Grande Prairie 2021 News - ARCHIVED
DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com features some of the news that changed Grande Prairie during the year 2021. This was the year of elections as the Federal election took place in September while the Municipal Election took place in October of 2021. This was the year the new Grande Prairie Hospital opened as well we got a new grocery store that changed the landscape of Grande Prairie.
MORE: Grande Prairie NEWS - 2001 To Present VIEW
GRANDE PRAIRIE NEWS - 2021
Jan 2021: The Grande Prairie Dream Home has been completed but because of the COVID-19 the Dream Home is not open to the public. You can view photos of the Dream Home CLICK HERE.
Jan 2021: Jackie Clayton has been appointed the Mayor and Chief Elected Official for the remaining term when Mayor Bill Given left that position. Jackie Clayton is the first woman in history to be Mayor. The next Municipal Election will be held October 18, 2021.
Jan 2021: St Patrick School was demolished January 30th and 31st in Grande Prairie and construction of a new school is expected to start this spring. The new school would cost $17 million with 400 students would attending. The school was closed in 2017 when water problems in the basement could not be resolved. Demolitions Photos: The Ruins: view photo, The Demolition: view photo, Close up of excavators: view photo, Loading the truck: view photo, One of the remaining walls: view photo
Feb 2021: The Den Pub and Carvery is moving to the former Tony Roma’s location along the Highway Bypass in Grande Prairie. There will be some minor renovations required before the move will take place some time in March.
March 2021: The 10th Annual Country Music Alberta Awards recently took place (Feb 28th) and Grande Prairie’s Tenille Townes won two awards that included Female Artist of the Year beating out Mackenzie Porter and Lindsay Ell. Tenille also won Single of the Year for her hit song “Come As You Are” beating out Jade Eagleson, Lindsay Ell and Mackenzie Porter. Spirit River’s Aaron Goodvin beat out Brett Kissel, Gord Bamford and Jade Eagleson for the Male Artist of the Year award.
March 2021: Construction continues on the new Nor-Lan Chrysler building north on 100 street and 148 Avenue, Grande Prairie. The electronic sign has been there along the highway for quite a long time, but now the framing of the building is visible behind it.
March 2021: Pon Mah has passed away on March 10, 2021 at the age of 91 years. In the early 1960’s Pon started up the Grande Prairie Steam Laundry and in 1969 the Golden Star Restaurant and in 1980 opened the Golden Inn Hotel Photo of the Golden Inn Hotel (now known as the Paradise Inn). Many knew him as one of the friendliest and most hard working men in Grande Prairie.
March 2021: Doug Marshall GM has moved to their new location on the west side of Grande Prairie and has also changed its name to Grande Prairie Wheaton Chevrolet. With the new location (11701-101 Avenue) they will have a bigger showroom, better service drive-thru plus many new amenities. Photo of the old location along 100 Street: View Photo
March 2021: ATB is closing 10 Alberta branches because of shifting customer behaviors as more people were moving to online banking. The Grande Prairie branch on the south side (east of the Coca-Cola Centre) officially closed on Friday, March 26, 2021 and that still leaves two ATB locations still open in Grande Prairie. The Alberta branches that were on the list of closures included 4 branches in Edmonton and 5 in Calgary.
April 2021: The race is on to get vaccinations in the arms as the active COVID-19 cases are starting to spike. Active cases have increased 205% in the City since January of this year while over the same period, the County of Grande Prairie have had a jump of 439% of active cases. There are now 2,272 people who have had the virus in Grande Prairie since it started (about a year ago) and at the time of this post, 358 active cases, 1,890 recovered and 24 deaths.
April 2021: A new grocery store, Fresh Co, is now under construction on the east side of Grande Prairie in the Cobblestone area. Sobeys/Empire Company Ltd announced last September that two new FreshCo discount supermarkets were to be added to western Canada with one in Grande Prairie and another in Regina Saskatchewan. There are currently 110 FreshCo stores in Canada. (photo: Cobblestone construction site with the strip mall in the background that includes Shoppers Drug Mart, Oriental Wok, Liquor Depot etc).
