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Here’s what most people think “getting the patio ready” means: bring out or uncover the furniture, wipe down the table, put out the pillows and call it a day. Then, the first warm Saturday arrives, guests show up, and someone sits down and looks up to find Halloween-esque cobwebs. Yikes! And speaking of October, there’s that mossy stain on the pavers that’s been building since the fall…and the list of patio opening day frights goes on. Most spring patio prep focuses on getting ready to party, not on getting the important cleaning jobs done. So to kick off spring, here are five of those jobs—what to do, why it works, and exactly what to use.

 

Unless you want to hang out with spiders and contend with cobwebs, do this job first. Before anything gets set up on your patio or deck, the cobwebs have to go. Start high, work your way down, and emotionally prepare yourself from what (or who!) you might encounter. After a Canadian winter, the cobweb situation on any patio is worse than expected. There are also egg sacs. That’s all that needs to be said about that.

 

This Extendable Cobweb Duster with Extension Pole adjusts from 5 to 20 feet, which means eaves, rafters, fence posts, pergola corners, and outdoor light fixtures can be cleaned and all without a ladder. It features a lightweight pole and dense, upright bristles designed for sticky outdoor webs. Start at the top, sweep down, and hose off when done. [/product_listing]

 

Quick question: when was the last time the underside of a patio chair was cleaned? The joints where the legs meet the frame? The hollow tubes of metal furniture that collected moisture, debris, how about that wicker, and the grime from October through March?

The underside of outdoor furniture is where mold and moss loves to hang out. It’s where bugs and pests nest, where grime layers up season over season, and where the evidence of every freeze and every rainstorm accumulates. And no one remembers to clean this, which is exactly why it should be on the list.

 

Remove all cushions, flip every piece and scrub the underside properly. This Electric Spin Scrubber extends to 43 inches, so awkward angles are reachable without kneeling, bending, or touching anything too unpleasant. Use water and a heavy dose of dish soap, and level up to a mold and mildew cleaner (I’ve got you covered in just a minute!). The rotating brush head gets into joints, crevices, and wicker weave that a cloth will never actually clean. It’s cordless, IPX7 waterproof, and runs 90 minutes on a charge. This does the heavy scrubbing for you and all you need to do is rinse the furniture and let it dry in the sunshine. [/product_listing]

 

Every Canadian patio develops some version of this: the black and green staining on the concrete, mildew on the deck boards, algae creeping across the pavers. The usual approaches are scrubbing manually with bleach (exhausting, not the safest choice), blasting it with a pressure washer at the wrong PSI and etching the surface (expensive mistake), or just leaving it and hoping no one looks down. None of these are particularly good options.

There is a better approach, and it is so easy, it’s almost hard to believe.

 

Wet & Forget Outdoor Concentrate works like this: mix one part concentrate with five parts water in a garden sprayer, apply to a dry surface on a cool day, and walk away. Wind and rain do the cleaning over the following one to two weeks. No scrubbing, no rinsing, no pressure washer. Some surfaces might need a few treatments, and some might take longer, but the product works without you scrubbing or doing anything else besides applying the product.

It removes black and green staining without anyone lifting a finger, and surfaces stay clean for a year or more after a single application. It works on concrete, decking, pavers, siding, canvas, and upholstery. Bleach-free and non-acidic—it weakens the cell structure of mildew and algae so weather does the lifting. Safe around plants and pets when used as directed.[/product_listing]

 

You may also like:

Black and Beige Outdoor Rug – $47.99

Marais Outdoor Low Planter – $189

Ooni Karu 2 Pro Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven – $1,099.00

 

This sounds too minor to matter, but if you’ve ever lifted up a planter after a wet season, you know what goes on under there isn’t pretty.

Planters sitting flat on decking, stone patios, or composite surfaces trap moisture all season. The water draining out has nowhere to go, which means permanent staining on natural stone and cedar, rotting pot bases, and standing water underneath, which makes for a perfectly delightful mosquito breeding ground. In freeze-thaw conditions, pots sitting in pooled water are also far more likely to crack over the winter. I’ve lost several this way.

