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GRANDE PRAIRIE
ALBERTA, CANADA
BUSINESS NEWS 2008
Jan 2008- Effective January 1, 2008, the GST will be reduced from 7% to 5%. Also the general federal corporate income tax rate will be reduced to 19.5 % and small businesses throughout the Peace Country will also benefit with their income tax rate going down to 11%. -Effective January 1st the Alberta Smoke Free Places Act becomes law throughout the Peace Country. It is now against the law to smoke inside a public place or workplace or within 5 metres of an entrance of the same. Also one cannot smoke in a public or work vehicle.
Jan 08- There are obvious indications that the housing market is slowing down by the number of homes being built. Statistics indicated that there was a drop of 61.1 per cent in housing starts in Grande Prairie for December of 2007. (CMHC statistics of combined single and multiple family homes)
Jan 08- Standard Auto Glass is constructing a new building just west of the current location of 124 Avenue and 101 Street Grande Prairie.
Jan 08- The Commonwealth Credit Union has started construction of a new north location, just west of the Super 8, along 102 Street.
Jan 08- This year the Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce awarded the Clem E. Colins award to Jackie Clayton. The Dan H. Minchin was presented to Curry's Jewellers and Business Citizens of the year went to Glen and Judy Keddie, owners of Keddies. -Augustine Ebinu is now the new Liberal leader of the GP Wapiti area of the Peace Country. - Changes at Q99, one of the newer radio stations in Grande Prairie, sees their morning show hosts Crash and Mars leaving for Saskatchewan. They have been replaced by Tyler Wold and the Q99 Morning Show.
2008 EVENTS OF THE PEACE COUNTRY
Business news information will added to this page on an on going basis. The Business News is a gathering of just some of the the changes that Grande Prairie has experienced.
GRANDE PRAIRIE - BUSINESS NEWS 2008
(Downtown Grande Prairie all lit up for Christmas late December 2007.
Facing west on 100 Avenue with 214 Place in background)
Feb 08- 1st Annual Murray Sutherland Memorial Hockey Tournament to take place March 7-9 at Clairmont Lake. Raise money for the Clairmont Community Centre and Arena. - The Provincial Election will be held March 3rd, 2008. Candidates in the Grande Prairie area are: GRANDE PRAIRIE-SMOKY Alberta Liberal - John Croken, Green Party - Rebecca Villebrun, NDP - Neil Peacock, PC - Mel Knight, Wildrose Alliance - Todd Loewen. GRANDE PRAIRIE-WAPITI Alberta Liberal - Augustine Ebinu, Green Party - Art Proctor, NDP - Manuella Campbell, PC - Wayne Drysdale. (Alberta Leaders: Kevin Taft - Alberta Liberals, Brian Mason- NDP, Paul Hinman - Wildrose Alliance, George Read - Green Party, Len Skowronski - Social Credit, Ed Stelmach - PC.)
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| The Holiday Inn Express in now open on the north end of Grande Prairie along the Highway By-Pass. You can find it directly west of the Pomeroy Inn and Suites (117 Avenue and 102 Street) | Redwood Inn and Suites is getting closer to completion. Located north of the Ramada Inn near the 4-mile corner at 84 Avenue and 99 Street, Clairmont. |
Feb 08- Music Centre Canada has opened a franchise in Grande Prairie selling all kinds of musical instrument. It is located at 103 Avenue and 100 Street (the old CFGP building) -This year Grande Prairie is celebrating its 50 Anniversary as it became a city back in 1958. Many events are planned for Aug 2-4 to help celebrate this milestone.
Mar 08- The Progressive Conservative Party wins the election in Alberta. Mel Knight (PC) is re-elected in the Grande Prairie-Smoky riding, while Wayne Drysdale (PC) wins Grande Prairie-Wapiti. -Best Buy will be coming to Grande Prairie. A 25,000 sq ft building is to be constructed on the west side of Grande Prairie. -The QEII Hospital Foundation Dream Home is scheduled to open May 2, 2008 and will be located in West Lake Village. Tickets are on sale.
