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Alberta

The latest legacy of Canada’s wildfire smoke? Wisconsin’s new beer-and-burger pairing

Published

2 years ago

6 minute read

WASHINGTON — Another fragrant, hazy phenomenon is turning heads in the United States — only this time, beer fans in Canada will happily take the blame. 

It’s one of the newest IPA offerings from G-Five Brewing Company in Beloit, a southern Wisconsin community of about 36,500 people an hour’s drive southwest of Milwaukee, a city synonymous with suds. 

“Blame Canada” — what else would they call it? — is an easy-drinking session India pale ale inspired by the smoke-filled skies that were plaguing much of the U.S. Midwest and northeastern states earlier in the summer. 

It was the product of a collaboration with fellow Wisconsin brewers Rocky Reef, a partnership that happened to come together in mid-June when the wildfire smoke was at its worst, said Tim Goers, G-Five’s head brewer. 

“When you have a business that is cyclical like that, you don’t want your patrons to be outside because of air quality, so it does hurt business a little bit,” Goers said. 

Naturally, that’s when the conversation turned to 1999’s “South Park: The Movie” and that now-anthemic song-and-dance number, “Blame Canada” — a riff on the show’s tongue-in-cheek fondness for making fun of Canadians.

“We were going to hold on to it for a week, but it was just dumb luck timing that the wildfire haze came back,” he said. 

“We got to the point where when we kegged this beer up, it was pretty awful outside. We were, like, ‘It’s too coincidental — we can’t hold on to this beer.’ So we released it.”

That’s when it caught on like the proverbial wildfire. 

Out of 12 available options on tap, “it’s our number 3 best-seller right now, and it hasn’t even had a full month of sales.”

Even the label on the can is one many Canadians could get behind — a red silhouette of the familiar Toronto skyline in flames, with a smoky mountain range and white Maple Leaf emblem in the background. 

If the beer alone isn’t enough, patio patrons can pair it with G-Five’s latest Burger of the Week, “Canadian Wildfire,” a ground ribeye burger made with spicy maple syrup, the requisite back bacon, jalapenos and pepper jack cheese. 

“If you have an IPA or a hoppier beer — ours aren’t, like, crazy hoppy — that will help cut some of the spice of the burger. So they actually ended up pairing really well together.” 

Much of the U.S. is now getting a reprieve from the smoke, although there are still air quality issues in northern states including Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and parts of northern Wisconsin, Environmental Protection Agency data shows.

Instead, most Americans will be contending this week with a fearsome heat wave that’s already punishing much of the southern U.S., with record-setting highs that are expected to reach 49 C in spots.   

And Goers said he’s well aware that wildfire season on both sides of the border is only just getting started. 

“It’s a tongue-in-cheek, fun thing for us as a brewery, but as a nation and for people that are going through it, it’s pretty awful,” he said. 

“It’s kind of sad to me — I have a lot of empathy (and) sympathy for what the heck is going on … it’s the 14th of July, and typically the dry season hasn’t even started.” 

G-Five used to source some of its malt barley from Maker’s Malt, a specialty producer near Saskatoon that caters specifically to the craft beer industry. But between the COVID-19 pandemic, shipping issues and recent droughts, the brewery has been forced to switch to a supplier closer to home. 

“It hurts to see,” he said. “Now, does it hurt us brewing beer? No. But, you know, that’s not all my life is surrounded by.”

In the meantime, Goers said while he’s hoping the wildfires don’t flare up as badly as they did last month, G-Five will keep the “Blame Canada” recipe handy and break it out again if circumstances change.

“I’m not the biggest ‘South Park’ connoisseur — I might have watched a couple (episodes) in high school just so I could have something to talk about with my friends,” Goers said. 

But if a Canadian craft brewer wanted to bat the ball back with a tart seasonal offering called “Team America: World Police,” for instance, he’d be all in. 

“That would be hilarious.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2023. 

