The City of Edmonton has activated its extreme weather response to help keep vulnerable Edmontonians safe during the cold weather expected in the coming days. The response starts on Sunday, December 15 at 9 a.m. and is expected to end on Friday, December 20 at 9 a.m. The response will be extended if weather conditions remain extremely cold beyond this timeframe.
The threshold for activating the City’s extreme weather response is a temperature of -20 degrees Celsius with wind chill for at least three consecutive nights, typically accompanied by an Environment Canada alert for extreme cold. Open City facilities such as recreation centres and libraries will be available for anyone seeking respite from the extreme cold.
The City encourages vulnerable Edmontonians to go to shelters to protect themselves from winter conditions. Shelters are the safest option because they protect vulnerable Edmontonians from frostbite, loss of limbs and death.
If you see someone sheltering outside, please call 211 immediately and ask for the Crisis Diversion Team. This 24/7 service can help connect vulnerable individuals to transportation, shelter and the support they need. By making that call, you could be protecting someone from harm—and potentially saving a life.
This winter, the City will continue to provide the same critical services needed during the winter to supplement the existing homeless system of care.
Extreme Weather Bus Routes
- Two shelter shuttles along north and south routes will run nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. until March 31, 2025, providing transportation to available shelter spaces.
- During extreme weather activations, a third shuttle along the west route will be added to cover additional areas in the city, regardless of temperature.
- Outreach workers are on each shuttle to help passengers access available emergency shelter spaces and make referrals to other services. The routes are:
- North route starts from Northgate Transit Centre to downtown.
- South route starts from Southgate Transit Centre to downtown.
- West route starts from Kingsway Transit Centre to downtown.
- From 12:45 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., the north and south winter shelter shuttles will focus on transporting people from transit stations to shelters based on need and are not on a set route.
- Additional information is available at edmonton.ca/ExtremeWeather.
City Facilities
Open City facilities such as libraries and recreation centres will be available during regular operations for anyone to take respite from the cold.
Expanded Overnight Shelter
Al Rashid Mosque (13070 113 Street NW) will open an overnight shelter from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. during extreme weather responses, providing up to 50 spaces to supplement the existing shelter capacity funded by the Government of Alberta.
