Happy Wednesday, Regina! 👋
Yesterday handed us one of the best days of the year so far: 22°C, full sun, and that unmistakable feeling that spring has actually arrived. Today is Earth Day, and while clouds and a chance of showers are rolling in this afternoon, there is no shortage of good news to start the morning.
Fair warning though: temperatures fall to 3°C with rain and snow on Thursday, and -3°C with periods of snow by Friday. This is Regina in April, so you already knew this was coming. Most of us prefer the warm sunshine by this time of year, warm weather is here to stay soon, right?!
There is a lot happening right now. A major new facility opened in this city yesterday. Our U18 hockey champs are chasing a record on the national stage. Regina just locked up a big national event for 2028. And between the MacKenzie opening Friday, spoken word at the Artesian tonight, and Earth Day programming at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum this morning - it is actually a fantastic week to be out in this city. Let's get into it.
In today's edition:
🏒 Pat Canadians open Telus Cup with a statement win — sixth gold in sight
🌾 Cargill's new $350-million Regina canola facility officially opens
🏋️ 2028 Canada 55+ Games are coming back to where they were born
🌎 Food, Fuel & Fertilizer Summit closes today in the Queen City
⏰ Alberta goes permanent DST — Saskatchewan and Alberta finally share the clock
📅 Your full events guide for April 22 - 24
📰 News & Community
🏒 SPORTS
Defending Champions Open with Conviction — Pat Canadians Are Chasing History
The Regina Pat Canadians arrived at the 2026 Telus Cup in Peterborough, Ontario, and immediately looked like exactly what they are: the defending champions. The Pat Canadians opened Monday night with a dominant 7-3 victory over the host Peterborough Petes, with the defending Telus Cup champions chasing a sixth gold medal at the Canadian U18 AAA national championship. This year's squad has arguably been the strongest version of the program in years, scoring more goals and allowing fewer than last year's championship team during league play, even without Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue for most of the regular season, as both played WHL games with the Regina Pats before returning.
A win in Peterborough would make the Pat Canadians the record-setting sixth-time champions, breaking their current tie with the Notre Dame Hounds and Séminaire Saint-François Blizzard for the most Telus Cup titles in history. Regina's round-robin schedule continues today against the Waterloo Wolves, Thursday against the Chevaliers de Lévis, and Friday against the Okanagan Rockets, with the top four teams advancing to semifinals on Saturday. All games stream free on demand at HNLive.ca.
🌾 BUSINESS & ECONOMY
It's Official: Cargill's $350-Million Regina Canola Facility Is Open for Business
Cargill announced the official opening of its canola crush plant near Regina on Tuesday, marking the completion of one of the most significant agri-food investments in Saskatchewan history. Located at the Global Transportation Hub in west Regina, the plant can process one million metric tonnes of canola each year, increasing local demand while allowing more of the crop to be processed domestically into high-value products, including oil for food and renewable fuels and high-protein meal for animal feed.
Cargill Canada President Jeff Vassart said the facility strengthens the company's ability to connect Canadian farmers to growing global demand for food and renewable fuels, adding that by expanding processing capacity in Saskatchewan, the company is creating more opportunities for farmers while helping ensure Canada remains competitive in rapidly evolving global markets.
For Saskatchewan producers who have watched raw canola seed leave the province for years, this facility changes the math. The Queen City is now home to one of the largest canola processing operations in the country.
🏋️ COMMUNITY
The 2028 Canada 55+ Games Are Coming Back to Where They Were Born
The Canada 55+ Games is returning to its original roots. For the first time since the original games in 1996, the event will descend upon Regina in 2028. That first-ever edition was held right here in the Queen City, and three decades later the event is coming home. More than 2,000 participants are expected to compete across 15 mandatory events and six optional events, including bridge, pickleball, track and field, and tennis, with competitors aged 55 and older qualifying through provincial competitions.
The event runs August 21 to 24, 2028, with funding from Tourism Saskatchewan, the City of Regina, and the Regina Hotel Association. Mark the calendar now - this one is going to fill our hotels, light up our venues, and remind the country exactly what kind of hosts we are.
🌎 ECONOMY
Regina Hosts Global Leaders at Food, Fuel & Fertilizer Summit Today
The fourth annual Food, Fuel and Fertilizer Global Summit, presented by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, wraps up today at the Delta Hotels by Marriott in Regina, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and partners from across Saskatchewan and Canada to focus on global trade, tariffs, and economic security. By all accounts, this has been the summit's most consequential year yet.
