Calgary company donates park to provincial government

One of Alberta's largest power generators is donating the provincial park it owns.

Heartland Generation CEO Rob Dutton said Wednesday it would be donating Big Knife Provincial Park near Camrose, Alta., to the provincial government.

Dutton said he felt the 108 hectares (268 acres) shouldn't belong to a private company.

"Our parks, definitely, andour provincial parks, certainly, belong to Albertans and shouldn't belong to, in my opinion, a company like ours," he said.

He said when he learned the company owned the land, he set out to change that.

"I was surprised to learn we did, to be quite frank," he said.

When the company acquired the Battle River Power Station in 2019, the assets included the nearby land.

"That park, the land under it, is owned by this company. It's like, well, we need to rectify that."

WATCH l Heartland Generation and government officials make announcement on central Alberta provincial park:

Heartland Generation donates provincial park

2 years ago

Duration 5:47

Big Knife Provincial Park was established in 1962 along the Battle River near Forestburg.

Big Knife Provincial Park was established in 1962 along the Battle River near Forestburg. It comprised a mix of publicly and privately owned lands.

Environment and Parks Minister Whitney Issik says the province has been leasing private land for the provincial parks system since the first Alberta Parks were established in 1932.

"The Alberta government has actually been leasing these privately owned lands, which have been graciously donated today. These lands will continue to support conservation and outdoor recreation opportunities all along the Battle River."

Heartland Generation is based in Calgary.