Alberta

They may not have the same raw beauty as grizzlies or bighorn sheep, but brand-name national franchises now have some protection in Banff, the Alberta tourist centre where about one-quarter of main-strip stores are chains or "formula-based businesses

The proposal to restart development on the massive Three Sisters resort community project in the mountain town of Canmore includes a plan to fence out wildlife and create a "hard edge" to corridors designed to move animals past development areas.

Whether it's in the inner city or the 'burbs, that Calgary home was generally priced higher in February. Calgary Real Estate Board data says the average single-family home selling price in the city hit $518,452 in February, up 10.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and the head of the city's biggest home-builders organization are moving forward after a public spat in early 2013.

The northwest Alberta resource city wants developers to know it's made great progress in streamlining development approvals.

The heavy-oil service centre of Lloydminster is looking to another busy year in development after a record building-permits year in 2012. Straddling the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, Lloydminster enjoyed $188.

Commercial real estate pros in Vancouver and Calgary like to boast that their markets are on a giant roll, but, when compared to Canada's biggest city, both cities look like dwarfs. RealNet (www.realnet.

Fort McMurray is the quintessential Alberta boomtown where houses now sell for more than in Edmonton and Calgary and rents for a two-bedroom apartment can top $2,000 a month.

Three Alberta cities - including the Edmonton bedroom community of St. Albert - are better places to live than Vancouver, according to MoneySense magazine.

Construction is expected to start this summer on a new downtown Edmonton arena following Edmonton city council's approval of an agreement between the city and the Katz Group, which owns the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.