Overview

• Local Conservatives in Battle River—Crowfoot are opposing Pierre Poilievre’s by-election candidacy, arguing he lost his Ontario seat and lacks understanding of riding issues.
• Calgary faces renewed calls to reverse a decade of police funding cuts after its officer-to-population ratio fell to 147.7 per 100,000 residents in 2024, below the national average.
• A horse in Chad Fike’s chuckwagon rig suffered an injury during Heat 8 of the Calgary Stampede’s Rangeland Derby on July 12 and is now under veterinary care following enhanced safety protocols.
• Letters published this week urge Alberta to pursue independence in 2026, citing an $8.3-billion provincial surplus, and call for retaliatory U.S. tariffs after Ottawa dropped its proposed digital services tax.
• Defence lawyers in the Ottawa Lam sisters murder trial have introduced a Vietnamese culture expert to provide jurors with context as testimony advances.