May 2021: The Grande Prairie Community Village is renaming the Parish Hall the Edey Family Community Hall in honour of long time volunteer Doug Edey and his family’s longtime community service. Doug has been a volunteer for the Grande Prairie Storm for more than 25 years as well for the Grande Prairie Athletics for a number of years.
May 2021: The Grande Prairie Downtown Rehabilitation Phase 4 Construction began on May 3, 2021 along 100 Avenue between 100 Street and 98th Street. The estimated $14 million project will include water and sanitary lines replaced along with the road and sidewalk.
May 2021: The Grande Prairie Regional College has been granted polytechnic status which will offer apprenticeship programming as well as degrees, certificate and diploma programs. Polytechnics like NAIT offer a wide range of programming which will be a welcome opportunity for many in the Peace Country.
June 2021: Tenille Townes (from Grande Prairie) has won Album of the Year for her album "The Lemonade Stand" at the Juno Awards held on Sunday June 6, 2021. She was competing against Dallas Smith, Jade Eagleson, Lindsay Ell and Mackenzie Porter.
June 2021: Grande Prairie had a heat wave which saw record breaking temperatures which began June 24th. In the past there have been only a couple days in a row reaching 30 degrees but not 6 days of temperatures above 30 degrees with one day peaking at 41.5. To add to this heat streak there were a couple more days of temperatures at 29 degrees making a total of 8 days in a row that were never experienced before by many in the Peace Country. It made homes unbearable and there was a rush to buy portable air conditioners.
Jan 2021: The Grande Prairie Dream Home has been completed but because of the COVID-19 the Dream Home is not open to the public. You can view photos of the Dream Home CLICK HERE.
Jan 2021: Jackie Clayton has been appointed the Mayor and Chief Elected Official for the remaining term when Mayor Bill Given left that position. Jackie Clayton is the first woman in history to be Mayor. The next Municipal Election will be held October 18, 2021.
Jan 2021: St Patrick School was demolished January 30th and 31st in Grande Prairie and construction of a new school is expected to start this spring. The new school would cost $17 million with 400 students would attending. The school was closed in 2017 when water problems in the basement could not be resolved. Demolitions Photos: The Ruins: view photo, The Demolition: view photo, Close up of excavators: view photo, Loading the truck: view photo, One of the remaining walls: view photo
Feb 2021: The Den Pub and Carvery is moving to the former Tony Roma’s location along the Highway Bypass in Grande Prairie. There will be some minor renovations required before the move will take place some time in March.
March 2021: The 10th Annual Country Music Alberta Awards recently took place (Feb 28th) and Grande Prairie’s Tenille Townes won two awards that included Female Artist of the Year beating out Mackenzie Porter and Lindsay Ell. Tenille also won Single of the Year for her hit song “Come As You Are” beating out Jade Eagleson, Lindsay Ell and Mackenzie Porter. Spirit River’s Aaron Goodvin beat out Brett Kissel, Gord Bamford and Jade Eagleson for the Male Artist of the Year award.
March 2021: Construction continues on the new Nor-Lan Chrysler building north on 100 street and 148 Avenue, Grande Prairie. The electronic sign has been there along the highway for quite a long time, but now the framing of the building is visible behind it.
March 2021: Pon Mah has passed away on March 10, 2021 at the age of 91 years. In the early 1960’s Pon started up the Grande Prairie Steam Laundry and in 1969 the Golden Star Restaurant and in 1980 opened the Golden Inn Hotel Photo of the Golden Inn Hotel (now known as the Paradise Inn). Many knew him as one of the friendliest and most hard working men in Grande Prairie.
