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By rdnewsNOW staff

See the Signs

Red Deer Polytechnic receives federal grant to enhance campus safety awareness

Feb 10, 2026 | 5:04 PM

Red Deer Polytechnic announced it has received a $168,000 grant from the federal government’s Public Safety Canada Policy Development Contribution Program.

The funds will be dedicated to RDP’s project called See the Signs: A Red Flag Awareness Project for Safer Campuses and will be allocated over a span of two years to support tools and initiatives to improve campus safety.

“Our project will equip RDP students, faculty and staff with the knowledge and tools to better recognize mental health risks among students, the early warning signs of violence, understand the legal system better and respond appropriately,” said Dr. Tonya Wolfe, Associate Vice President, Applied Research, at Red Deer Polytechnic. “In conjunction with the robust student services offered at RDP, the See the Signs project will continue to enhance the well-being of the campus community.”

The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, recent Minister of Public Safety for the Government of Canada, highlighted the importance of increasing awareness of Red Flag laws, which are legal tools that allow individuals to request emergency measures to temporarily remove firearm access in situations of imminent risk.

RDP says that the risk of firearm-related harm on its campus is low but that this project includes awareness campaigns, workshops, online learning, peer leader training and a campus toolkit to help create safer, more resilient campuses that can serve as a model across Alberta’s postsecondary sector.

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This project, which focuses on equity-deserving students such as Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, victims of gender-based violence and marginalized groups, aims to accomplish several measurable outcomes.

“In addition to building legal literacy, informing decision making and growing confidence in national public safety systems, the See the Signs project will also enhance industry partnerships, such as between the Polytechnic, RCMP and Sendero Centre within the Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence on RDP’s main campus,” as stated in the release.

RDP is among 23 organizations that received a portion of federal funding worth more than $3.7 million through the Red Flag Awareness Initiative.

Red Deer Polytechnic continues to offer a variety of campus safety measures and student services that include counselling services, security and health and well-being services