James McCarten, The Canadian Press

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Alberta

Pierre Poilievre will run to represent Camrose, Stettler, Hanna, and Drumheller in Central Alberta by-election

Published on May 3, 2025

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Conservative MP-elect Damien Kurek announced Friday he would be willing to give up his seat as an MP so Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat Monday, could attempt to re-join Parliament.

Conservative MP-elect Damien Kurek announced Friday he would be willing to give up his seat in a riding that saw the Conservatives easily defeat the Liberals by 46,020 votes in this past Monday’s election. Poilievre had lost his seat to his Liberal rival, a seat which he held for decades, which many saw as putting his role as leader of the party in jeopardy.

Kurek has represented the riding since 2019 and said about his decision, “It has been a tremendous honor to serve the good people of Battle River—Crowfoot.”

“After much discussion with my wife Danielle, I have decided to step aside for this Parliamentary session to allow our Conservative Party Leader to run here in a by-election,” he added.

Newly elected Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney used his first post-election press conference to say his government will unleash a “new economy” that will further “deepen” the nation’s ties to the world.

He also promised that he would “trigger” a by-election at once, saying there would be “no games” trying to prohibit Poilievre to run and win a seat in a safe Conservative riding.

Poilievre, in a statement posted to X Friday, said that it was with “humility and appreciation that I have accepted Damien Kurek’s offer to resign his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot so that I can work to earn the support of citizens there to serve them in Parliament.”

 

“Damien’s selfless act to step aside temporarily as a Member of Parliament shows his commitment to change and restoring Canada’s promise,” he noted.

Carney said a new cabinet will be sworn in on May 12.

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Alberta

‘Existing oil sands projects deliver some of the lowest-breakeven oil in North America’

Published on May 2, 2025

By

From the Canadian Energy Centre 

By Will Gibson

Alberta oil sands projects poised to grow on lower costs, strong reserves

As geopolitical uncertainty ripples through global energy markets, a new report says Alberta’s oil sands sector is positioned to grow thanks to its lower costs.

Enverus Intelligence Research’s annual Oil Sands Play Fundamentals forecasts producers will boost output by 400,000 barrels per day (bbls/d) by the end of this decade through expansions of current operations.

“Existing oil sands projects deliver some of the lowest-breakeven oil in North America at WTI prices lower than $50 U.S. dollars,” said Trevor Rix, a director with the Calgary-based research firm, a subsidiary of Enverus which is headquartered in Texas with operations in Europe and Asia.

Alberta’s oil sands currently produce about 3.4 million bbls/d. Individual companies have disclosed combined proven reserves of about 30 billion barrels, or more than 20 years of current production.

A recent sector-wide reserves analysis by McDaniel & Associates found the oil sands holds about 167 billion barrels of reserves, compared to about 20 billion barrels in Texas.

While trade tensions and sustained oil price declines may marginally slow oil sands growth in the short term, most projects have already had significant capital invested and can withstand some volatility.

Cenovus Energy’s Christina Lake oil sands project. Photo courtesy Cenovus Energy

“While it takes a large amount of out-of-pocket capital to start an oil sands operation, they are very cost effective after that initial investment,” said veteran S&P Global analyst Kevin Birn.

“Optimization,” where companies tweak existing operations for more efficient output, has dominated oil sands growth for the past eight years, he said. These efforts have also resulted in lower cost structures.

“That’s largely shielded the oil sands from some of the inflationary costs we’ve seen in other upstream production,” Birn said.

Added pipeline capacity through expansion of the Trans Mountain system and Enbridge’s Mainline have added an incentive to expand production, Rix said.

The increased production will also spur growth in regions of western Canada, including the Montney and Duvernay, which Enverus analysts previously highlighted as increasingly crucial to meet rising worldwide energy demand.

“Increased oil sands production will see demand increase for condensate, which is used as diluent to ship bitumen by pipeline, which has positive implications for growth in drilling in liquids-rich regions such as the Montney and Duvernay,” Rix said.

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