🚬 A Smoking Ban for Banff?

Good morning, Bow Valley!

We know there’s probably a collective sigh of relief across the Bow Valley this morning: today is the final day of the Canada Strong Pass. Starting tomorrow, things return to normal. So, if you’re an annual pass holder, this is your reminder to make sure that pass is back on your dash. We have a feeling enforcement won’t take long to get reacquainted with everyone.

-Ben S., Fortune Whelan, Brendan Nogue, Alexia Chambers, Keith Fernandes

COULD BANFF NATIONAL PARK BAN CIGARETTES BY 2028?

What's Happening? Seven national health and environmental organizations are asking Ottawa to ban smoking and vaping across much of Canada's national parks by 2028, including trails, trailheads and backcountry campgrounds in Banff National Park.

There Would Be Exceptions. The proposed ban would still allow smoking at private residences and frontcountry campsites, along with medical cannabis use and ceremonial Indigenous tobacco use.

The proposal doesn't explicitly address municipalities inside national parks. Action on Smoking and Health Canada executive director Les Hagen told Bow Valley Insider that municipalities within national parks should be encouraged to follow Banff's lead, where smoking is already prohibited in many public places. 

Why The Push? The coalition points to wildfire risk, public health and cigarette-butt litter. A study using data from five provinces found smoking materials caused about 11% of outdoor fires between 2012 and 2015.

Tomi Postma, public relations and communications officer with Banff National Park, told Bow Valley Insider the park doesn't specifically track fires caused by discarded cigarettes.

However, a fire near Vermilion Lakes in April 2025 was suspected to have been caused by one.

"This fire is believed to have been human-caused, potentially by the careless tossing of a cigarette," Banff National Park said at the time.

Other Parks Have Already Done It. B.C., Manitoba and New Brunswick have banned smoking in provincial parks. Hagen said the coalition plans to approach provincial governments elsewhere, too.

"Not yet, but this is part of the plan," he said. "The federal government should lead the charge."

So, Is This Actually Happening? Not yet. This is an advocacy proposal, not an announced Parks Canada policy. The coalition wants a policy adopted by 2028 and has requested a meeting with federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin.

Read our full story

YOU SPEND THOUSANDS ON YOUR GEAR. WHAT ABOUT THE THING WEARING IT?

You wax your skis. Tune your bike. Replace climbing ropes before they wear out.

But when was the last time you gave the same attention to your body?

Whether you're logging big hiking days, training for ski season, or simply spending weekends making the most of the mountains, your muscles and joints take on more than you probably realize. Over time, that tension can limit mobility, affect performance, and eventually lead to pain or injury.

Massage therapy at Banff Sport Medicine isn't just about relaxation. It helps reduce muscle tension, improve circulation, support recovery, increase mobility, and ease the wear and tear that comes with an active lifestyle. It's also a great way to unwind after long days on the trails or long days at your desk.

You invest in your gear because it performs better when it's maintained.

Your body deserves the same treatment. 

Get 10% off your first massage by filling out this quick form. The Banff Sport Medicine team will be in touch to book your appointment and help keep the most important piece of equipment you own performing at its best. 

_{*Presented by Banff Sport Medicine.}

THE DIGEST

• ✈️ Two Dead After Plane Crashes in Kananaskis. Two people were killed after a small aircraft crashed on Mount McDougall Saturday morning. The crash occurred on the rugged 2,726-metre peak east of Highway 40, and as of Sunday, the victims had not yet been recovered. Weather that morning included low clouds, overcast skies and winds of 15 to 22 km/h at lower elevations, although it’s not known whether weather played a role. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating.

• ✍️ Legendary Canmore Alpinist Has a New Memoir. Barry Blanchard’s second memoir, The Echo, comes out Sept. 22, covering everything from attempts on Everest and K2 to fatherhood and the near-fatal 2021 brain injury that forced him to relearn how to walk and balance. But the bigger story is how decades in the mountains changed his perspective on risk, success and what actually matters. The link to pre-order is in our full interview with Blanchard. 

• 🕑 Golden Is Changing Its Time Zone. We know this one is next door, but time zones have proven surprisingly controversial, so we thought we’d share what our neighbours are doing. Starting Nov. 1, Golden will align year-round with most of B.C., putting it one hour behind Alberta and nearby Invermere. Residents were divided: 55% wanted to stay aligned with Alberta, while 45% supported the switch. One thing nearly everyone agreed on? 89% wanted the twice-a-year clock changes gone.

