Alberta

The City of Grande Prairie is moving ahead with plans to annex just over 15,600 acres of land to accommodate development 30 years from now.

Edmonton's south suburban neighbour continues to grow at a decent rate, something that's confirmed by recently released census data for the City of Leduc. According to the city's 2011 census, its population now tops 24,000.

Two of Alberta's four largest cities are reporting significant jumps in new building activity for the first three quarters of 2011.

St. Albert city council is shaking up life in suburban Edmonton with a decision to sack its city manager and embark on some major restructuring.

Rocky View County is buying more irrigation district water in an effort to accommodate more development around Calgary.

It's widely believed Wal-Mart will anchor the site, in part because Springwood has been developing Wal-Mart-centred projects in Western Canada's secondary markets for more than a decade.

B.C.

Over time, the deal is also expected to bring stability to the housing market, "reducing the disparity between the cost of a home in Fort McMurray and a similar home in other parts of Alberta.

Alberta's fastest-growing suburban community recorded strong growth again in the past year. In fact, Airdrie's growth rate topped 8.3 per cent from 2010 to 2011, according to the City of Airdire's recent census.

Building activity is rebounding nicely in Calgary these days, with Alberta's largest city releasing figures that put new construction values up 44 per cent for the first seven months of 2011.