March 2021: Doug Marshall GM has moved to their new location on the west side of Grande Prairie and has also changed its name to Grande Prairie Wheaton Chevrolet. With the new location (11701-101 Avenue) they will have a bigger showroom, better service drive-thru plus many new amenities. Photo of the old location along 100 Street: View Photo
March 2021: ATB is closing 10 Alberta branches because of shifting customer behaviors as more people were moving to online banking. The Grande Prairie branch on the south side (east of the Coca-Cola Centre) officially closed on Friday, March 26, 2021 and that still leaves two ATB locations still open in Grande Prairie. The Alberta branches that were on the list of closures included 4 branches in Edmonton and 5 in Calgary.
April 2021: The race is on to get vaccinations in the arms as the active COVID-19 cases are starting to spike. Active cases have increased 205% in the City since January of this year while over the same period, the County of Grande Prairie have had a jump of 439% of active cases. There are now 2,272 people who have had the virus in Grande Prairie since it started (about a year ago) and at the time of this post, 358 active cases, 1,890 recovered and 24 deaths.
April 2021: A new grocery store, Fresh Co, is now under construction on the east side of Grande Prairie in the Cobblestone area. Sobeys/Empire Company Ltd announced last September that two new FreshCo discount supermarkets were to be added to western Canada with one in Grande Prairie and another in Regina Saskatchewan. There are currently 110 FreshCo stores in Canada. (photo: Cobblestone construction site with the strip mall in the background that includes Shoppers Drug Mart, Oriental Wok, Liquor Depot etc).
May 2021: The Grande Prairie Community Village is renaming the Parish Hall the Edey Family Community Hall in honour of long time volunteer Doug Edey and his family’s longtime community service. Doug has been a volunteer for the Grande Prairie Storm for more than 25 years as well for the Grande Prairie Athletics for a number of years.
May 2021: The Grande Prairie Downtown Rehabilitation Phase 4 Construction began on May 3, 2021 along 100 Avenue between 100 Street and 98th Street. The estimated $14 million project will include water and sanitary lines replaced along with the road and sidewalk.
May 2021: The Grande Prairie Regional College has been granted polytechnic status which will offer apprenticeship programming as well as degrees, certificate and diploma programs. Polytechnics like NAIT offer a wide range of programming which will be a welcome opportunity for many in the Peace Country.
June 2021: Tenille Townes (from Grande Prairie) has won Album of the Year for her album "The Lemonade Stand" at the Juno Awards held on Sunday June 6, 2021. She was competing against Dallas Smith, Jade Eagleson, Lindsay Ell and Mackenzie Porter.
June 2021: Grande Prairie had a heat wave which saw record breaking temperatures which began June 24th. In the past there have been only a couple days in a row reaching 30 degrees but not 6 days of temperatures above 30 degrees with one day peaking at 41.5. To add to this heat streak there were a couple more days of temperatures at 29 degrees making a total of 8 days in a row that were never experienced before by many in the Peace Country. It made homes unbearable and there was a rush to buy portable air conditioners.
GRANDE PRAIRIE NEWS - 2021
July 2021: Acropolis Restaurant & Pub in Grande Prairie (10011-101 Ave) announced that they have closed. “Like many other restaurants in Alberta we were unable to weather the Covid storm and paired with a very slow reopening after the restrictions were lifted, we were just unable to keep up financially."
July 2021: This year the Grande Prairie Street Performers Festival took place in front of Revolution Place since the downtown was blocked off for construction.
August 2021: Sun Capsule Tan N’ Tone Centre has closed their doors at the end of August at 10822-100 Street Grande Prairie. They were in operation for many years with services that included tanning, skin care and aesthetics services as well as clinical treatments and spa packages. With some businesses closing, others are expanding. FYI Doctors has opened a 2nd location on the far west side of the City in Westgate (11510-Westgate Drive), VIEW PHOTO. Accu-Tech Auto Repair Centre has now moved to the old Doug Marshall location at 11044-100 Street Grande Prairie. VIEW PHOTO.
