Picking buffaloberries and electric fences: how wildlife is being managed ahead of G7

By Canadian Press on May 23, 2025.

OTTAWA — Wildlife officials in Alberta have a plan to keep delegates safe from bear encounters during the G7 meeting in Kananaskis, Alta., next month.

This week, more than 200 local kids from began plucking buffaloberry bushes in an effort to keep the animals away from the summit.

Staff with the province’s public safety ministry will also install electric fencing around things that could attract bears in a bid to keep the out.

Delegates will also be receiving some orientation in wildlife awareness while attending.

The G7 summit is expected to draw 5,000 participants to the area, which is home to grizzlies, brown and black bears.

When the summit was last hosted in Kananaskis in 2002, a bear died after it climbed a tree near the delegates, where it was tranquilized and then fell.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press