Action Alert: Silvertip Gondola Engagement – Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park under threat
May 12, 2026
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Elk in Canmore with Mount Lady MacDonald in the distance. Photo Credit: L.Williams
Silvertip Gondola Engagement – Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park under threat.
Proposed by Stone Creek Resorts, the Silvertip Gondola is back. The sight-seeing attraction would run from a base-station at Palliser Trail, up Mount Lady Macdonald and right into the Upper Silvertip Wildlife Corridor.
Development of the Silvertip gondola would require removing and redesignating portions of Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park through the All-Season Resorts Act (ASRA), effectively removing their current protected status. It would also mean that plans implemented to protect and preserve these spaces, such as the South Saskatchewan Regional plan and Bow Valley Provincial Park boundary, would need to be amended.
The Upper Silvertip Wildlife corridor is a major wildlife corridor that connects Banff National Park to Kananaskis Provincial Park and enables the movement of grizzlies, bighorn sheep, wolves and elk. The Silvertip Gondola would cause further habitat fragmentation and degradation to a sensitive region. It is within a Prime Protection zone under the Eastern Slopes Policy, and within a preservation zone identified in the Bow Valley Protected Areas Management Plan, which states, “Preservation zones have been applied to those portions of the Wildland Park where important habitat values are recognized and use restrictions are necessary”. The gondola also does not align with ASRA’s own objectives of long-term environmentally responsible land use.
We need them to hear loud and clear that no land should be removed from protected areas to allow for development.Removal of protected areas for private development from a wildland provincial park, which was established to preserve and protect natural heritage, sets a concerning precedent for the safety of all protected areas in the Rocky Mountains.
On May 13th-please call and preface your message with your name and where you’re from then very simply: No Gondola in Canmore and leave our parks intact!
Premier Danielle Smith – 780 427-2251 – Premiers Office
Minister Boitchenko – 780-427-3070 – Minister of Tourism and Sport
Minister Loewen – 780- 644-7353 – Minister of Forestry and Parks
You can also provide your feedback via the Government of Alberta questionnaire (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Southern Alberta has provided a thorough guide of the questionnaire, and more information and letter templates can be found www.nogondola.ca) or send a written response to allseasonresorts@gov.ab.ca by May 14th.
Information Sessions:
If you missed the May 5th information session on the Silvertip Gondola hosted by Bow Valley Engage, here is the video of the event.
Alternatively, here is a short summary video!