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Daily Edmonton Jul 9 - Jul 9, 2026

Chinatown Murder Testimony, Schools Fast-Tracked & Meta Data Centre — Edmonton Thursday

17 articles 5 days ago 109

🚑 Breaking & Incidents

  1. Tornadoes hit eastern Alberta; five people report minor injuries. Environment Canada tracked two tornadoes the night of July 8 near Paradise Valley and Dillberry Lake Provincial Campground, prompting a critical Alberta Emergency Alert before 7:30 p.m.; the RCMP evacuated the campground and confirmed everyone was accounted for while trailers suffered significant damage.

🚨 Crime & Public Safety

  1. Accused killer Justin Bone shows dashcam of RCMP drop-off in Edmonton. Defence counsel played a 49-minute cruiser dashcam three days before the May 18, 2022 killings in Chinatown; the video shows Bone telling an RCMP officer the drop-off violated his release conditions that required him to stay away from Edmonton as he faces second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang.
  2. Teen charged with second-degree murder after weekend shooting in Edmonton. Edmonton police laid a second-degree murder charge against a teenager following a fatal weekend shooting, according to the police report filed July 2026; the accused remains in custody as investigators continue the homicide probe.

🏛️ Government & Politics

  1. Elections Alberta warns that spoof site electionsab.ca contains fake voter data. Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said the site mimics elections.ab.ca and that names, addresses, phone numbers and elector ID numbers on electionsab.ca are bogus; McClure said his office lacks authority to investigate and has contacted enforcement and cybersecurity agencies to seek the site’s takedown.
  2. Province announces 36+ school projects for 39,000 new or upgraded student spaces. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said on Thursday that the Schools Now program will fast-track projects statewide, with 11 new schools planned for Edmonton and 12 schools expected by the end of the fiscal year while the province estimates 90,000 additional students enrolled over four years.
  3. Alberta warns public about scam texts targeting provincial health cards. The province issued a consumer alert on July 2026 about fraudulent SMS messages purporting to be from Alberta Health Care that attempt to steal personal information, and officials urged recipients to ignore links and report the texts to authorities.
  4. Hinton council caps short-term rentals with bylaw amendments. Hinton council passed amendments on July 2026 that impose limits on Airbnb-style rentals in the municipality, adjusting zoning and licensing rules to control the number of short-term rental properties, according to the town’s council release.

💼 Economy & Business

  1. Meta to build its first Canadian data centre northeast of Edmonton. Meta announced plans on July 2026 to construct a data centre northeast of Edmonton, marking the company’s first Canadian campus and signaling new local infrastructure and construction activity for the region.

📰 Also Today

  • Brockville police warn of distraction-style necklace thefts on July 4, suspects used counterfeit swap technique.
  • Two N.W.T. wildfire air attack officers, Olivier Lamy and Ryan Beck, identified after June 24 crash, third victim from Buffalo Airways not named.
  • Environment Canada lifts tornado warning for east Central Alberta after storm passes.
  • AER fines oil company nearly $438,000 for a leak undiscovered for 15 months, penalty announced by regulator.
  • Federal and provincial plans would expand oil export pipelines, reports detail new export proposals.
  • Beaverlodge RCMP issued Amber Alert for a six-year-old boy, alert posted by RCMP.
  • Alberta AG expects to finish probe of a health contract by year-end, Attorney General announcement.
  • Accused in Edmonton Chinatown killings says he has no memory of the attacks, court testimony submitted.
  • Questions raised about statistical sampling on rejected anti-coal petition, review cites sampling concerns.
  • Province fast-tracks 22 schools from planning to design under Schools Now program, province statement.
  • Meta’s new data centre follows regional infrastructure approvals, planning documents referenced.

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Source Articles (18)

Meta building its first Canadian data centre northeast of Edmonton

Meta has announced it will build a massive one-gigawatt data centre northeast of Edmonton, the company's first such project in Canada.

General Jul 9, 2026

Province warns of scam text messages about provincial health cards

“The Government of Alberta will never send unsolicited text messages asking for Albertans' personal or financial information,” said a statement provided on behalf of Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally.

General Jul 9, 2026

Teen charged with second-degree murder after fatal weekend shooting: Edmonton police

A 19-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder after a 38-year-old man was fatally shot in central Edmonton last weekend, police say.