 

The fix is simple: these little Invisible Pot Feet. A half-inch of lift is enough for water to drain freely and air to circulate. They’re made from 100% recycled rubber, manufactured in Canada and the USA, nearly invisible under the pot, and four risers support up to 1,600 lbs. A 32-pack covers an entire patio and costs less than a single garden centre visit. It’s pretty impressive for a simple solution. Use them for outdoor decor, statues and other accessories, too. [/product_listing]

 

There are three camps when it comes to pressure washers. There are people who own one and talk about it constantly. There are people who don’t own one and think they don’t need one. And there are people who own one and are afraid of damaging their surfaces. The last two groups are missing out on one of the most effective outdoor cleaning tools available.

 

A pressure washer turns a half-day of scrubbing into 20 minutes. Concrete, decking, pavers, furniture frames, siding, cars, bikes, outdoor accessories, one tool handles everything. This is the pressure washer I have used for years, and it delivers 2,000 PSI, a water-cooled induction motor that lasts up to 5x longer than standard motors and runs significantly quieter, a 25 ft pressurized hose reel, a Vario Power Spray wand that adjusts pressure mid-clean with a simple twist (this is in lieu of nozzles), and the patented DirtBlaster turbo wand for embedded grime on hard surfaces. One you start using a pressure washer, you won’t want to stop, it’s so satisfying! [/product_listing]

 

You may also like:

52 Feet LED Outdoor String Lights – $49.69

Solar Lanterns – $56.99

Amazon Basics Double Hammock – $153.59

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Entering their meeting with the Seattle Kraken, the Winnipeg Jets power play had not been firing on all cylinders.

You would not have known that Monday night as the Jets cashed in on all three of their power play opportunities in a 6-2 win that keeps their slim playoff hopes alive.

The Jets were just 6-for-52 with the man advantage since the Olympic break until going 3-for-3 against the Kraken after promoting Jonathan Toews to the number one power play unit.

“We went with a more of a shot mentality of attacking the net a little bit more and a little bit quicker,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “I thought we did a great job of that. And a lot of the goals came off of that.”

The win temporarily moved the Jets within a single point of a playoff spot but with two teams ahead of them in the standings, the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators meeting in a late start, the Jets will again be three points back by morning.

Kyle Connor scored twice in the win, while Toews, Gabriel Vilardi, Brad Lambert and Vladislav Namestnikov had the other markers for Winnipeg. Mark Scheifele recorded three assists, including two helpers on the man advantage.

It’s the first time the Jets have scored three power play goals in a single game since December of 2024.

“Obviously we got a little lucky,” said Scheifele. “There’s other games where we’ve had a lot of good looks and haven’t gotten aa goal, so, just got rewarded for sticking with it.”

The Jets entered the third period with a two-goal lead, but Jared McCann quickly brought the Kraken within one. But Lambert then came flying into the Kraken zone before picking the top corner for the biggest goal of his career to restore the two-goal cushion.

“I mean, I think every goal feels great,” said Lambert. “Obviously to be able to do it at that time, a big goal for us, made it extra special.”

With his second point of the game, Scheifele registered his 900th career point.

“It means a lot,” said Scheifele. “Very honoured and humbled by it. It’s pretty cool to think about. It’ll probably take a little bit to sink in but obviously it’s very cool in my mind.”

Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter both returned to the lineup after lengthy absences but Morgan Barron missed the game and is now week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

It was the first time the Jets have beaten the Kraken this season after Seattle won their first two meetings.

Winnipeg had a great look to open the scoring when Scheifele was sprung on a breakaway with just over four minutes gone but he was denied on the initial shot and the subsequent rebound by Philipp Grubauer.

Seattle broke the ice at the 9:17 mark thanks to their captain. After a poor clearing attempt by Dylan DeMelo, the puck came back down the wall to Jordan Eberle, who tried to stuff it past Connor Hellebuyck on a wraparound.

