The Canmore Rundleview hotel spa proposal has been quietly gestating for years, and a community meeting on 5 March drew more than 250 residents who are concerned to find out what happens next to a piece of land many of them regard as an important part of their neighbourhood.
The grassroots group Protecting Our Futures organised the meeting at the Canmore Nordic Centre's Bill Warren Training Centre. The turnout was large enough that some people couldn't get in.
What the Canmore Rundleview Hotel Spa Would Actually Be
The proposal comes from longtime Canmore developer Frank Kernick and spa developer Serge Ouimette.
Their vision is a boutique hotel of fewer than 100 rooms, thermal bathing pools, wellness facilities, and employee housing – pitched as a health and wellness resort on approximately 7.3 to 7.5 hectares of Crown land near Spray Lakes Road, roughly halfway between Quarry Lake and the Canmore Nordic Centre, adjacent to the Rundleview neighbourhood.
The province approved a 60-year lease on the land in 2023, with an option to renew for another 60 years. However, any development still requires approval from Canmore council, and no formal application has been submitted.
Kernick said the project is currently completing more than a dozen technical studies before it can go to council. He estimates submission within three to six months, contingent on the Alberta government finalising updated regulations around historic coal mining areas.
The Ground Beneath the Proposal
The proposed site sits above former coal mine workings, some of which lie 60 to 100 metres underground. Kevin Williams, a retired geophysicist and member of Protecting Our Futures, said at the meeting that studies can reduce uncertainty around undermined land but can never eliminate it entirely.
Under current provincial regulations, developers are liable for undermining incidents for two years after construction. After that point, liability transfers to the province.
Kernick said on-site analysis shows the former mining activity is deep enough to assist with geoexchange heating and cooling. He confirmed that hotel buildings will not be situated on undermined ground – that area is designated for parking only.
A Corridor Worth Arguing About
Opponents of the project argue that the site plays an important role as part of a broader wildlife and recreation movement area linking Quarry Lake, the Rundle forebay reservoir, and the Canmore Nordic Centre. While the proposed development site itself is not located within an officially designated wildlife corridor, it sits adjacent to both a recognised corridor and a habitat patch.
Diana MacGibbon of Protecting Our Futures noted that, under the Bow Corridor Ecological Advisory Group Guidelines (2012), lands adjacent to wildlife corridors and habitat patches are still subject to specific guidance. These guidelines generally support less intrusive land uses in such areas, such as recreation space, to help maintain wildlife movement through the Bow Valley. The surrounding corridor system is used by species including grizzly bears, black bears, elk, cougars, and deer moving between Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country.
Ian Robinson, a Rundleview resident and group member, put it plainly: “This is not a Rundleview issue. This is a Town of Canmore issue.” He pointed to the Municipal Development Plan, which designates the area as community open space rather than commercial land.
Protecting Our Futures has gathered roughly 1,300 petition signatures to date.
Kernick acknowledged the wildlife concerns and confirmed that environmental studies are underway, alongside plans for public education and measures to reduce human-wildlife conflict on the site. He added that the proposal aims to formalise and maintain existing recreational trail connections through the property.
The Bigger Question
Joe Pavelka, a Mount Royal University professor who specialises in tourism and has studied pressures in the Bow Valley, noted that conflicts between residential communities and tourism development are common in mountain towns.
He described a wellness resort as a relatively low-impact form of tourism, while observing that broader development pressure on communities like Canmore is unlikely to ease. The Alberta government has set a target of $25 billion in annual provincial tourism spending by 2035.
Kernick was clear about the project's intent: “We are a tourism community. Tourism is where our economic growth will happen. For me, different aspects of tourism need to be part of our community and something we need to continue to grow.”
What Happens Next
No formal application has been submitted to the Town of Canmore. Kernick is targeting a three-to-six-month submission window, depending on provincial regulatory updates related to historic coal mining areas.
Protecting Our Futures has said it will continue monitoring the proposal and keeping the broader community engaged while they wait.
When the application does land on the council's desk, Canmore will have a formal opportunity to work through the competing considerations – and judging by the turnout on 5 March, plenty of people intend to be in the room for that conversation.
Thank you for reporting on this issue! I would like to clarify one important item in your article. The area proposed for the spa and hotel does not actually fall within an official wildlife corridor, however it is located adjacent to both a wildlife corridor and habitat patch. Accordingly, the Bow Corridor Ecological Advisory Group Guidelines 2012 apply, which identify appropriate developments for lands adjacent to wildlife corridors/habitat patches and provide that they are to include land uses that are less intrusive (such as a golf course or recreation area).
Thank you for taking the time to clarify this Diana, we have ameneded the article in line with your comment. Jill