Mar 08- A new RV business, Paradise RV, has opened on the north side of Grande Prairie selling 5th wheels and trailers. Located at 13701-99 Street, near the UFA Cardlock, it also has locations in Red Deer and Leduc. - Minimum wage will increase April 1, 2008 to $8.40 but won't be much a factor in Grande Prairie because most people are paid well above that. - Gas prices have now reached an all time high in Grande Prairie with the cost at most pumps near $1.14 a litre for regular gas. - Peppermint Twist Hair Design and Day Spa has a new location in the Cobblestone Plaza on the far east side of Grande Prairie. TD Canada Trust opens another location at Cobblestone Plaza as well. - City manager Dave Gourlay retires after 19 years with the city. -City of Grande Prairie has approved a $1.9 million new animal pound. The new building will be located next to SPCA on the west side of the City.
April 08- Another new hotel is getting closer to getting completed. Motel 6, located north of Peace Farm Power along 100 Street almost at the 4-mile corner. -Construction continues west towards the Airport with a new Esso and another Tim Hortons to open later this year. Located at approximately 120 Street which is across the road from Stahl Peterbilt Truck location. -Peace Wapiti School Division has made the decision to close the Valhalla School at the end of July 2008. -More changes at the radio stations in Grande Prairie. April Lyn has left the morning show at Free FM to move to Vernon BC. -Taylor Wold who joined the morning show at Q99 just last January has decided to get out of radio completely. -Canfor Mill is reducing its production in Grande Prairie by 20 per cent. No layoffs but they will move towards a 32-hour work week. -Boucher Brothers Lumber in Nampa laid off 28 people.
April 08- Just when most of us had done our spring cleanup and were out golfing, mother nature gave us quite a few days of blizzard conditions with snowfall warnings (April 19-22) dumping 20-30cm of snow with temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius. This storm not only hit the Peace Country but included all of Alberta.
May 08- Royal LePage in Grande Prairie is now one of the major supporters of DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com and is now the exclusive Real Estate Company featured on every page of this website. (close to 300 pages) ROYAL LEPAGE WEBSITE -Effective September 8, 2008 ten digit dialling will be mandatory in the 780, 403, and 250 calling areas. That means all local phone calls will have to include the area code. All speed-dials will require reprogramming, which will also affect fax machines, alarm systems, and even internet dial-up phone numbers. -More street lights are to be installed on Grande Prairie's west side around 120 Street, west of Costco on the Highway 43. It will give access to the Brochu Industrial Park area and the new Central West development on the south of the highway. -A new school is now under construction along Lakeland Drive in the Lakeland Subdivision in the northeast corner of Grande Prairie.
- Bruce Power has made application to get approval to build a Nuclear Power Plant near Peace River. (read more...post Your Opinion)
May 08- The 2008 Dream Home is now open located near the 4 mile corner north of Grande Prairie in the new West Lake Village subdivision. Draw date is June 24, 2008. - Also in the same area Fountain Tire opened its doors of its Brand New Building, 10205-156 Avenue. Just west of this location, it won't be long before construction will begin on the New Alliance Church. - ATB Financial opened another Branch in Grande Prairie Southview, 6801-Kateri Drive. -M & M Meats has opened a second location in the small Cobblestone Mall (east side)
June 08-DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com celebrates its 5th Anniversary. This website was launched in 2003 with only 50 pages and has now grown to include close to 300 pages of information and 1,500 pictures. -Derek Taylor Public School located in the Mission Heights area 7321-104 A Street, had its official Grand Opening. -Grande Prairie Subaru had its Grand Opening of its new location 11445-104 Avenue, west end of Grande Prairie.
June 08- Construction continues at a rapid face just west of Costco and 116 Street on the far west of the city known as Centre West Business Park with a new Future Shop, Best Buy, and Work Warehouse. (read more). -Grande Prairie and Peace Country Relay for Life had more than 1,500 participants and raised over $500,000.
June 08- The Dream Home was won by Russel Lightfoot of Grande Prairie. (list of winners.) Statistics Canada survey indicates two-thirds of adults who live in the Peace Country Health Region are over weight. About 25 percent of adults in the region are regarded as obese. -Red light cameras are now operating in Grande Prairie. (list of intersections)
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