The shot was stopped but the rebound trickled into empty ice, so Eberle collected it, skated to the other side of the crease around a mass of bodies and backhanded the puck through Hellebuyck for his 25th of the season.

Eberle almost doubled up moments later on a very similar looking play, but his shot hit the post.

With 8:08 left in the first, Winnipeg was given the game’s first power play and took full advantage, thanks in part due to a change in personnel on the top unit.

Josh Morrissey blasted a shot from the point that took a deflection and hit the boards behind the net. The puck then fluttered back over the net where Toews knocked it down with his body before swatting it into the net for his 10th of the season.

Toews had just been moved to the top unit with Cole Perfetti moving down to the second unit as Winnipeg attempted to fix its struggling power play.

Seattle outshot the Jets 13-7 in the first as the game stayed tied 1-1 after 20 minutes.

It nearly became 2-1 Seattle just over six minutes into the second when Cale Fleury’s shot from the point hit the inside of the post before bouncing off the backside of Hellebuyck and just wide of the other post.

Winnipeg’s power play came through for a second time just shy of the midway point of the second with Adam Larsson in the box for high-sticking.

Vilardi had the puck at the right point and passed it down low to Toews, who put a sharp angle shot on goal. The rebound trickled through the legs of two Kraken defenders as Vilardi cut to the net-front area, collecting the loose puck and firing it past Grubauer for his 29th of the season at the 9:55 mark.

Just over a minute later, the Jets found themselves on the power play once again, and again they made good to take a 3-1 lead.

The puck cycled around to Connor at the right point, who fired a shot on net that deflected off the stick of Ryan Lindgren and fluttered over the shoulder of Grubauer.

After a whistle with 6:40 to go in the second, Grubauer skated to the bench and took himself out of the game, forcing Joey Daccord into action. During that break in the action, it was announced in the arena that Scheifele had hit the 900-point plateau, and he was given a hearty ovation by the Jets faithful.

The Jets outshot the Kraken 13-4 in the second and carried their two-goal lead to the third.

But Seattle cut the lead to one just 2:28 into the period when McCann carried the puck over the Winnipeg blue line and, using a backpedaling Namestnikov as a screen, wired a wrist shot that squeaked through Hellebuyck.

The two-goal advantage was restored 3:31 later thanks to Lambert. The speedy rookie picked up the puck at centre ice and flew down the right wing into the Seattle end. He saw that Vince Dunn was shading towards the middle, giving him room to skate in and rip a wrist shot that beat Daccord top shelf for his third of the season.

The Jets extended their lead when Connor scored his second of the game at the 15:19 mark. Daccord thought he had the puck covered but Connor helped chip it free to Scheifele in the corner. Connor then backed up into the slot, got a pass from Scheifele and ripped it through Daccord for his 38th of the season.

Seattle pulled their goalie with about 2:30 to go but Namestnikov, playing in his first game since getting injured Feb. 27, scored into the empty net for his first goal since Jan. 9.

The Jets will now head to St. Louis for another big game against the Blues Thursday night.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Several Alberta First Nations are expected in court to challenge a proposed referendum question calling for the province’s independence.

They want the Alberta separatism petition declared null and void and the process deemed unconstitutional.

“It’s an unconstitutional question that’s going to have an impact on our Treaty relationship, so we’re going to have to take a stand,” said Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Chief Sheldon Sunshine.

Sturgeon Lake, located in Treaty 8 territory, is scheduled to be in court Tuesday.

The Indigenous community in the Grande Prairie region is one of several First Nations challenging the provincial legislation permitting citizen-led petitions that seek referendum votes, such as the ongoing campaign to put separation on a ballot.

Indigenous leaders have been vocally opposed to the separatist movement in Alberta, arguing the province does not have jurisdiction over their lands.

Treaties 6, 7 and 8, all of which were signed with the Crown between 1875 and 1899, predate the existence of Alberta, which joined Confederation in 1905.

