For more than 20 years, Communities ChooseWell has supported communities across Alberta in creating environments where healthy living is the norm. Formed in 2005 and funded by Alberta Health since 2006, Communities ChooseWell is a free provincial program of the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA). Built on a long-standing partnership with Alberta Health, the program reflects a shared commitment between the recreation and health sectors to improve the wellbeing of Albertans and the communities they call home.
By Iheoma Joakin-Uzomba, 2026
In 2025, Communities ChooseWell celebrated its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of learning, evolution, connection, and community-led change.
Communities ChooseWell began as a friendly provincial competition, encouraging municipalities and organizations to implement initiatives that promoted Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL). Over time, the program evolved into a collaborative capacity-building initiative for sustainability, systems change, and shared learning.
Early programming included regional forums across Alberta, bringing communities together for collaboration. However, without as much engagement, it soon expanded into larger symposiums with creative community engagement efforts such as cooking competitions, local challenges, and campaigns like the 21 Days to Healthy Eating Challenge, sponsored by Sobeys. These initiatives helped build awareness and momentum while celebrating community innovation.
2006 Communities ChooseWell Event
2008 ChooseWell Awards
2011 Iron Chef Challenge
As the field of health promotion advanced, so too did Communities ChooseWell. The program shifted toward supporting long-term policy, practice, partnership, and place-based change while recognizing that health is shaped locally and influenced by the environments where people live, work, and play.
Today, Communities ChooseWell supports local champions, municipalities, and Indigenous communities through initiatives like the Indigenous PLN, community outreaches, wellness gatherings and a shift in community grant priorities to better reflect need and impact. Support is made available through funding (with over $500,000 in grants distributed since 2008), learning events and professional development, resource development and knowledge-sharing, networking and peer connection opportunities, and recognition initiatives such as the Healthy Community Inspiration Awards.
The program’s work is guided by the Healthy Communities Framework, which includes seven pillars that recognize the interconnected nature of wellbeing. Its focus areas (Healthy Eating, Active Living, and Community Development) acknowledge that improving health requires coordinated action across sectors and systems.
One of the program’s defining milestones was its first provincial symposium. These symposiums have since been running for over a decade, bringing together healthy living champions from across Alberta.
From supporting community gardens and food security initiatives to advancing physical literacy, active transportation, and inclusive recreation spaces, Communities ChooseWell helps reduce barriers so that eating well and being active become realistic, everyday choices.