• 🤍 JK Bakery Co-Founder Dies at 82. Longtime Canmore baker John Kirchpfennig died Aug. 23 after spending decades quietly looking after people and animals around town. He co-founded JK Bakery in 1994, donated food throughout the community, fed stray dogs, helped neighbours in need and spent years volunteering with the horses at Canmore Ranch. Friends remember someone who could be a little “crusty on the outside,” but extraordinarily generous underneath. A celebration of his life will be held Sept. 20 at Canmore Ranch. Read the stories locals shared with us about John’s life. 

Our Ads Are Supposed To Make You Money.

So far in 2026, we’ve generated $25,313 in business for our cleaning partner, Zoe.

She does residential and commercial cleaning. You’ve probably seen her ads in Bow Valley Insider.

She makes a lot more from those ads than she spends with us.

That’s exactly how advertising should work.

If you’re a local business and want to get in front of the Bow Valley’s largest local audience, let’s talk.

JASPER RELEASED FIVE CAPTIVE-BRED CARIBOU INTO THE WILD. SO FAR, IT’S WORKING

What's Happening? Parks Canada released the first five animals from Jasper's caribou conservation breeding centre into the wild on June 24. More than two months later, all five are surviving, using the right habitat and have been observed mixing with Jasper's wild caribou.

First, Why Does This Matter? Woodland caribou were once abundant across North America but were listed as threatened in Canada in 2003. In Jasper, four herds existed in 2000. Today, only two remain.

Banff has lost its caribou entirely after its last five animals died in an avalanche in 2009.

Parks Canada is now trying to rebuild Jasper's Tonquin herd, currently estimated at just 43 to 50 animals, to a population of 200.

And The First Five Are Doing Well. The group, four yearlings born at the centre and one adult bull, spent two weeks acclimatizing near Amethyst Lake before being released into the Tonquin Valley.

"If I were to sum it up, the caribou are doing caribou things in caribou places," head caribou biologist Layla Neufeld told Bow Valley Insider.

Within days, they were spotted with wild caribou and have since been observed with both males and females.

"As far as we can tell, they have integrated fully," Neufeld said. That's important because captive-raised animals can learn behaviours from caribou that have spent their lives on the landscape.

So, How Do They Get To 200? Parks Canada is building a breeding herd in captivity, where calves have much better survival odds, and gradually releasing animals into the wild.

Of 16 calves born at the centre since 2025, 15 are still alive. In the wild, only about half survive their first year.

Most young females will remain at the centre to grow the breeding herd, while males will generally be released at 14 to 16 months. Eventually, the program could release around 20 calves annually.

Could Caribou Return To Banff? Not anytime soon. Once Tonquin reaches 200, Parks Canada expects to look first at former ranges within Jasper.

Rebuilding a herd where caribou have disappeared is a much bigger challenge than adding animals to an existing one. As Neufeld put it, that's "a very different strategy."

For now, though, the first five are providing the program's first real-world test. And two months in, the early signs are encouraging.

Read our full story

THINGS TO DO

Monday

• Retired Sled Dogs Are Up for Adoption in Canmore. Snowy Owl is bringing some of its retired sled dogs into town Monday to meet potential new families. Stop by to meet dogs with different personalities and energy levels, learn how the adoption process works and see if one might be a fit for your home. 2 PM - 4 PM. Snowy Owl Main Street, Canmore. Free.

• Karaoke at The Drake. Think you’ve got pipes or just confidence? Grab the mic and find out. The Drake’s weekly karaoke night kicks off, with a crowd that’s usually more supportive than critical. Bonus: their fresh, oven-baked pizzas are quickly becoming a local go-to. 10 PM. The Drake Screaming Retriever. Free.*

Tuesday

• Free Community Drumming Session in Banff. Rhythm by Nature is hosting a free drumming session for anyone 18-34. No musical experience or equipment is needed. Drums and percussion instruments are provided, and the group will learn to make music together. 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. Sundance Pavilion, Banff. Free. 

RMO BEST OF THE BOW VS. BOW VALLEY INSIDER AWARDS

Some people have been asking what the difference is between our Readers’ Choice Awards and the newspaper’s awards.

Here’s our answer:

Theirs is an advertising cash grab.

Ours isn’t.

After you win the RMO’s “Best of the Bow,” you get a congratulations email like the one posted above.

And then comes the sales pitch.

Want to be featured in the newspaper celebrating the awards you just won?

That’ll be $900 for a full-page ad, $525 for a half-page, or $275 for a quarter-page.

