January 28, 2026: Canmore pool "mass casualty" event
Good Morning,
I'm coming to you with the biggest news story of the week in aquatics in Canada:
Mass casualty incident declared after multiple children fall ill at Canmore pool
I first heard about this incident via text message on Sunday night from an impeccable source. I'm very lucky colleagues, clients & social media followers send me tips, but I'm never going to sole source anything; it's just not responsible.
Monday morning my phone blew up while teaching the January Certified Pool Operator (CPO) class on Zoom. When I finally had a moment to reshare the first official account (above) via a photo on our Facebook page (gotta love Bill C-18 when there's real news worth sharing 🙃) I started receiving emails from parents of kids in the hockey tournament who'd been staying at the property.
By Monday evening I thought I had enough individual accounts to record a YouTube video, commenting on what we know so far, but by Tuesday morning it was apparent that this story had clearly escalated to such a point of mass hysteria that I have nothing constructive to add. My goal with any content is always to educate and add value to aquatic professionals, not go viral.
Look, there is no question that anyone staying at this property, especially those with young children who used the pool or were injured, have a right to be angry and ask questions about what happened. A basic industry standard of care is to not get hurt/sick while using a commercially-operated aquatic facility.
However, I am genuinely confident that the regulatory structures of Alberta Health Services (AHS); Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S); the Town of Canmore; regional emergency services and other interested bodies will thoroughly investigate and provide some sort of update, maybe even a full incident investigation report, when there is factual information industry stakeholders can learn from. The public exposure of this incident nationally demands nothing less.
But even as someone who has been to the site and seen components of the pool mechanical systems (years ago - they could have changed), I could not (cannot) make sense of the wide variety of accounts from multiple perspectives. I'm not disputing those perspectives, but it's going to take technical/forensic reconstruction expertise to figure this one out. This is not me trying to be noble, the current situation is simply a byproduct of our chronically online 24/7 lives, constantly seeking updates for dopamine hits.
Alberta's controversial premier jumped into the mix. There were 850+ comments within 12 hours posted to a personal account of what happened (sent to me), before it was deleted, never mind the chatter in hockey parent groups or on Reddit. In one example of the erroneous and inflammatory conjecture, I saw one couch chemist suggesting the kids were so dirty this is an extreme case of combined chlorine (CC) leading to poisoning. Even Global News, an organization I would consider of reasonable journalistic standards, spent half an article calling a pool operator in Calgary to get them speculate on the situation?
This entire situation now reads like someone sitting in a dark room, trying to frequently update a 24-hour TV news chyron, with absolutely nothing (new) to say.
What facts do we have? Contrary to some comments on our Facebook page, hotels in Alberta are commercial pools; they're not regulated any differently/separately or less than (e.g.) a municipal pool. You can see the Alberta Pool Standards here or browse other regulatory documents under the Alberta section on our website. Chlorine is the only disinfectant permitted here.
We have public disclosure in Alberta for all aquatic facilities, so you can see those pages here:
Swimming Pool
Whirlpool
Common Areas
This is not because of the incident; this is standard for all pools in Alberta since March 2023.
There are currently no Enforcement Orders published for this property (search by zone at left) at the time I'm writing this email.
Are there constructive things we can do in the interim? Yes, certainly. This is a good time to revisit standard workplace health & safety requirements that - respectfully - I see a lot of aquatic facilities are inadequately meeting day-to-day. This is going to be province/state specific, but broadly speaking... All staff need WHMIS training. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needs to be provided in multiple sizes, potentially including FIT testing. Safety Data Sheets (SDS) need to be printed & updated within three (3) years, including for water testing reagents too. I personally don't recommend relying on downloaded copies on a server.
If you're using muriatic or hydrochloric acid, the SDS sheet probably requires 15 minutes of continuously flushing, meaning that your little squeeze bottle eye rinse stations aren't going to cover you during a workplace incident. You really need to look at installing an emergency eyewash station or shower, or at least looking at a protocol for someone to use a mixed-water changeroom shower. Early in my career, I had a boss off work for several weeks due to corneal erosions (holes in his eyeball) due to not flushing eyes enough after acid squirted in them.