In December, a judge ruled the proposed separation question is unconstitutional.

It came after chief electoral officer Gordon McClure referred a referendum on Alberta becoming a “sovereign country” proposed by the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) to the Court of King’s Bench last summer, to determine if it was constitutional.

In December, Justice Minister Mickey Amery introduced Bill 14, which gave himself the authority to approve or deny petitions for a referendum, rather than the chief electoral officer.

Less than a day later, Justice Colin Feasby of the Court of King’s Bench ruled that a referendum on Alberta independence would be an unconstitutional violation of Treaty rights.

But with Bill 14 in effect, McClure approved a petition from a new organization with the same leaders as the APP, Stay Free Alberta, with a slightly reworded question that refers to Alberta becoming an “independent state” — effectively ending the court review.

The group pushing for the referendum said last week it had collected the required approximate 178,000 signatures to trigger the vote.

Stay Free Alberta said those people deserve to be heard and the province’s changes mean there shouldn’t be any legal action at this time.

“The idea they need to be consulted prior to citizens being able to communicate their views to the legislature is frankly, just silly,” said Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer for the organization.

“This is a purely political issue.”

Speaking to reporters last week, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said his government will review any outcome.

Premier Danielle Smith has said she will move forward with a provincewide referendum if the required number of signatures are gathered and verified.

The NDP has been accusing her government of procedurally delaying moving forward on a “Forever Canadian” petition organized by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk to make it official policy that Alberta stay in Canada.

That petition successfully gathered over 456,000 signatures as of October 2025, far exceeding the 294,000 required under previous rules the UCP has since changed.

The Forever Canadian petition was verified successful by Elections Alberta in early December.

Opposition leader Naheed Nenshi has also criticized Smith for reducing signature thresholds to make it easier for a separation question to go on a referendum ballot.

“This isn’t democracy. This is a premier grasping for power,” he said last week.

Smith said last Tuesday questions need to be cleared up on whether Lukaszuk’s petition drive was to trigger a provincewide referendum or trigger a vote by legislators in the house.

Lukaszuk said in an interview with The Canadian Press last week that he is concerned Smith will allow the separatist question to leapfrog his own.

“She’s been driving the Zamboni, clearing the ice for them to compel her to have a referendum.”

He said he filed his petition as a policy proposal because he wants it to be resolved in the legislature by a vote, but the premier can put his question on a referendum if she wants.

Lukaszuk said his group is readying for a referendum should it be called. “I can’t sit on my hands.”

A legislature committee led by UCP MLAs is set to meet April 21 to begin work to discuss the Forever Canadian petition.

NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi has noted that if the committee doesn’t report to the legislature by the time the house rises in mid-May, the petition it won’t be tabled until after a referendum on immigration and constitutional questions planned for late October that could also include the separatists’ question.

For more information on this story, watch the video above.

— With files from Lisa Johnson and Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

If you feel like vehicle headlights are too bright these days and are blinding your eyes on the road, Transport Canada wants to hear from you.

The federal agency is conducting a survey on headlights that have gotten a lot brighter over the years, with some experts saying they’re a safety concern.

Bright LED lights on the road is becoming a more common trend that semi-truck drivers are noticing first-hand.

Bill Fries has been a trucker for 30 years and said the stronger headlights can be useful, but harsh on the eyes.

“LED lights are extremely bright, they don’t really have distance. They’re intense, and if the drivers don’t adjust them, quite often I wear those yellow glasses, nighttime driving glasses that kill the glare and take a lot of the blue light out,” said Fries.

Vehicle lighting expert Daniel Stern says headlights getting stronger isn’t a myth.

“Headlights are brighter in the sense that they’re putting out more light at wider beam patterns, they’re also growing smaller and smaller and bluer and bluer,” said Stern.

“All three of those things make them more glaring.”

He added the colour temperature — warm vs cool lighting — makes a difference.

“For any given intensity, blue, white light like we get from LED headlights, spurs a lot more glare. Fifty to 60 per cent more discomfort glare than that same amount of light in a warmer, white light colour with less blue in it.”

