A major new retail hub has arrived in northern Alberta’s oil sands region.
The Walmart Supercentre in Fort McMurray’s Parsons Creek neighbourhood opened its doors on Thursday morning, drawing hundreds of early shoppers who queued up ahead of the 9 a.m. start.
The large store significantly broadens local shopping choices, with enlarged sections for groceries, seasonal merchandise and clothing, plus on-site pharmacy, optical and wireless services. It has also created more than 150 new jobs for the Wood Buffalo area.
At Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLA Tany Yao pointed to the Walmart opening as an early sign of continued commercial investment in the region, saying more major announcements are expected in the next few months from Wood Buffalo Economic Development and Tourism.
The new Supercentre marks another major retail investment in Fort McMurray as Parsons Creek continues to grow.