August 2021: Low levels of rainfall and above average temperatures (the warmest summer in the Grande Prairie region on record) have contributed to 80% of crops in Alberta considered well below average that include the Grande Prairie area. This has also affected cattle ranchers as there have been shortages of water and hay for the cattle. This is the driest summer the area has seen since 1970 and the 6th driest summer ever.
September 2021: Q99 radio station in Grande Prairie has now changed its branding and will be now known as 98.9 Rewind Radio. The radio station still maintains it music format of playing the hits from the 80’s and 90’s. In 2006, Q99 was one of three radio stations that got the go-ahead from the CRTC to start broadcasting in Grande Prairie along with Vista radio (now known as 104.7 2day FM) and Shine FM (now known as Reach FM). In 2016 Q99 became part of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group that also owned Big Country 93.1.
September 2021: Peace Country Election Results for northwest Alberta and northeast BC for the 2021 Federal Election that was held on September 20th, 2021. Information shows how many each party received: ELECTION RESULTS
October 2021: As part of the Municipal Election voters voted against staying on Daylight Savings time year round with 56 per cent against. Also on the referendum was the vote to remove the principle of equalization payments from Canada's Constitution and 70 per cent voted in favour of removing it.
October 2021: Grande Prairie has voted in a new Mayor in the Municipal Election held October 18th. Jackie Clayton is now Mayor of Grande Prairie. See the number of votes for each Mayor candidate along with number of votes for Councillors. Includes the list of elected candidates for both the Public and Separate School Board Trustee. See election info CLICK HERE.
November 2021: Helen Rice dies unexpectedly at the age of 77. She was Grande Prairie’s longest serving city councillor who was serving the community from 1979 to 2017. She was also the General Manager of the Grande Prairie DownTown Association from 1997-2019 also held the position of President and board of directors member of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. She received the Emerald Award for Environmental Leadership, Distinguished Service Award as well as the Alberta Urban Municipalities Distinguished Service Award. The plaza outside the Bonnett’s Energy Centre was also named after year a few years ago.
November 2021: Remembrance Day Celebrations were held at the Bonnett's Energy Centre (Revolution Place) as well as at Jubilee Park in Grande Prairie where a large crowd took in the Ceremonies: VIEW MORE PHOTOS
November 2021: View the video of thehighlights of the Remembrance Day Ceremonies: View VIDEO>
December 2021: The CCMA Award Winners were announced and Grande Prairie's Tenille Townes won the “Female Artist of the Year” for the third straight year and earned the “Album of the year” for the Lemonade Stand. HIgh Valley from LaCrete was nominated for the"Fans Choice" category but the honors went to Brett Kissel. High Valley missed out on "Single of the Year" which was won by Dallas Smith. Also another Peace Country Artist, Aaron Goodvin from Spirit River was nominated for the Artist or Group of the Year which but that went to the Reklaws.
December 2021: The Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) will be changing its name to Northwestern Polytechnic in March 2022 as it received polytechnic institution status. The polytechnic status in Alberta gives institutions the ability to offer apprenticeship education along with degree, diploma and certificate programming.
December 2021: FRESH Co has opened its doors today in the Cobblestone area of Grande Prairie after months of construction. The new grocery store is located east along 100 Avenue. More photos: VIEW PHOTOS
December 2021: The Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce presented the Annual Chamber Member Awards to the following people/businesses:
· Clem E. Collins Award (Chamber Volunteer) – Judy Hein
· Business Citizen of the Year – The Salvation Army Grande Prairie and Grande Prairie Friendship Centre
· Dan H. Minchin Award (Long-Term Member Business Achievement) – Royal LePage – The Realty Group
December 2021: Towne Centre Golf is now open in the Towne Centre Mall, #8-9845-99 Avenue, Grande Prairie. It is a year-round golf licensed facility featuring 11 golf simulators that is open 7 days a week. Next to it is Deano’s Pizza that offers Dine-in and Takeout. Rumour has it that Nevada Bob’s Golf will eventually be moving to the Towne Centre Mall as well. More photos
December 2021: December 2021:The NEW Grande Prairie Regional Hospital is OPENING December 4th, 2021. AHS will begin providing patients care at the NEW HOSPITAL on Saturday Dec 4, 2021 with the emergency department at the new facility opening at 6am. The OLD HOSPITAL emergency department will STOP accepting patients at 6am Dec 4th. Also QEll inpatients will be transferred to the new hospital throughout December 4th and acute care units at the old hospital will be closed. The NEW hospital will provide surgery, critical care, emergency service and more. There will be a new state-of-the-art Cancer Centre with two radiation vaults bringing radiation therapy services the the region for the first time.’ The new hospital will have 1,100 parking stalls with an additional 250 surface stalls.