That increased glare is a key part of Transport Canada’s national survey. It’s asking Canadians how headlight glare affects them and their experience on the roads at night with bright lights, at times creating dangerous situations.

“You put LED bulbs into a halogen headlamp, you turn it into a glare monster. It feels like they’re much brighter, but you’re not getting the right amount of light to the right places to see safely, so that’s a lose-lose deal,” said Stern.

Edmonton auto repair shops say a very common concern they hear from customers is that their lights aren’t bright enough, but brand-new LEDS aren’t always the trick.

“A lot of the times it’s really difficult to see in front of you. I mean, if you could imagine yourself on a narrow highway and there are vehicles all around you and you have oncoming traffic that’s nearly blinding you, one miscalculation can cause an accident,” said Moe Araji with Fat Dog Automotive.

“There’s a misconception about bright headlights, though; just because the headlight’s bright doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to give you better visibility.”

As Transport Canada seeks potential solutions to headlight glare, local mechanics and Stern say they hope light inspections are part of the conversation.

“We really need to bring back vehicle inspections, at least lighting inspections. Not only are the lights badly aimed, but also you walk through any parkade, you see a lot of cars with cloudy, hazed headlight lenses. It happens with age, and that diffuses the beam so light that should be going down towards the road instead is going up towards other drivers’ eyes,” said Stern.

“Glare control measures that were adequate in the past, they no longer do the job. So what we have is headlamps much more glaring than they used to be, that are still legal according to the regulations, which haven’t changed.”

The survey is available on Transport Canada’s website and is open until April 20.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

There are growing calls for the B.C. government to take action to make the busy Sea to Sky Highway safer.

Numbers from ICBC show there were 167 crashes on the road between Vancouver and Whistler in 2024, which is an average of one every two days.

About half of those crashes resulted in injuries or death, ICBC found.

Local road safety advocates say those crashes often happen on stretches of the highway that do not have dividers between opposing lanes and they are calling for the road to be modernized.

“Perhaps some increased centre medians would be good,” Squamish Mayor Armand Hurford said.

“I think there’ve been some crashes where some additional concrete barricades on the side would have been good. There’s different ways to manage the traffic. If there is a closure, you know, of course, we’re looking for alternate ways to get folks off the highway.”

The Sea to Sky Highway was first paved in 1966, but underwent a $775-million renovation before the 2010 Winter Olympics, according to TransCanadaHighway.com.

Safety advocates say it’s time to perform some upgrades.

“This design is 25 or 30 years old now,” Matthew Paugh, who is the administrator of the Sea to Sky Road Conditions group, said.

“It’s been 16 years since the Olympics. Seven years before that was when we were awarded it, which means the engineering plans had to be minimum three or four years in place before that. It’s just not the same. So the infrastructure needs and the population demands are very different.”

Paugh also says the Ministry of Transportation needs to do a better job of communicating with drivers when an incident causes the highway to close.

“We’re always looking at ways that we can improve and obviously, if the issue of medians is a way we can improve, we will most certainly take a look at that, but one of the most important things is for people to drive the speed limit,” B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Investigators in Skagit County, Wash., are investigating a mysterious case.

On March 26, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office said it was called to Guemes Island after someone reported six deceased canines had washed ashore.

Five additional dead canines were found along the shoreline and then on March 31, one additional dead canine was found floating in the La Conner Channel, the sheriff’s office said.

On April 1, the bodies were taken to a local veterinarian for forensic necropsy and DNA testing.

On April 3, investigators told KIRO 7 that between 20 and 25 carcasses have now been found.

It is not yet confirmed if they are dogs, foxes or wolves, or something else.

The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Unit is actively investigating these incidents, they said in a social media post.

Anyone with information related to these incidents is encouraged to contact the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office or Skagit 911 to speak with a deputy or Animal Control Officer.