General Jul 9, 2026

Questions emerge about statistical sampling used on rejected anti-coal petition

A statistics professor raises concerns about Elections Alberta's sampling method used to verify Corb Lund's Water Not Coal petition which was deemed to be under the signature threshold last week.

General Jul 9, 2026

Hinton council caps Airbnb-style rentals with bylaw amendments

Hinton town council has passed a short-term rental bylaw capping the number of licenses at 70 for hosts who live off-site. The mayor of the mountain town says bylaw amendments were aimed at balancing tourism with community values.

General Jul 9, 2026

Environment Canada lifts tornado warning for east Central Alberta

A tornado warning for residents in east Central Alberta has lifted after people were warned to prepare for a tornado following severe thunderstorms that formed early Wednesday evening.

General Jul 9, 2026

Accused in Edmonton Chinatown killings claims no memory of fatal attacks

Justin Bone detailed the days leading up to his arrest, describing taking drugs and wandering various parts of the city after being dropped off by RCMP.

General Jul 9, 2026

Alberta AG expects to finish health-contract probe by end of year

Alberta's new auditor general, Phil Peters, says he expects his investigation into a health-care contracting scandal to be complete by the end of this year.

General Jul 9, 2026

Beaverlodge RCMP issue Amber Alert for six-year-old boy

Police say Lanakai Morrison, 6, was taken on Tuesday. He may be with his mother, 35-year-old Krista Morrison. Daniel Judwig, 35, and Karl Morrison, 4, may be travelling with them.

General Jul 9, 2026
Alberta RCMP issue Amber Alert for six-year-old boy

Alberta RCMP issue Amber Alert for six-year-old boy

Mounties near the Alberta-British Columbia boundary have issued an Amber Alert for a six-year-old boy.

Canada Jul 9, 2026

Plans for more pipelines to export Canadian oil — and emissions — as planet keeps getting hotter

Pipeline announcements seem to be in abundance at the moment, with ambitions to see more Alberta crude flowing both east and west. But whether or not these plans are realized, the reality is that boosting Canadian oil and gas production will mean more emissions to further warm our already overheated planet.

General Jul 9, 2026

AER fines oil company almost $438K for leak that went undiscovered for 15 months

The Alberta Energy Regulator has fined a Calgary-based oil and gas company nearly $438,000 for an oil emulsion leak in western Alberta that, it estimates, lasted more than a year.

General Jul 9, 2026
Updated 7 mins ago Minor injuries reported after tornado hits campground near Alberta-Saskatchewan border

Updated 7 mins ago Minor injuries reported after tornado hits campground near Alberta-Saskatchewan border

The Alberta RCMP are expected to provide an update Thursday afternoon after two tornadoes are reported to have touched down Wednesday evening in eastern Alberta.

Weather Jul 9, 2026
‘A wound that cannot be repaired’: Two fallen N.W.T. wildfire fighters identified

‘A wound that cannot be repaired’: Two fallen N.W.T. wildfire fighters identified

Two of the three people who died after a plane fighting wildfires in the Northwest Territories went down last month have been identified.

Fire Jul 9, 2026
Alberta government announces plans for new schools, critics say it’s just politics

Alberta government announces plans for new schools, critics say it’s just politics

The government of Alberta says it is "fast tracking" the construction of dozens of new schools, but the education advocacy group "Support Our Students" says it's just politics.

General Jul 9, 2026
Another Ontario police service warns of distraction thefts

Another Ontario police service warns of distraction thefts

Brockville police are warning the public after another distraction-style jewelry theft, the latest in a string of similar scams reported across Canada.

Crime Jul 9, 2026
Justin Bone testifies in Chinatown murder trial

Justin Bone testifies in Chinatown murder trial

RCMP dashcam video was played Thursday in the trial of a man accused of killing two people in Edmonton's Chinatown. Justin Bone is charged with murder — and was back on the stand.

Crime Jul 9, 2026
Elections Alberta says ‘spoof’ website’s voter info is all fake

Elections Alberta says ‘spoof’ website’s voter info is all fake

Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure says his office doesn't have the legislative authority or jurisdiction to investigate the fake website.

Politics Jul 9, 2026