Call us crazy, but we think that’s bogus.

If the community votes you the best at something, we think people should actually hear about it without you having to pull out your credit card.

When you win a Bow Valley Insider Award, we’re going to make sure people know you won.

And every winner is getting a big, fat, actual trophy with their name on it that they can proudly display in their restaurant, shop, office or storefront.

Not a printed certificate.

An actual trophy.

And we’re not going to ask you for a dime.

In fact, the trophies alone are going to cost us somewhere around $7,000.

Probably not our greatest business decision.

But we think the best businesses in the Bow Valley deserve something worth showing off.

🏆 8 days left to vote

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• 🚧 Evan-Thomas Day Use Area Closed Until Further Notice. Given today’s top story about the fatal plane crash on Mount McDougall, a heads-up that Alberta Parks has closed the nearby Evan-Thomas Day Use Area and parking lot due to an “ongoing operational requirement.” The closure took effect Sept. 5 and has no reopening date yet. If you’re planning to head into the area, keep an eye on Alberta Parks advisories for when the closure is lifted. 

• 🍱 Valbella’s September Grab & Go Specials Are Here. Dinner gets pretty easy this month. For $36, you get six different small pies, including tourtière, chicken pot pie, cottage pie, ham and cheese, veggie curry and fisherman pie, enough for 4-6 people. Or grab Wing Night for $26 with two pounds of marinated wings, kettle chips and mini cucumbers for 2-3. Pick up at the deli or get free Friday delivery on $50+ Bow Valley orders and $75+ orders in Calgary, Cochrane and Airdrie. Order by 10 AM Thursday.*

• 👨‍🚒 See What Exshaw’s Firefighters Do. The Exshaw Fire Department is opening its doors Sept. 19 for a family-friendly look behind the scenes. Starting at 10 AM, watch firefighters demonstrate how smoke moves through a home, deploy vehicle airbags and use the Jaws of Life to cut into a vehicle. There’ll also be fire trucks and equipment to explore, FireSmart information and firefighters to chat with, followed by a BBQ from 12 PM - 2 PM. 

• 🚧 Heads Up If You’re Crossing Banff’s Bow River Bridge Tomorrow. One lane will be closed all day Tuesday starting at 6 AM while crews inspect water mains beneath the bridge. Expect slower traffic and possible delays throughout the day. Large trucks and buses approaching from Spray Avenue will be detoured around to Cave Avenue so they can make the turn onto the bridge. 

• 🎤 Bow Valley Chorus Is Looking for Singers. If you’ve ever considered joining a choir, here’s your invitation. The Bow Valley Chorus is recruiting for its fall season, with new and classic Christmas favourites leading up to a mid-December concert. No formal training is required, and newcomers can try a couple of rehearsals free before committing. Practices begin Sept. 13 and run Sundays from 6:30 PM - 9 PM. They also made a surprisingly convincing recruitment video that has us wanting to join. Interested? Contact John Goulart at [email protected].*

CIVIC NEWS

• Large Item Drop-Off Returns to the MD of Bighorn. Heads up, Exshaw, Dead Man’s Flats and Lac Des Arcs residents. The MD’s fall large-item drop-off runs Oct. 2-13, with bins at the Exshaw and Dead Man’s Flats recycling depots and Lac Des Arcs transfer site. Furniture, mattresses, appliances and some outdoor equipment are accepted. Tires, electronics, propane tanks, construction waste and household garbage are not. So, you’ve got a few weeks to tackle that garage. 

LIVE MUSIC

• Monday, September 7th, 10:00 PM: Brent Lee. Location: Rose and Crown, Banff. No Cover.

• Tuesday, September 8th, 10:00 PM: Jesse Peters. Location: Rose and Crown, Banff. No Cover.

SPORTS

• Ultra Runner Sets Record From Lake Louise to Jasper. In case you missed our interview with Harry on Friday, this one’s worth sharing again. Harry Marshall ran the entire 227-kilometre Icefields Parkway in 30 hours, 2 minutes and 31 seconds, setting a new fastest known time. Along the way, he endured a massive thunderstorm, ran through the night under a full moon, watched a partial lunar eclipse and eventually reached a point where his legs could barely run 100 metres at a time. Quite the adventure. 

That’s all, folks!

We’ll see you back here on Wednesday, same time, same place! 

Heads Up: We sometimes feature paid promotion from local businesses and organizations we trust. When you see a little asterisk (*), that means it’s a sponsored post. We only work with partners we think our readers will actually care about.