CALGARY — A proposal to build a sightseeing gondola above Canmore is entering the provincial review stage under Alberta’s All-Season Resorts Act.Stone Creek Resorts — the developer behind the proposed Silvertip gondola — and the Alberta government have announced initial steps for the project as public feedback is being gathered, while land associated with the proposal is being considered for re-designation.CBC reports the project would have three gondola stations, viewing platforms on Mount Lady Macdonald, and a day lodge.Stone Creek Resorts said in an emailed statement that preliminary economic analysis expects the project to generate roughly $40 million in tourism revenue for both the provincial and federal governments.“Tourism in this region exists because of the area’s natural environment and the project aims to demonstrate that the project can co-exist with that landscape while contributing to Alberta’s year-round global tourism economy,” Stone Creek Resorts said..The project would occupy roughly 15 hectares, with the majority of its footprint falling into Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park.It is intended to complement the broader Silvertip development plan in Canmore, which permits up to 1,290 resort accommodations, 750 residential units, and 850 units of employee housing.The proposal comes as the province advances its All-Season Resorts Act — legislation designed to streamline approvals for year-round developments and support Alberta’s goal of boosting annual tourism revenue to $25 billion by 2035.Stone Creek Resorts said the development could play a key role in that strategy and would create jobs, generate tax revenue, and attract visitors year-round.However, the proposal is drawing criticism from conservation groups, who have argued the current legislation risks opening protected lands to private development.Katie Morrison, executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Southern Alberta, said the All-Season Resorts Act could allow commercial interests to override “existing land use plans and the Provincial Parks Act.”She added that wild land provincial parks are intended to prioritize conservation and limit the amount of human use, noting the impact is “much broader than the specific site of the specific development.”.“We don’t have a lot more ground to lose in the Bow Valley and still have these functional corridors,” Morrison said.According to Stone Creek Resorts, Cascade Environmental is currently reviewing wildlife use in the area, drawing on nearly two decades of data tracking species such as cougars, elk, and grizzly bears.While the Bow Valley is already home to critical wildlife corridors, including the lower and upper Silvertip routes — which account for roughly 40% of Stone Creek’s lands — the company says its plan will not fragment these corridors.However, Adam Linnard, manager of landscape protection with the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, said the project will show the “legitimacy of All-Seasons Resorts.”He said the vision of the provincial government’s policy was to respect conservation while finding ways to promote tourism, but added the province should halt projects which compromise protected areas.“These parks are meant to support conservation,” Linnard said.“By making them available for infrastructure development that comes along with noise and increased activity, we are permitting an activity that very clearly diminishes the ecological value of that park.”The project still needs to clear several regulatory hurdles before approval, including provincial designation, an environmental assessment, and indigenous consultation.It would also require amendments to the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan and policy changes from both the Municipal District of Bighorn and the Town of Canmore.
