Marketing, websites and AI for businesses in Edmonton
Canada’s first food bank started here.
nuordinary helps established businesses, healthcare practices, manufacturers and nonprofits work out honestly what needs to change, then builds what moves them: strategy, brand, websites, marketing, search, AI and systems. Our head office is in London, Ontario, and we work with organisations in Edmonton and across Canada.
Its chamber is older than the city.
Edmonton became a town in 1892, a city in 1904 and the capital of Alberta in 1905. The 2021 census counted 1,010,899 people in the city and 1,418,118 in the metro area.
Its chamber of commerce began as the Edmonton Board of Trade on 27 February 1889, when 33 pioneers met. The Chamber says businesses invested more than $3.3 billion in the city last year.
Who’s building here
A few of the people and places building Edmonton:
[01] The makers
Three founders, one bake shop, 2009.
Garner Beggs, Giselle Courteau and Jacob Pelletier opened Duchess Bake Shop in October 2009. Beggs stepped away this spring, more than 16 years after it opened. The bake shop carries on.
Edmonton makes things at scale, too. Polykar is putting $20 million into an expansion in the Edmonton region, adding 25 permanent jobs, and it recycles more than 3 million pounds of Alberta plastic a year.
Making it is the hard part. Being found for it shouldn’t be.
[02] The people who care for people
A hospital for 25 patients, in 1900.
The Royal Alexandra Hospital started in 1900 as the Edmonton Public Hospital, with room for 25 patients: immigrants, railroad workers and coal miners. It marked 125 years in 2025.
Around them are the clinics, practices and allied health professionals people see every week. Their job is care. The website, the booking and the paperwork should make that easier, not harder.
[03] The main streets
A market in the old bus barns.
The Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market has traded from the old bus barns since 1983.
Around the corner, the Edmonton Fringe started in 1982. It calls itself North America’s largest and longest-running fringe festival.
Owners on these streets run the shop, the books, the staff and the social media. They shouldn’t have to figure all of it out alone.
[04] The organisations working for something bigger
It started with a group of gleaners.
On 16 January 1981, the Edmonton Gleaners Association became Canada’s first food bank.
In 2025, an average of 43,519 people a month received a hamper from Edmonton’s Food Bank. January and March set records in its 45-year history, and 38% of hamper recipients are children.
Small teams carry a lot. The systems behind them should carry some of it.
Eleven days in August.
Drawn to Edmonton Fringe festival sites over 11 days in August 2026.
This year’s Fringe ran from 13 to 23 August, with more than 200 productions.
We want to tell more of these stories in our Field Notes. If you’re building something in Edmonton, tell us about it.
Building here isn’t always easy.
- 01
By July 2026, about 20 downtown businesses had closed this year. “That’s not just a Downtown problem, that’s a city problem,” said Doug Griffiths of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
- 02
In ATB’s October 2026 survey of Alberta small business owners, weak demand (30%), input costs (28%) and rent (21%) led their concerns. 40% had raised prices.
- 03
Edmonton’s Food Bank set records in January and March 2025.
Those pressures land differently on everyone:
A business owner needs more revenue without more hours in the week.
A manufacturer could serve new markets but struggles to show buyers what it makes.
A practice wants to see more patients with a team that’s already stretched.
A nonprofit needs more supporters without more work for its staff.
Different problems. Different answers. Sometimes the first step is to stop adding activity and work out what will actually make a difference.
Where Edmonton owners get help
There’s real help for owners and founders:
Programmes and eligibility change, so check with each one directly.
Sometimes the most useful thing we can do is point you to the right resource, even when that resource isn’t us.
Edmonton is part of a bigger region.
Edmonton
How nuordinary works with Edmonton organisations.
nuordinary’s head office is in London, Ontario. We take on work across the province and the rest of Canada, Edmonton included.
You know your organisation better than anyone else does. Our job isn’t to arrive with a package. It’s to understand what you’ve built, where you want to go and what’s in between.
See where you are. Define what comes next. Build what gets you there. Measure the movement.
- Local businesses
- Easier for the right customers to find you and choose you, with systems that don’t depend on you for everything.
- Healthcare practices
- Easier for patients to find you and book, with less paperwork for your team.
- Manufacturers
- Complex capabilities explained clearly, to the buyers who need them.
- Nonprofits
- A mission that’s easier to find, support and sustain.
Capabilities that fit what’s happening in Edmonton: local SEO, lead generation, web design, email marketing and business strategy.
Questions
Can nuordinary work with organisations in Edmonton?
Yes. nuordinary is based in London, Ontario, and takes on work for established businesses, healthcare practices, manufacturers and nonprofits across Ontario and the rest of Canada, Edmonton included.
What can nuordinary help a Edmonton business with?
Strategy, brand, websites, marketing, SEO and AI search visibility, AI and automation, and better systems. We start with the outcome you want, then choose the capabilities that get you there.
Can you help an Edmonton business through a slow stretch?
Yes. We start by working out what will actually make a difference, then build it: clearer positioning, a website that converts, and marketing aimed at the customers you most want.
Can you help a Whyte Avenue or 124 Street shop get found?
Yes. A complete Google Business Profile, consistent listings and a website that answers customers’ questions are often the fastest wins for a main-street business. See local SEO.
How do we start?
Start a conversation. You don’t need a brief or a list of services. Tell us what’s happening and what you’d like to change.
Other places we celebrate
Sources (20)
- Edmonton (opens in a new tab)
- Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, about (opens in a new tab)
- Taproot Edmonton, Chamber business sentiment (28 August 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Taproot Edmonton, Duchess co-founder moves on (7 April 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Edmonton Global, Polykar expansion (9 October 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Alberta Health Services, Royal Alexandra Hospital at 125 (2 June 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- The Tomato, Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market (18 July 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, 125 years (opens in a new tab)
- Fringe Theatre (opens in a new tab)
- Edmonton’s Food Bank, history (opens in a new tab)
- Edmonton’s Food Bank, 2025 annual report (opens in a new tab)
- CTV News, Fringe attendance (23 August 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, downtown closures (27 July 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- ATB, quarterly small business pulse (October 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Business Link (opens in a new tab)
- PrairiesCan, Regional Tariff Response Initiative (opens in a new tab)
- Futurpreneur, core startup programme (opens in a new tab)
- St. Albert, Alberta (opens in a new tab)
- Fort Saskatchewan (opens in a new tab)
- Strathcona County (opens in a new tab)
Where next for your Edmonton organisation?
Duchess started with three founders. The food bank started with a group of gleaners. Tell us where you’re starting from, and where you want to go.
Fig. 06. Inside the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market, Edmonton. Credit