Make sure chemical tanks are properly labeled. Consider secondary containment vessels and purchasing a universal chemical spill kit. If you don't have staff onboarding or competency checklists; standard operating procedures; pre-job hazard assessments; etc. now is definitely the time to ask for time/money/staff capacity to not end up in the news. What organization's leadership or ownership is going to turn down that request this week?
Some keyboard cowboys speculated it's a chemical interlock issue - if you've taken CPO class with me, you might remember this educational video (a great topic for your next health & safety meeting!) This is only my personal speculation, but I truly don't think that's going to be at play here in this incident.
Do use this news story as an opportunity to talk about occupational - and operational - health & safety, but don't lose the forest for the trees or foment what we don't know to be factual. Swimming pools are already a joke to so many people, and this isn't going to help those of us who do things correctly.
Lastly, I want to share this disclaimer from a class I'm taking. (I have clients seeking liquor licenses for aquatic facilities, so I'm taking a bunch of alcohol, gaming and cannabis education from AGLC.) I really like that they clarify this is baseline, standard information and people have a responsibility to review program content periodically to keep knowledge current.
At all levels of pool operations we have a responsibility to periodically review training content plus pool industry standards to keep knowledge current. How we do - or do not - do this may be at the heart of these types of incidents.
There was other news this week, some of it quite viral (the industrial workplace drowning fatality & Canadian surf drowning dingo incident in Australia) that you should to be aware of as an aquatic professional:
Opening of the New Therme Oberstdorf
Canada's Olympic swimmer Kharun switches allegiance to US
Texas' Great Wolf Lodge to host 'romantic' 5-course dinner on lazy river
The media photos provided are hilarious.
Council apologises after deflating disabled child's pool
This is really, really bad and highlights the very real & public consequences of poor staff training.
Historic East Harlem Pool Reopens To Give Kids And Families Free Swimming
Worker dies at Suncor oilsands site after machinery sinks into muskeg
This is five years after a drowning fatality in January 2021 (also at a Suncor site) when a dozer broke through ice. The Alberta workplace fatality investigation is available here.
Rulantica Launches Seasonal “Nordic Festival of Lights” Once Again
This looks like a very fun event from the photos, and I love that it takes place outside of the Christmas season. Indoor pool attendance can drop during the winter months in cold climates simply because buildings are drafty or customers don't want to deal with getting undressed from heavy winter coats, storing wet boots in lockers, etc.
Accent Lights
I don't like to share product features, but I was today years old when I learned you can integrate lights in a spray park?!
Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool Approved for $105.1 Million Rebuild
Bermuda targeting cruise guests in safety campaign to reduce drowning deaths
I'm sure this is a direct consequence of this: Family Sues Cruise Line After Drowning During Bermuda Port Visit.
I also shared my thoughts about the case in this newsletter: August 29, 2025: Snorkeling is dangerous.
Dingoes that circled Canadian woman’s body on Australian beach to be culled
North Texas community mourns after 3 young siblings drown in Bonham
A consequence of Southern communities unaccustomed to winters with ice & snow may not have thevide to kids in Canada.
Nonprofit offers free pool fences as drowning deaths reach record high
Father of teen who drowned at Windsor’s Sandpoint Beach sues the city for $5M
Inside The World’s Most Expensive Workout Classes: Are Luxury Fitness Studios Actually Worth it?
There's no sources to back up this video, but I found it a really interesting overview of the (dry) boutique fitness experience.
Riverbrook Regional YMCA Brings Lifesaving Swim Instruction to Norwalk Elementary Students
I'll be back next week (Wednesday, February 4) with a regular newsletter & YouTube Live recording, but we'll be skipping the following week (Wednesday, February 11) due to a scheduling conflict. I'll be back with you again on Wednesday, February 18.
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.
PS. I've shared Jason Feifer's newsletter a few times, and this week's edition is GREAT!