A proposed gondola project that could a big player in the Alberta government’s efforts to grow tourism is getting pushback from some Canmore residents.

Guy Turcotte, the CEO and president of Stone Creek Resorts, said the gondola will help the regional economy and provide “one more experience to draw people to Canmore.”

“This is a very special piece of land, and Canmore’s a special place,” said Turcotte. “We’re trying to plan a beautiful resort people will love to come to and even people in Canmore will love to come to.”

For some residents, it’s the latest in a long line of projects overwhelming the community and wildlife.

Canmore resident John Ritchie was blunt in his assessment for the project.

“My only question is why? What’s enough?”

Turcotte understands some people are opposed, but said he’s focused on making it a success for the community “so people will be proud it’s in Canmore.”

The proposal

The plan would have a gondola run from Canmore’s Palliser area near the Trans-Canada Highway to Silvertip resort and finally up Mount Lady Macdonald.

It would have a footprint of about 15 hectares and primarily go through Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, but also Canmore and the Municipal District of Bighorn.

Turcotte said he’d be open to discussing a parking lot at the gondola’s base, which would alleviate a longstanding community concern of visitor parking.

“We can’t put blinders on and say people aren’t coming down the Trans-Canada Highway. We should be planning together to do it really well,” he said.

The Alberta government’s All-Season Resorts Act aims to expand year-round tourism and hit $25 billion in annual tourism revenue by 2035.

Turcotte said they’ve had “positive responses” from Canmore hotel operators, who believe it will lead to people staying longer in the community.

A 2024 briefing note to former minister of environment and protected areas Rebecca Schulz — obtained via access to information — said the gondola would have “significant impact on the growth and diversification of Alberta’s tourism industry and would be a new and year-round experience in Alberta’s legacy destination of Canmore.”

Stone Creek Resorts estimates 250,000 to 300,000 people a year would use the gondola, and it would bring in $40 million of revenue annually for the provincial and federal governments.

Wildlife connectivity

The gondola would go over the lower and upper Silvertip wildlife corridors, which are key connections for animals such as elk, deer and cougars.

A section of Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park would be redesignated if it were approved.

Conservationist Leanne Allison said boundary changes for provincial parks should be off the table.

“Imagine the federal government wanted to change the boundaries of Banff National Park? We’d all be up in arms,” she said.

The Bow Valley is a critical connection point for wildlife in western North America, and conservationists have stressed the negative impacts of constant developments.

Martha McCallum, who helped develop the original Silvertip wildlife management plan in the 1990s, said continued growth has compromised existing corridors in Canmore and the “last hope” for connectivity is in Silvertip.

“I see a gondola as potentially really disastrous for the animals below,” McCallum said.

“Recognizing we are already full and to open up new lands is a slippery slope. … It’s a huge risk.”

But Turcotte isn’t concerned the gondola will impact wildlife movements.

“I don’t know how a gondola could affect that because we’re not putting people in the corridors. We’re going to be travelling above the corridors,” he said.

Allison said the area is a “critical connection” between Banff and Kananaskis.

She worries additional projects that increase human use will further stress corridors to a breaking point.

She said Silvertip has done good work with wildlife corridors and Turcotte “values wildlife,” but she wants the project halted.

“I hope he asks himself what legacy he truly wants to leave in this valley,” she said. “I think it’s a hard thing to not go ahead since there’s pressure to grow, but wouldn’t it be remarkable if he decided it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

Province to review all feedback

The Silvertip project is the first to be considered for designation under the All-Season Resorts Act.

Fortress, Nakiska and Castle Mountain were pushed to the second phase since they are designated for resorts, but any expansion would need to go through public consultation.

Rob Simieritsch, executive director of all-season resorts for the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, said the government is looking at “opportunities across the province,” such as Grande Cache and along the David Thompson Highway, for all-season resorts to avoid concentration in the Bow Valley.

He added factors such as wildlife impacts are analyzed before making a recommendation for the government to consider designating an all-season resort area.