The project includes replacing heating, ventilation and cooling systems in the Eric Harvey Theatre and support systems in the attached Margaret Greenham Theatre and Laszlo Funtek Teaching Wing. Performers, audience members, students and staff will all benefit from more reliable building infrastructure.
The labour involved in this project will generate about 14 well-paying jobs in the Banff community. As part of the economic recovery plan, government recently committed $98 million to repair and restoration projects at colleges, universities and polytechnics. This additional funding, on top of the $118.5 million already included in Budget 2020, will create about 533 full-time jobs across Alberta.
“Alberta's Recovery Plan is an ambitious strategy to create jobs, build and diversify. The Banff Centre provides innovative arts and culture programs and plays a unique and important role in our post-secondary system. Funding these upgrades will create immediate jobs in the Banff area, while helping to ensure students have a safe space in which they can pursue their creative passions.”
“Alberta’s Recovery Plan focuses on infrastructure as a critical component for supporting economic growth and jobs for Albertans. This includes investing in shovel-ready projects to upgrade and maintain public facilities, like this post-secondary institution, that help keep Albertans working and stimulate local economies where it matters most.”
“The Banff Centre is the largest proponent of arts in my riding and the largest post-secondary arts institution in Canada. Our government appreciates their contribution to the arts, and as such, this $2.5 million to upgrade heating, cooling and other systems is another way to affirm that. The effects of COVID-19 have been devastating on the Banff Centre, and this funding will help ensure they are sustainable for the future.”
“We are very grateful to receive this capital renewal investment for the Banff Centre campus. This funding will allow Banff Centre to replace 50-year-old heating and ventilation systems in the theatre complex, supporting the overall comfort and experience of artists who come here to train and work on their craft, and the audiences who benefit from the artist performances.”
In April, the Alberta government announced it was accelerating the capital plan and increasing capital maintenance and renewal spending in 2020-21 to almost $2 billion. Advanced Education worked with post-secondary institutions to identify projects, with a focus on addressing existing maintenance issues, ensuring compliance with building codes and regulations, increasing access to services, and reducing operational costs. Government also prioritized projects that will help create jobs, and are ready for work to begin.
Alberta’s Recovery Plan is a bold, ambitious long-term strategy to build, diversify, and create tens of thousands of jobs, now. By building schools, roads and other core infrastructure, we are benefitting our communities. By diversifying our economy and attracting investment with Canada’s most competitive tax environment, we are putting Alberta on a path for a generation of growth. Alberta came together to save lives by flattening the curve and now we must do the same to save livelihoods, grow and thrive.
Key facts
This project is part of the more than $10 billion infrastructure spending announced as part of Alberta’s Recovery Plan. This spending includes:
- $6.9 billion Budget 2020 capital spending
- $980 million accelerated for Capital Maintenance and Renewal
- $200 million for Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program and water infrastructure projects
- $600 million in strategic infrastructure projects, $500 million in municipal infrastructure
- $1.5 billion for Keystone XL