Global News has reached out to the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Unit for more information.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Residents living along the Port Alberni, B.C., harbour say the constant noise from generators at the shipyard is affecting their way of life.

“It is just constant hums, it’s the diesel generators running their power,” resident Ray Russell said.

They said the issue is that the Port Alberni Port Authority only has the capacity to power one vessel. Currently, the coast guard ship, which is in refit, is plugged in.

The other ships all run on generators.

In February, 45 people signed a petition, calling on the federal government to fund more shore power at the loading docks to alleviate the constant noise.

However, it is ultimately up to the port authority to make the request.

“So we did ask before. I mean, we were sort of in queue, there was other ports that are much bigger and in far greater need than what we have, that get some funding, they got some funding and we will of course ask again,” Zoran Knezevic with the Port Alberni Port Authority told Global News.

“I think there is some funding plus potentially coming down the pipe as well that we will do. Mind you, though, because being a small port, we don’t necessarily have a standard type of vessel coming down here. So when we talk about shore power, the shore power that we have for this smaller vessel, it’s not gonna work for the larger ones.

“And so there is some technical issues that we need to overcome there in order to get to the point of everybody being plugged. However, we’ll be working towards that.”

However, the port authority said this is simply the sound of industry following the closure of several mills in the area due to high operating costs and fibre shortages.

Knezevic said they do apologize, however, and are trying to work with residents.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

According to Anne-Marie Lurie, chief economist for the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), a spate of new construction and development in Calgary is leading to lower prices for apartments and condos in the city.

“We’re seeing a lot of rental construction happen across the city,” Lurie said. “You know, a lot (of) new developments.”

With 1,774 units available in March, according to CREB’s latest stats on housing starts, the inventory is just shy of the record high reported during the financial crisis of 2008.

While the supply is up, the cost of purchasing a condo is down according to the latest numbers from the Calgary Real Estate Board.

The average price of $300,300 in March is about nine per cent less than the same month last year.

“In terms of how the market is shifting is we’re really seeing additional supply choice, relative to the demand,” said Lurie. “So softer conditions for sure for that apartment condo style product. That’s something that we’ve been seeing for several months (and it’s) just really persisting into spring.”

The increased supply and lower prices also mean its a good time to buy a condo, according to Calgary realtor Ariel Buenaventura of ReMax First.

“One hundred per cent. It’s definitely a buyer’s market for condos. I’d say a pretty solid strategy would be to sit and watch the market as it declines in prices, but there comes a point where the property’s price is so attractive that another person’s going to see that and snap it up,” said Buenaventura

“So there’s kind of this balancing act that you have to say, OK, this is probably the bottom. We got to buy this thing or else somebody else will.”

Buenaventura estimates many condos that were on the market for 30 days or less last year are on the market for double or triple that this year before being sold.

The lower cost of purchasing a condo, claims Buenaventura, is also turning many prospective buyers into renters.

“Rental rates right now are falling because there’s so much inventory coming online. There’s a lot of purpose-built rentals,” said Buenaventura.

“Almost every single crane that you see downtown, those are building rentals, there’s office conversions happening, and because of that you’ve got a more affordable rent.”

While overall the supply of condos is up and prices are down in Calgary, CREB claims some areas of the city are also more affected than others.

“City Center hasn’t seen as much of an adjustment as opposed to the northeast,” or the southeast, said Lurie.

“Higher levels of price adjustment is either because there’s a lot of supply in those areas where there’s lots of new construction and a lot of new developments happening — so in the northeast all the way down into that southeast — as opposed to other areas (where) we’re just seeing some modest adjustments, like the northwest, city center and to a lesser extent some of the south” added Lurie.

The buyers market for condos is forecast to continue for the rest of this year and into 2027.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Lady Gaga has cancelled her final Montreal concert Monday night at the Bell Centre after performing two previous shows at the venue late last week.

The pop star announced the cancellation on social media, saying she has been suffering from a respiratory infection for a few days.