December 2021: Well known restaurant manager and business owner Ken Wong has passed away at the age of 71 years. He managed the Golden Star Restuarant in Grande Prairie since 1999. He was part of the graduating class of the Grande Prairie Composite High School in 1967. He later lived in Edmonton and then Vancouver but returned to Grande Prairie. "He was an individual who went above and beyond for all customers whom he encountered during his years at the Golden Star whether it was your first time seeing him at the front for a take-out, or if it was your fiftieth time visiting, he always made an effort to stop and chat mid-meal. Ken put his heart and soul into the restaurant, and you could tell the dedication he had towards the establishment as he always ensured that all customers left happy." (photo of Ken Wong from Olivers Funeral Obiturary)
July 2021: Acropolis Restaurant & Pub in Grande Prairie (10011-101 Ave) announced that they have closed. “Like many other restaurants in Alberta we were unable to weather the Covid storm and paired with a very slow reopening after the restrictions were lifted, we were just unable to keep up financially."
July 2021: This year the Grande Prairie Street Performers Festival took place in front of Revolution Place since the downtown was blocked off for construction.
August 2021: Sun Capsule Tan N’ Tone Centre has closed their doors at the end of August at 10822-100 Street Grande Prairie. They were in operation for many years with services that included tanning, skin care and aesthetics services as well as clinical treatments and spa packages. With some businesses closing, others are expanding. FYI Doctors has opened a 2nd location on the far west side of the City in Westgate (11510-Westgate Drive), VIEW PHOTO. Accu-Tech Auto Repair Centre has now moved to the old Doug Marshall location at 11044-100 Street Grande Prairie. VIEW PHOTO.
August 2021: Low levels of rainfall and above average temperatures (the warmest summer in the Grande Prairie region on record) have contributed to 80% of crops in Alberta considered well below average that include the Grande Prairie area. This has also affected cattle ranchers as there have been shortages of water and hay for the cattle. This is the driest summer the area has seen since 1970 and the 6th driest summer ever.
September 2021: Q99 radio station in Grande Prairie has now changed its branding and will be now known as 98.9 Rewind Radio. The radio station still maintains it music format of playing the hits from the 80’s and 90’s. In 2006, Q99 was one of three radio stations that got the go-ahead from the CRTC to start broadcasting in Grande Prairie along with Vista radio (now known as 104.7 2day FM) and Shine FM (now known as Reach FM). In 2016 Q99 became part of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group that also owned Big Country 93.1.
September 2021: Peace Country Election Results for northwest Alberta and northeast BC for the 2021 Federal Election that was held on September 20th, 2021. Information shows how many each party received: ELECTION RESULTS
October 2021: As part of the Municipal Election voters voted against staying on Daylight Savings time year round with 56 per cent against. Also on the referendum was the vote to remove the principle of equalization payments from Canada's Constitution and 70 per cent voted in favour of removing it.
October 2021: Grande Prairie has voted in a new Mayor in the Municipal Election held October 18th. Jackie Clayton is now Mayor of Grande Prairie. See the number of votes for each Mayor candidate along with number of votes for Councillors. Includes the list of elected candidates for both the Public and Separate School Board Trustee. See election info CLICK HERE.