Saskatchewan Chamber CEO Prabha Ramaswamy noted that the mining sector is booming in the province, with two new uranium mines recently launched in northern Saskatchewan, and that Saskatchewan ranks first in Canada for private capital investment. Today's sessions include discussions on agri-food capital deployment and inter-provincial economic cooperation. The fact that global leaders keep choosing Regina for conversations this important says something real about where this province stands right now.
⏰ LIFESTYLE
Great News for Anyone Who Does Business With Alberta: The Clock Confusion Is Nearly Over
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Monday that Alberta would be moving to permanent Mountain Daylight Time this fall, meaning Alberta residents will no longer have to adjust their clocks backward by an hour. Once legislation passes, Saskatchewan and Alberta will share the same time year-round, with Saskatchewan already observing Central Standard Time all year.
This change comes alongside word that British Columbia will also be doing away with clock changes and switching to Pacific Daylight Time year-round, which will sit one hour behind Saskatchewan and Alberta. For those of us who regularly travel to or work with Calgary and Edmonton, this removes a persistent twice-yearly scheduling headache. Small change in the grand scheme, but a genuinely useful one for the hundreds of thousands of Canadians on either side of that border.
📅 What's On in Regina April 22 to 24, 2026
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 — 🌍 Earth Day
🦕 Mini Planet Protectors | Royal Saskatchewan Museum | 2445 Albert Street | 11:00 AM | Admission by donation The Royal Saskatchewan Museum is celebrating Earth Day with a special drop-in program for the little ones: story, song, movement, and a parade through the upper galleries to wish the globe and all its animals a happy Earth Day. Special guest: Munchie the T. rex mascot. Dress in your best green and blue or earth-inspired gear. Great for ages 5 and under with caregivers — daycares and preschools welcome too. Details
🌿 Crocus Walk | Wascana Centre | 4:00 PM | Free Nature Regina leads this beloved annual spring tradition through Wascana Park in search of Saskatchewan's iconic prairie crocuses. Check the Nature Regina website for the specific meeting point before heading out. Bundle up a little, get outside, and enjoy the park before the cold snap arrives tomorrow. Details
🎤 Regina Word Up Open Mic Night | The Artesian on 13th | 2627 13th Avenue | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM | $5 or pay what you can The Creative City Centre's beloved spoken word series returns to the Artesian. Everyone is welcome on the pressure-free stage for five-minute spots — all genres, all styles, all stories celebrated. Doors open at 6:30 PM. All-ages, fully licensed, and wheelchair accessible. Free if you perform. The Artesian calendar
🤝 Global Connections: Introduction to MCoS & Anti-Racism in Practice | Bushwakker Brewpub (Arizona Room) | 2206 Dewdney Avenue | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Registration required An engaging, interactive evening hosted by the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan exploring how communities can understand racism and oppression and build real capacity for connection and change. MCoS is a provincial non-profit working to ensure ethnocultural communities thrive across Saskatchewan. A solid midweek option if you want to come away with something real. Register on Eventbrite
🖼️ Art Realities | Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan | 2440 Broad Street | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Free A collaborative exhibit from the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, SK Arts, and the University of Regina Archives, featuring artwork and archival records of six Saskatchewan artists drawn from a landmark 1973 oral history project. Runs Monday to Friday through July 31. Exhibit details
🎬 NEW | Michael: The IMAX Experience | Kramer IMAX Theatre | Saskatchewan Science Centre | 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Multiple showtimes | Paid admission The Michael Jackson biographical film opens at the Kramer IMAX this week on the largest screen in Saskatchewan. Showtimes and tickets
🔬 Saskatchewan Science Centre | 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Open daily from 9:30 AM | Paid admission An ideal Earth Day afternoon for families, with 185+ hands-on exhibits across the floor. Visit info
🎨 City of Art 2026 | The Docks at Local Market - 1377 Hamilton St | 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM | $65 An evening showcasing Saskatchewan artists through local art, food, and live and silent auctions. One of the more stylish fundraiser nights on the spring calendar. Tickets
🎸 Set Piece + Space Queen + Sed3ment | The Exchange - 2431 8th Ave | Doors 7:00 PM | Music 7:30 PM | $15 A mid-week indie rock triple bill with Vancouver's Space Queen making the trip out. Details
🌱 RGA Member Meet & Greet | Regina Floral Conservatory - 1450B 4th Ave | 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM | Free A casual come-and-go evening for anyone interested in gardening and the conservatory community. New faces welcome. Details
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
🎭 Faulty Towers the Dining Experience | Sandman Hotel & Suites Regina | 1800 Victoria Avenue East | 7:00 PM | Paid admission — Last night of the run Basil, Sybil, and Manuel serve up two hours of immersive comedy chaos alongside a three-course meal, in the longest-running stage adaptation of Fawlty Towers anywhere in the world. Tonight is the final Regina performance of this touring production. Details via Tourism Regina
🎬 NEW | Michael: The IMAX Experience | Kramer IMAX Theatre | Saskatchewan Science Centre | 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Multiple showtimes | Paid admission The Michael Jackson biographical film opens at the Kramer IMAX this week on the largest screen in Saskatchewan. Showtimes and tickets
🏒 Telus Cup — Pat Canadians vs. Chevaliers de Lévis | Peterborough Memorial Centre, ON | 7:00 PM EST | Free on demand Lévis lost to Regina in last year's final and they are bringing everything they have. Pull up HNLive.ca and cheer the Pat Cs through the cold snap.
