Edmonton Daily Digest — March 10, 2026

Long waits are costing Canadians — A Fraser Institute study says about 1.4 million people are waiting for necessary treatment, costing an estimated $4.2 billion in lost wages and productivity. The study found the median wait from specialist appointment to treatment was 13.3 weeks in 2025 and the total median wait was 28.6 weeks, and Edmonton-area patient Rayanne Boychuk says she faces more than a year-long wait for specialty care. Alberta’s health minister Matt Jones says the province has added 2,200 doctors and 12,000 nurses in five years and is investing $300 million in surgical facilities over three years to shorten waits.

Hidden art returns — A 1967 mural at the former Charles Camsell hospital in north Edmonton was rediscovered after being covered with plywood for about 30 years and has now been cleaned and restored. Architect Gene Dub and the city required the mural (by Alex Von Svoboa) be kept when the site was converted into Inglewood Lofts; the building (closed in 1996) also has a difficult history including forced sterilizations and a 2021 search for unmarked graves that found none. City heritage leaders hope this reuse inspires other projects to protect local history.

Bomb threat forces evacuation — High River RCMP say they are responding to a bomb threat at Notre Dame Collegiate; all students and staff have been evacuated and police are doing a thorough search. High River is about 70 km south of Calgary; authorities say the school will provide further updates as the situation develops.

Businesses unsettled by separation talk — An Alberta Chamber of Commerce survey of 594 people (74% from the private sector) found 50% view Alberta separation as an important issue and 30% list it as their top concern. The survey says 28% of respondents feel separation discussions are already impacting their business (up 6% from last year) and 56% say it’s affecting the provincial economy (up 3%); many business leaders and economists warn the uncertainty is denting investment decisions even as the province reported nearly 42,000 full‑time jobs added in January.

Oil exports nearly doubled in 2025 — New port data shows crude exports from Canada’s West Coast rose 95% in 2025 to about 24.4 million metric tonnes, as total port cargo reached 170.4 million tonnes (up from 158.4 in 2024). The report credits the Trans Mountain expansion (completed May 2024) for helping Alberta reach new markets, notes Ottawa’s nearly $35 billion investment in the project, and says global tensions (including the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz disruptions) may be lifting demand for Canadian oil.

Notorious killer dies in custody — Allan Legere, the so‑called “Monster of the Miramichi,” has died at age 78 at Edmonton Institution, Correctional Service Canada said Monday; he’d been serving a life sentence since Jan. 22, 1987. Legere was convicted of five murders in the late 1980s, escaped custody in 1989, and had been repeatedly denied parole (most recently in December); CSC says it will review the circumstances of his death.