November 2021: Helen Rice dies unexpectedly at the age of 77. She was Grande Prairie’s longest serving city councillor who was serving the community from 1979 to 2017. She was also the General Manager of the Grande Prairie DownTown Association from 1997-2019 also held the position of President and board of directors member of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. She received the Emerald Award for Environmental Leadership, Distinguished Service Award as well as the Alberta Urban Municipalities Distinguished Service Award. The plaza outside the Bonnett’s Energy Centre was also named after year a few years ago.
November 2021: Remembrance Day Celebrations were held at the Bonnett's Energy Centre (Revolution Place) as well as at Jubilee Park in Grande Prairie where a large crowd took in the Ceremonies: VIEW MORE PHOTOS
November 2021: View the video of thehighlights of the Remembrance Day Ceremonies: View VIDEO>
December 2021: The CCMA Award Winners were announced and Grande Prairie's Tenille Townes won the “Female Artist of the Year” for the third straight year and earned the “Album of the year” for the Lemonade Stand. HIgh Valley from LaCrete was nominated for the"Fans Choice" category but the honors went to Brett Kissel. High Valley missed out on "Single of the Year" which was won by Dallas Smith. Also another Peace Country Artist, Aaron Goodvin from Spirit River was nominated for the Artist or Group of the Year which but that went to the Reklaws.
December 2021: The Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) will be changing its name to Northwestern Polytechnic in March 2022 as it received polytechnic institution status. The polytechnic status in Alberta gives institutions the ability to offer apprenticeship education along with degree, diploma and certificate programming.
December 2021: FRESH Co has opened its doors today in the Cobblestone area of Grande Prairie after months of construction. The new grocery store is located east along 100 Avenue. More photos: VIEW PHOTOS
December 2021: The Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce presented the Annual Chamber Member Awards to the following people/businesses:
· Clem E. Collins Award (Chamber Volunteer) – Judy Hein
· Business Citizen of the Year – The Salvation Army Grande Prairie and Grande Prairie Friendship Centre
· Dan H. Minchin Award (Long-Term Member Business Achievement) – Royal LePage – The Realty Group
December 2021: Towne Centre Golf is now open in the Towne Centre Mall, #8-9845-99 Avenue, Grande Prairie. It is a year-round golf licensed facility featuring 11 golf simulators that is open 7 days a week. Next to it is Deano’s Pizza that offers Dine-in and Takeout. Rumour has it that Nevada Bob’s Golf will eventually be moving to the Towne Centre Mall as well. More photos
December 2021: December 2021:The NEW Grande Prairie Regional Hospital is OPENING December 4th, 2021. AHS will begin providing patients care at the NEW HOSPITAL on Saturday Dec 4, 2021 with the emergency department at the new facility opening at 6am. The OLD HOSPITAL emergency department will STOP accepting patients at 6am Dec 4th. Also QEll inpatients will be transferred to the new hospital throughout December 4th and acute care units at the old hospital will be closed. The NEW hospital will provide surgery, critical care, emergency service and more. There will be a new state-of-the-art Cancer Centre with two radiation vaults bringing radiation therapy services the the region for the first time.’ The new hospital will have 1,100 parking stalls with an additional 250 surface stalls.
December 2021: Well known restaurant manager and business owner Ken Wong has passed away at the age of 71 years. He managed the Golden Star Restuarant in Grande Prairie since 1999. He was part of the graduating class of the Grande Prairie Composite High School in 1967. He later lived in Edmonton and then Vancouver but returned to Grande Prairie. "He was an individual who went above and beyond for all customers whom he encountered during his years at the Golden Star whether it was your first time seeing him at the front for a take-out, or if it was your fiftieth time visiting, he always made an effort to stop and chat mid-meal. Ken put his heart and soul into the restaurant, and you could tell the dedication he had towards the establishment as he always ensured that all customers left happy." (photo of Ken Wong from Olivers Funeral Obiturary)