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Alberta

Two more historic churches in Canada set ablaze by arsonists

Published

1 year ago

5 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

“These are absolutely despicable attacks on the Christian community”

Two historic Christian churches in Canada were intentionally set on fire late last week in what police said were suspected acts of arson.

The incident has Conservative political leaders calling for an end to “attacks” on Christianity after more than 100 churches having been targeted with arson or vandalism since 2021.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) say St. Aidan’s Church, known as Glenreagh Church, and Pioneer Church, a United Church, both located in Barrhead, a town 120 miles northwest of Alberta’s capital Edmonton, were destroyed by arson within only two hours of each other on the evening of December 7.

No one was reported to have been hurt in the fires, but both churches have been extensively damaged, likely beyond repair, despite the best efforts of the Barrhead Fire Services, which was onsite quickly.

Barrhead RCMP confirmed that an initial investigation has determined that both fires were intentionally set. However, an exact motive is not yet clear.

According to eyewitnesses on the ground, two older pickup trucks were seen fleeing the scene.

An initial investigation by fire examiners confirmed that both fires were deliberately set.

Local resident Edith Strawson, whose dad helped build St. Aidan’s Church over 100 years ago, and who got married in the church, as well as some of her kids, said, “We’re putting this back together.”

“We just can’t let that happen and just leave it,” she said as per a CTV report.

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Pierre Poilievre condemned the attacks.

“These are absolutely despicable attacks on the Christian community,” Poilievre wrote Friday on X (formerly Twitter).

“Police must find and arrest the criminals responsible for setting fire to these two churches.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the leader of the United Conservative Party, said church burnings have “no place in Alberta” and those who destroyed the churches by arson need to stand for their “crimes.”

She also confirmed that the RCMP is investigating the church fires “as suspected cases of arson.”

“Images like these have no place in Alberta,” Smith wrote Friday on X (formerly Twitter).

“To the parishioners of these churches and to the Christian community across our province, I stand in solidarity with you against all forms of hate.”

Smith said that the church burnings “are condemned in the strongest possible terms and those perpetrating these crimes must be brought to justice.”

“I am closely monitoring this unfolding situation along with Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis,” she added.

Since the spring of 2021, well over 100 churches, most of them Catholic, but all Christian have either been burned or vandalized across Canada. The attacks on the churches came shortly after the unconfirmed discovery of “unmarked graves” at now-closed residential schools once run by the Church in parts of the country.

In 2021 and 2022, the mainstream media ran with inflammatory and dubious claims that hundreds of children were buried and disregarded by Catholic priests and nuns who ran some of the schools.

Despite the church burnings, the federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done nothing substantial to bring those responsible to justice, nor to stem the root cause of the burnings.

Instead, a little over a month ago, Liberal and NDP Members of Parliament (MPs) struck down a Conservative Party of Canada motion that would have condemned incidents of church burnings and acts of vandalism.

In August of 2022, LifeSiteNews reported about the destruction by fire of one of the oldest standing Catholic churches in Alberta. Police at the time said the fire was a “suspicious” incident.

Despite the massive number of church fires in Canada, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez in May made a brazen suggestion recently that the recent slew of anti-Christian church burnings in Canada could be remedied through further “online” internet regulation.

Those with any information on the church fires are asked to contact Barrhead RCMP at 403-780-674-4848.

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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

By

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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