The City of Edmonton is considering the return of calcium chloride as a way to deal with the intense snow and ice buildup in the winter.
The anti-icing agent was highly controversial in Edmonton when the city used it on arterial and collector roads in 2017 and 2018.
The potential re-introduction of the controversial compound was mentioned in the city’s snow and ice policy report released to the public on Thursday.
“We are also responding to two motions from councillors earlier on in the year,” said Valerie Dacyk, the city’s supervisor of snow and ice control.
“One of them specifically asked us to look into the positives and negatives of calcium chloride, so this is that response.”
The city ran the pilot program for two years but stopped using the de-icing agent in 2019 after increased concerns about damage to vehicles, concrete and infrastructure.
The pilot project of using anti-icing solution calcium chloride on Edmonton winter roads in 2017-2018.
File/Global News
The solution was applied in a thin layer once per snowfall and designed to prevent snow from sticking to the pavement.
It has a lower freezing point than sodium chloride — salt — making it easier for crews to remove snow from the streets.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
Chemical engineers and mechanics expressed concerns about vehicle rust and corrosion as result of the calcium chloride.
While the province has been using calcium chloride on Anthony Henday Drive for years, the ring road is often dry because high vehicle speeds blow snow off the road — whereas lower speeds on city streets can lead to wet accumulation of calcium chloride on vehicles, which then creep into vehicle parts.
Local auto experts say seven years later, they’re still dealing with the damage caused by calcium chloride.
“It’s very highly corrosive, so we’re finding a lot of vehicle rust, suspension and steering components are rusting, corroding and breaking,” said Michael Bauman of Mike the Mechanic.
“We’re seeing stuff that’s unprecedented.”
Bauman believes it would be in the best interest of vehicle owners if the city uses sand or salt instead of the chemical compound.
“Calcium chloride, it absorbs the moisture, so it holds the moisture in.
“So when it’s on the undercarriage of the vehicle, it’ll bring the moisture in and that’s how it expedites the rust and corrosion.”
If council chooses this option, the return would happen in two phases.
The first would be 12- to 24-months long, where the city would seek out proper equipment and hire and train operators. The second phase would see it actually implemented and used on Edmonton’s streets.
The report mentions public sentiment towards the de-icing agent is still poor and Ward sipiwiyiniwak councillor Thu Parmar has heard the same.
“My residents… they would be on the side of not using calcium chloride. I’m gonna get some more information from administration on what are the pros and cons,” Parmar said.
“We’ve had some really extreme weather in terms of the freeze and thaw, with extreme storms, and so potentially there are gonna be more tools needed in the tool kit.”
The policy will be debated at city hall on Monday, Aug. 31, but further discussion on the usage of calcium chloride will be made during budget deliberations this fall.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.