Food prepared for people in need in Prince Albert. (file photo/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Warming Centre

Warming center expands capacity during cold snap

Jan 22, 2026 | 1:53 PM

People in need of a warm place to stay during the current bitter cold enveloping Prince Albert are finding relief at the Salvation Army despite the location change.

A fire on Christmas Day forced the organization, which was on Central Avenue, to move to a temporary location at the Union Centre just a few blocks away. Major Ed Dean said, fortunately, clients were able to locate them quickly and despite the temporary setup, they are allowing more people in to warm up during the extreme cold.

“We have extended those numbers of what we would normally allow in the warming centre,” he said. “We brought in extra staff so we can accommodate some extra people.”

The Gathering Place, as the warming centre has been named, runs seven nights per week between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., and during the afternoons between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

They average about 50 people per night in the warming centre.

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“Because it’s a warming centre and it’s not a shelter, they can come and go throughout the night. Some will come, and they will stay the night while others will come, and they’ll warm up, and then they’ll go elsewhere.”

When clients come in at night, coffee and snacks are available; lunch is offered between 11 a.m. and noon.

During the afternoon hours, the Prince Albert Métis Women’s Association usually provides snacks and warm drinks.

Dean said no update on the investigation into the fire that destroyed their building on Central Avenue is available at the moment.

Donations of winter apparel, gloves, touques, socks and blankets are always welcome since they go through a lot, but Dean said they currently have no need for children’s clothing because that is not their clientele, and they are limited in the space they have for storage.

They ask for a maximum of five bags per person with donations being accepted at the Union Centre’s back door from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Snacks and breakfast foods like cereal, granola bars are also welcome.

The current cold snap in Prince Albert is expected to drop to -37 C Thursday evening, -39 C on Friday and -36 C on Saturday before warming up to -21 C on Sunday. night.

Environment Canada has issued an orange alert under their newly adopted colour coded warning system. The warning includes wind chills of between -40 C and -45 C.

—

susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social