BOYLE — The arrival of the New Year ushers in a time of reflection on the wins and losses of the previous year, and resolutions and hopes for the months ahead, and Boyle Mayor Colin Derko spoke with the Athabasca Advocate ahead the countdown to do exactly that.
CIBC closure
One of the most newsworthy announcements for the village was actually made in December 2023, when a letter from CIBC Bank announcing the closure of the Boyle branch was in front of village councillors.
The bank remained open for months after the initial announcement, and closed its doors in May 2024, merging with the branch in Athabasca. CIBC’s statement to councillors cited a shift from in-person to digital service as a driving factor behind the decision.
“Currently 94 per cent of all our client transactions take place outside of a banking centre through mobile, online, and telephone banking,” read CIBC’s statement.
The announcement earned responses from councillors, the local business community, and residents about the closure disproportionally affecting seniors or those not comfortable with online banking, clients without consistent transportation, and sparked questions of rural sustainability.
“Because of the timing, the knee-jerk reaction was fear and ‘what’s happening?’ said Derko. “With change comes change; as cliché as that sounds, the banking world has changed. We don’t see phone booths on our street anymore either.”
“As we progress in time and we make these changes, some of these things are inevitable and we need to adapt, and I feel the people in our community adapt very well.”
Bye-Bye Buy-Low
Only two months after CIBC’s announcement, another Boyle staple released similar news. Word of the village’s Buy-Low grocery store’s impending closure travelled quickly after it was announced in early February.
The locally loved store shut its doors March 31, and unlike its Athabasca counterpart which received a makeover and a name change to Save On Foods, the Boyle Buy-Low remains a yellow and stucco reminder of its service to the community.
“I believe because it was corporate and not privately owned that’s why it got closed, because corporations look at and do things differently than what a private owner would have done,” said Derko.
In addition to losing a hub for community activities like hot dog fundraisers and donations to volunteer groups, 16 local employees lost their job security. But thanks to the other grocery store in town, both workers, shoppers, and incoming lake traffic weren’t without options.
“For the first little while we saw availability issues … but the Co-op adapted very quickly and did what they had to do,” said Derko. “We’re still sad to have seen the loss of Buy-Low and we look forward to somebody coming in and opening the store up under a different name.”
Red Wolf Corporation still full steam ahead
While the closures of CIBC and Buy-Low garnered pessimistic comments on social media about the community’s long-term viability, a promising yet almost mysterious letter of intent disclosed a large development corporation had its eyes on the village.
Red Wolf Corporation’s head office location is listed in Calgary, but the company’s site says it’s based right in Smoky Lake County’s Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement.
With a focus on supporting First Nation, Inuit, and Métis jobs and education, environmental stewardship, and economic revitalization, Red Wolf revealed its plans to invest $810 million into the village with a number of large-scale projects.
The promise of new facilities like a sustainable ag and food producer and an independent power producer, and the approximately 900 jobs to man each project, was exciting for councillors and residents, with an initial goal of breaking ground in early 2024.
But locals not involved in the closed doors discussions that followed began to doubt the efficacy of the deal, concerns Derko has had to address on more than one occasion.
“The village is definitely in contact with them on a regular basis and they are still 100 per cent interested in getting things going in our village,” said Derko. “I think people question because they don’t see that behind-the-scenes stuff (that) they must have just closed their doors and left just like Buy-Low and CIBC did.
Although Derko said Red Wolf hasn’t given them a firm timeline on when the work will move from behind the scenes to boots on the ground, he said movement on the smaller projects could begin as early as this spring, but no permit applications for development have been received by the village as of yet.
“That’s their intention and according to them, they have no reason to believe that they can’t reach that goal, so we’re riding on their enthusiasm and remaining to stay positive to get them whatever they need or however we can help.”
Hopes for hospital
Mid-summer was as busy as usual in Boyle, with locals and the summer lake residents out and about and using village amenities. But as Canada Day came and went, so did the two-year anniversary of the village hospital’s nightly closure from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m.
While AHS described the initial nightly closures as temporary due to staffing shortages, the two-year milestone passed without any indication of when the facility will be able to re-open to allow for 24/7 emergency care — an amenity for which rural Albertans can travel considerable distances.
“Everything is moving forward, but sometimes it just feels like it’s a snail’s pace,” said Derko. “The biggest thing with our hospital is the consistency.”
“There’s times where we would have been able to have it open for full emergency services and possibly even acute care but not on a regular basis. You can’t let people come into beds and then say, ‘Next week we can’t be here, but the week after we’re good for Wednesday/Thursday.’”
The village has had a number of Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) come to the community. But Derko said Boyle, like other communities around the province, haven’t had complete success with the program.
“I’m optimistic, but it is a little bit discouraging that we’ve gone this far,” said Derko. “I always joke about how Tuesday turns into August turns into the New Year real quick — it’s been a while and it’s frustrating.
“But the optimistic part is that everbody I talk to and everybody I deal with is just as frustrated and is 100 per cent moving in the same direction. I feel blessed that we’re not trying to convince people to help us, they’re coming to us.”
Derko said in the most recent update heard in closed session at the Dec. 18 council meeting is that AHS is looking for a locum nurse to visit the village more often, and expressed hope in the province’s newly released cash incentive for rurally practicing family physicians.
Small town, big show
Despite the closed doors Boyle and its residents encountered in 2024, the spirit of the community is alive and well, as evidenced by the village’s biggest news at the end of the calendar year.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the Boyle Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Athabasca Community Foundation, Angels in Motion, the Boyle Ag Society, Legion, Youth Centre and Historical Society, the village is set to host one of the biggest names in Canada’s country music scene in the summer of 2025: Gord Bamford.
Bamford’s small town stop slated for June 6 will coincide with the kickoff of his celebration tour, during which he and his team will ring in his 25 years in the music industry.
Derko and fellow councillors were happy to waive the rental fees for the Millview Recreation Complex for June 5, 6, and 7 to accommodate the show as an in-kind donation to community volunteer’s efforts.
“It’s going to bring a lot of awareness and a lot of fun,” said Derko. “They’ve got different things set up, with a meet and greet and an after party, so they’re going all out.
“I think it’s going to be well-received throughout our surrounding communities with the recreation properties, and they’re already selling tables.”
Derko said the combined efforts to bring a show of Bamford's calibre is example of Boyle's resiliency and is evidence that despite the narrative about Boyle's decline, the community and its people remain optimistic and determined.
“When you look for bad things, they’re everywhere. But if you look for good things, they are everywhere as well,” said Derko.
“The future is bright. I’m super excited for what the village is going to be going through over the next five to 10 years. I think it’s onward and upward.”
