Mohkinstsis/Calgary, Alberta
September 17, 2026

Today, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport approved the designation of lands associated with the proposed Silvertip Gondola as an All-Season Resort Area. This removes protected land from Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, allowing private development in an essential area for wildlife movement and ecological connectivity in the Bow Valley.  

This is the first new All-Season Resort Area designation since the original three (Fortress, Nakiska and Castle Resorts) were announced with the launch of the All-Season Resorts Act less than two years ago. Together, these four designations have removed nearly 3,000 acres from Alberta’s protected areas system and have created uncertainty on what protection actually means if it can change at the whim of commercial developers.  

While tourism development is an important economic diversification, it should not come at the expense of protections that maintain the lands, waters, and wildlife that support the industry. For growth to be sustainable, Alberta must uphold protected status of parks and protected areas. 

Undermining Alberta’s Parks and Protected Areas

This change directly contradicts the wishes of Albertans. According to the government’s summary of consultation Albertans felt that: “The proposed changes to existing protected land designations is seen as potentially setting a precedent.  Feedback emphasized that provincial park boundaries and protected areas are established through extensive planning and should be maintained to ensure long-term conservation.” 

 “Protecting these places has long been a priority for Albertans,” says Emma Hoskins, Conservation Specialist with CPAWS Southern Alberta. “During the Defend Alberta Parks movement, thousands of people spoke up and halted the Government of Alberta’s plan to delist 175 provincial parks and turn areas over to private management. More recently, public consultation for Alberta’s Plan for Parks highlighted support for stronger protections for parks and biodiversity, and a lack of support for large-scale commercial developments in parks and natural areas.”  

“Protecting these places has long been a priority for Albertans. During the Defend Alberta Parks movement, thousands of people spoke up and halted the Government of Alberta’s plan to delist 175 provincial parks and turn areas over to private management. More recently, public consultation for Alberta’s Plan for Parks highlighted support for stronger protections for parks and biodiversity, and a lack of support for large-scale commercial developments in parks and natural areas.”

—Emma Hoskins, Conservation Specialist with CPAWS Southern Alberta.

Protected areas provide long-term protection for important landscapes, wildlife habitat, and ecological processes. That protection is weakened when boundaries can be changed to accommodate commercial proposals that conflict with existing land-use direction.

The Silvertip Gondola will run Directly Through an Important Wildlife Corridor 

The Silvertip All-Season Resort Area overlaps the Upper Silvertip Wildlife Corridor, an important wildlife movement corridor connecting Banff National Park to Kananaskis Country. Major infrastructure and increased human use could further disrupt wildlife movement through this constrained landscape. 

“The Silvertip Gondola was first proposed in 2017 and was ultimately quashed in 2022 because it was incompatible with existing land-use designations and protections,” says Hoskins. “Now, the same proposal is advancing through the All-Season Resorts Act, removing these protections to enable private commercial development, despite no change in the land’s ecological importance.”

The Gondola is Not Yet Approved

Today’s designation allows the proponent to advance to the development proposal stage. While further regulatory steps remain, including environmental review and public consultation, the land is no longer protected under its previous designation and is now very likely to be developed in some shape or form.  

As part of this decision, the government also amended the Municipal Government Act Planning Exemption Regulation (AR 223/2000) to exclude gondola developments in the ASR area from municipal planning processes. 

Defend Alberta Parks

The Silvertip Gondola decision, and the way the All-Season Resorts Act is being implemented more broadly, raise serious concerns about whether Alberta’s parks and protected areas will continue to provide reliable protections for wildlife and natural landscapes if their boundaries can simply be changed to accommodate private development.  

CPAWS Southern Alberta is urgently asking the Ministry of Tourism and Sport to:

1. Stop removing protections Alberta’s parks and protected areas to accommodate private development.  
   
2. Complete proper land-use planning before approving All-Season Resort designations, to avoid ecologically important areas (Wildlife corridors, areas already experiencing congestion, etc.)  

Click HERE to learn more and send your letter today.