🎬 RPL Film Theatre | Central Library | 2311 12th Avenue | 7:00 PM | Paid admission New weekly films open each Wednesday at one of Regina's most underrated cinema experiences — indie and international programming on a proper screen, at prices that make sense. Check the current lineup online. Film schedule
🖼️ Art Realities | Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan | 2440 Broad Street | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Free Exhibit details
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
🖼️ Exhibition Opening: All That We Need Is in This Room | MacKenzie Art Gallery | 3475 Albert Street | 7:00 PM | Free Join the MacKenzie for the opening reception of All That We Need Is in This Room, curated by Nicolle Nugent and Amy Millan. The evening begins with an Artist Talk Show — a lively, talk-show-style conversation featuring Damian Rogers, moira williams, Ava Roth, Sylvia Ziemann, and Yuji Szero Lee — followed by an exhibition viewing, reception, and a special performance by moira williams. Mackenzie | Free admission. One of the best free Friday evenings on the spring calendar. Event details
🥋 Judo Sask Provincial Championships | mâmawêyatitân centre | 1440 Dewdney Avenue | All day, April 24–25 | Open to spectators Athletes from across Saskatchewan compete in divisions from youth through senior. High-energy, fast-paced, and free to watch. JudoSask.ca
🌿 City Nature Challenge Begins | Wascana Centre and citywide | All day (April 24–27) | Free Regina joins hundreds of cities worldwide for a four-day friendly competition to photograph and document local plants and wildlife. Download the free iNaturalist app and head outside. Nature Regina details
🏒 Telus Cup — Pat Canadians vs. Okanagan Rockets | Peterborough Memorial Centre, ON | 4:00 PM EST | Free on demand Regina's final round-robin game before Saturday's semifinals. A top-four finish locks in a shot at the record. HNLive.ca
🖼️ Art Realities | Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan | 2440 Broad Street | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Free Exhibit details
🎬 NEW | Michael: The IMAX Experience | Kramer IMAX Theatre | Saskatchewan Science Centre | 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Multiple showtimes | Paid admission The Michael Jackson biographical film opens at the Kramer IMAX this week on the largest screen in Saskatchewan. Showtimes and tickets
⚡ Quick Hits
🛒 The Regina Farmers' Market is at Banner Hall (1700 Elphinstone Street, REAL District) this Saturday, April 25 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM - one of the final indoor Saturdays before the market moves to City Square Plaza for outdoor season starting May 2. Market info
📊 This Week's Poll
Spring came. It was glorious for about 48 hours. Now 3°C and snow is on the way. What's your plan?
🔥 Full hibernation mode until May long weekend
🏒 Watching the Pat Cs chase gold from under a blanket
🌿 Outside anyway - crocuses aren't going to look at themselves
☕ This is Regina in April. I've seen worse. I'll be fine.
Hit reply to let us know, or find us on Instagram @QueenCityDigest
Thanks for reading Queen City Digest. Today is a good day to be in this city. A major facility just opened, our kids are chasing history in Peterborough, and the arts community is delivering a genuinely great week to be out. Enjoy the 18°C while it lasts, catch a crocus or a poem tonight, and we will see you Friday with your full weekend guide.
Next edition: Friday, April 24.
-The QCD Team