“To everyone who was coming tonight, I’m absolutely heartbroken and so sorry”

She said her doctor strongly advised her not to perform Monday and that she didn’t think she could give her fans the quality of performance they deserve.

“I know how deeply disappointing this is, and I truly couldn’t be more sorry to let you down.”

She apologized to those who had planned to attend Monday’s show and added that performing the first two concerts at the Bell Centre were “magical” and “very meaningful.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

While many Albertans were hoping for warmer weather over the Easter long weekend, a late-season winter storm is instead expected to bring snow to parts of the province.

Snowfall will begin later Monday and continue through Wednesday, Environment and Climate Change Canada said.

“We’re expecting a couple shots of wet snow in the Edmonton area tonight and through Tuesday,” Environment Canada meteorologist Erin Staunton said Monday morning.

A swath of the province north of Edmonton is forecast to be hit the hardest and snowfall warnings are in effect for areas in and around Peace River, Slave Lake, Athabasca, Lac La Biche, St. Paul and Cold Lake.

Environment Canada said the system will spread west to east from Peace River towards Cold Lake Monday evening, with the heaviest snow Monday night into Tuesday morning.

Snowfall amounts in that area will vary, but generally 15 cm is expected, except near the B.C. border where about 20 cm is forecasted. The snow will end Tuesday afternoon or evening.

Temperatures are expected to hover near the freezing mark, meaning some of the snow could melt as it falls, especially in warmer urban areas.

For some farmers, the timing of the spring snow is less than ideal — but not unwelcome.

“We take what we get, and you deal with the cards you’re played,” said Ken Farion, who has been growing grain crops near Vegreville for 50 years.

He says snow later in the spring can be an inconvenience during seeding season. However, recent snowfall combined with strong winds has also helped protect fields by preventing soil from blowing away.

“This year we got a lot of snow — never a great amount at once, a lot of little snowfalls,” said Farion, who grows wheat, canola and oats on about 4,000 acres.

Farion says the moisture situation is already an improvement compared to last year, when dry conditions persisted well into the growing season.

“It’s probably more than we need out in the field. But on the livestock side, a lot of the dugouts were dry last year. Guys had pasture with no water. This year, at least, all the water ponds should recharge.”

Farion said as long as they’re in the fields by Mother’s Day, they’ll be happy.

“We’re never early seeders, so for us there’s plenty of time and there’s lots could happen between now and then.”

While too much snow and rain is a problem that keeps fields too wet and prevents farming equipment from getting in to plow and seed, so too is the opposite.

Last spring, many parts of Alberta saw little precipitation until late June, creating difficult drought conditions for farmers trying to get crops established.

While additional snowfall could briefly delay fieldwork, Farion says having moisture in the ground — especially heading into the warmer months — is critical for both crop growth and livestock operations.

This winter was a bit of a tale of two provinces, Environment Canada said, when it came to how much snow areas received.

“For the Edmonton area and areas to the north, most of those regions did see above-average precipitation through the winter months — that’s December, January, and February,” Staunton said, adding Edmonton received about twice as much precipitation as average.

“Looking further south, some parts of central and southern Alberta — that includes Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge areas— were below-average as far as that wintertime precip goes.”

However, the mountain snowpack that feeds the irrigation system so many southern Alberta farmers rely on is deeper right now than in previous years.

Around the beginning of March, 32 mountain snowpack sites were surveyed by provincial scientists. Of the 31 mountain snowpack sites that have more than 20 years of historical records, 21 had snowpack conditions that were above-normal or much above normal.

The excessive snowfall has helped replenish snow pillows and reservoirs, which some experts believe will help reinvigorate ranches and farms across Alberta that have dealt with drought conditions.

Alberta Environment said based on data collected in late winter, the March Water Supply Outlook forecasts river volumes that are generally expected to be greater than those seen in 2025 and, in some cases, well above last year’s volumes.

The province is forecasting normal-to-above-normal river volumes for the Oldman, Bow, Red Deer and North Saskatchewan River basins, and normal-to-below-normal river volumes for the Milk River basin.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.