them needing to be relocated or euthanized. "The bears are feeding on berries, and they walk by a campsite and [campers have] left the cooler out or any type of food," she said. "That bear might be tempted to come in and feed on that food source, which puts that bear at risk for having to be put down."
Bloomberg
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Key Takeaways From Summit of G-7 Leaders in Canada
Below are the key takeaways from our blog coverage of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Canada. For more, click here for our TOPLive blog.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Wildlife overpass in Alberta named after former premier Peter Lougheed
The Peter Lougheed Wildlife Overpass overpass is located near Lac Des Arcs, approximately 81 kilometres west of Calgary and 29 kilometres east of Canmore. ( Alberta announced the name of a new wildlife overpass on the Trans-Canada Highway on Friday, saying the structure will pay tribute to former premier Peter Lougheed. The overpass is located near Lac Des Arcs, approximately 81 kilometres west of Calgary and 29 kilometres east of Canmore. Construction on the $17.5 million project began in 2022 and was completed last fall. The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App Devin Dreeshen, minister of transportation and economic corridors, says naming the structure in honour of Lougheed provides a long-lasting reminder of his work to preserve the area. 'In 1977, premier Lougheed was invited to take a helicopter tour of what is now Kananaskis Country. He was so impressed that he saw that his PC government soon create Kananaskis Country to preserve the breathtaking landscape, rivers, streams and waterfalls,' he said Friday. 'Today, Kananaskis Country spans 4,000 square kilometres and includes five provincial parks.' The newly named Peter Lougheed Wildlife Overpass is the first in Alberta to be constructed outside of a national park. According to the province, the wildlife crossing is expected to reduce collisions in the area by an estimated 80 per cent. The province says animal-vehicle collisions account for about 60 per cent of reported collisions on rural highways. 'This overpass is a major milestone in advancing wildlife crossings in one of the most important landscapes for wildlife movement in the entire Yellowstone to Yukon region,' said Jodi Hilty, president and chief scientist, Y2Y. 'This crossing will help elk, deer, bears and other animals across the Trans-Canada Highway in a way that is safe for them and the tens of thousands of people driving this highway every day,' added Tim Johnson, landscape connectivity specialist, Y2Y.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Cost of Canada hosting G7 Summit ‘well worth the price of admission,' experts say
A sign marks the entrance to Kananaskis Country, Alta., Monday, June 2, 2025. The G7 Leaders meeting will take place in Kananaskis from June 15-17. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Next week, the mountains in Kananaskis, Alta., will be the backdrop for what's set to be an historic G7 Summit. And as the guest list of world leaders grows, so too are expectations that the bill the Canadian government will ultimately be footing, is likely to be at least hundreds of millions of dollars. There are benefits to this cost, foreign policy and international summit experts say, telling CTV News that's the price of admission for federal officials to be able to hold bilateral meetings in their backyard, and set the global agenda at such a pivotal time. Canada's yearlong G7 presidency is culminating in a three-day meeting June 15 to June 17 in the Rocky Mountain resort town, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney. It will be the seventh time Canada has hosted the annual gathering of advanced economies. Global Affairs Canada did not directly respond to multiple requests for comment on the budget allocated for this summit, or whether the expanding guest list would result in a bigger bill. In a statement, spokesperson Camie Lamarche said most of the spending will be on 'required security measures,' but would also include 'the planning, execution… and follow-up for all G7-related meetings, events and activities taking place over the course of Canada's entire presidency year.' 'All actual costs related to Canada's G7 presidency will be accounted for at the end of the 2025-2026 fiscal year,' Lamarche said. The last time Canada hosted the G7 was in Charlevoix, Que., in 2018. That meeting, as well as related events over the course of that year, were estimated to cost $600 million. That was double the estimated $300 million price tag the G7 Research Group placed on the 2002 Kananaskis summit. 'It is also important to note that Canada's spending for the 2025 G7 presidency prioritized open public tenders using the services of numerous Canadian external suppliers and contractors as part of preparations for the G7 Summit — significantly benefiting both Canadian businesses and Canadian workers,' Lamarche said. 'You get to set the agenda' 'It seems like a huge amount of money. It is,' said Paul Samson, president of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). 'But for Canada to be part of that Group of Seven is huge. Other countries would love to have that opportunity.' 'You get to set the agenda. You get to influence the prioritization of the topics for discussion. So, it's actually well worth the price of admission,' said Samson, who is also a former co-chair of the G20 Framework Working Group on the Global Economy. Hosting duties rotate annually among member countries France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada, and as it is the host country's responsibility to cover the costs to keep the entire delegation safe, it is also the prerogative of the country with the presidency to define a set of priorities for the year. 'The G7 is an annual summit of the most powerful leaders, the most powerful democratic countries with advanced economies in the world, and Canada was one of them when G7 Summits started 50 years ago, and has been ever since,' said John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group. 'Every seven years, yeah Canada has to pick up the tab, but that's only one seventh of the time that Canada gets a chance to influence the world when the other countries pay the bill,' Kirton said. 'A really important moment' Carney has selected a trio of big themes to tackle during the three-day summit: 'Protecting our communities and the world,' which will include talk of transnational crime and wildfire responses; 'Building energy security and accelerating the digital transition' which will see leaders discuss critical mineral supply chains and leveraging artificial intelligence; and 'Securing the partnerships of the future' which will focus on building infrastructure and creating higher-paying jobs. 'This is a really important moment for the G7,' said Martha Hall Findlay, director of The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. Highlighting notable parallels between the current global situation and the context at the time the global forum was created, Hall Findlay said that the 1970s, there was a world energy crisis, and now with Russia's war in Ukraine, energy security is once again a leading concern. And, the last time the summit was in Kananaskis specifically, it was on the heels of the 9/11 terror attacks, and now there are new global security concerns. 'All of these factors have historical backgrounds in terms of the G7, but they all lead to a G7 right now in 2025 that is really important,' the former parliamentarian and businesswoman said. 'For us to be at that table with these other really influential countries is incredibly important for Canada, for our own well being, for our own economic prosperities – particularly on the trade side – but also because we care about what's happening in the world,' Hall Findlay said. 'And it's really important that we're able to be there at that table and have that influence.'
