January 16th 2012- Our second annual fundraiser at the Ironwood Stage and Grill is booked for April 29th. The musical line up is as follows: Claymore, The Keith Morrison Band, Scott Macleod, Cam Penner, and The Kinjo Brothers. Tickets are $25 each and are selling fast! There will also be a silent acution and a 50/50 draw. For tickets or information please contact Mike at 403 620 9459 or via e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

November 7th 2011- Great news! Homes By Avi has just agreed to participate in this year’s Give a Kid a Lift program. The experienced team from Homes by Avi was the missing piece required to complete this year’s project. Thanks again to Garaventa Lift, Ogden Road Rona and Homes by Avi for stepping up and making Give a Kid a Lift possible.

October 17th 2011 - We will be having another Give A Kid A Lift fundraiser at Foxy's in Okotoks on November 19th. The proceeds of this event will go towards the purchase of a Porch Lift for a deserving individual . The event is posted on Facebook. Tickets are $15.00 and there will be prizes, fun and live music all night long. For tickets please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

September 19th 2011 -While we wait for a home builder for the next elevator project, we have decided to donate a Porch Lift to a worthy canidate in Okotoks.  September 8th 2011 -We have everythin g in place and are poised to start construction for the second Give a Kid a Lift elevator. Unfortunately we need to bring a home builder on board. We have approached a couple of builders and hope to some positive news soon.  

 July 15 2011 -We are close to selecting our second recipient for an elevator  

May 16th 2011 - We had a great time at our recent fundraiser located at the Ironwood Stage and Grill. We raised over $4500.00, and are now in a position to have Easter Seals select a new recipient for the program. Pictures and comments can be seen at Canwest in the Community. Thank you to everyone who helped out! 

April 10 2011 - At our recent TopPerformers meeting in Mexico, Canwest presented the program to the other top 15 dealers in the world. The Give a kid a lift program was well received and we are very hopeful that this wonderful program will be going international!   

March 28th 2011 - Our first Give A Kid A Lift fundraiser was a great success. We exceeded our goal of raising $1500.00 by about $400.00. A big thank you to everyone who attended, and all the volunteers. We would also like to thank the bands Rollin Thunder, Puttin on the Foil and the JP project for playing into the wee hours of the morning. We would especially like to Stay tuned for details regarding our May 15th event at the Ironwood in Calgary.

March 24th 2011 - Only about 20 tickets left for the March 26th fundraiser. Special thanks to Donovan at Silverback for the help with the T-shirts on such short notice.

March 10th 2011 - We have a fundraiser planned for March 26th in Okotoks at Foxy's. There will be 4 bands and lots of prizes. Tickets are only $15.00. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for details and tickets. For directions and information regarding Foxy's plese click here 

December 10th 2010 - This is a nice story found in the Sun   

October 22 2010 - After a site meeting with all parties involved, the work is ready to begin. Beattie Homes, Rona(Ogden), and Canwest Elevators have met with all the sub-trades, and we hope to be installing the elevator within a month. If you would like to donate to the worthy cause please contact Easter Seals Alberta   

For recent updates complete with pictures follow Canwest in the Community on Facebook  

September 10 2010 -  In early August of 2009, the same storm that did so much damage at the Big Valley Jamboree left its mark on another Calgary family that was camped in its path.  Lorinda Bye, who was camping in a tent with her younger sister, was struck by a tree that the heavy winds blew down.  Her injuries left her paralyzed from the waist down.  She is now confined to a wheelchair.

Lorinda lives with her parents in a bi-level home.  They had to have a specialized bathroom installed in the basement to accommodate her wheelchair.  Her bedroom is located upstairs, so she needs to be able to get from the upstairs to the downstairs.   Easter Seals provided the family with two stairlifts to enable Lorinda to manage these stairs.  In order for Lorinda to get from the upstairs to the downstairs she needs to transfer from her wheelchair to one of the stairlifts.  Once up the first flight of stairs, she needs to transfer onto a chair at the mid landing, then transfer onto the second stairlift and finally transfer back into her wheelchair that another family member carries down the stairs.  Getting back up the stairs requires the same procedure in reverse.

 September 25 2010 - Shaw cable footage  

Canwest Elevators and Lifts is a company operating in Alberta and has encountered many families in similar situations to the Byes.  They have partnered with Easter Seals, Beattie Homes, Rona Home Center Ogden Road and Garaventa Lift Systems of Surrey BC in a new program called “Give a Kid a Lift”.  Beattie Homes is providing the expertise and labor to do the renovations to the Byes’ home to accommodate a lift.  Rona Home Center Ogden Road will provide the materials and Canwest Elevators will install the elevator.  Garaventa Lift Systems has substantially discounted the lift to make the project possible.  For this particular project Canwest Elevators will be covering the cost of the lift.

 The permit from the city has been issued and Canwest hopes to have the lift installed by the end of October.

Canwest is hoping to do at least one of these projects annually.  This first project is relatively simple.  As the program develops some of the projects will get more involved.  Some financial support will be required to continue the program.  Barry Lindeman, who is himself confined to a wheelchair, has thrown his support behind the “Give a Kid a Lift” program.  He has helped organize a golf tournament in support of Easter Seals.  Part of the proceeds will go towards future projects.

Canwest wanted to utilize the experience of community partners to make this program a success.  Easter Seals has been raising funds for many years to come to the assistance of those families so it makes sense to have them mange the funding portion as well as assisting in the selection process.  Ron Davis from Beattie Homes and Gary Poelzer from Rona Home Center Ogden Road are enthusiastic supporters and their contribution has been invaluable.  Garaventa’s employees are also committed to the project and its success.  It is amazing to see the kind of support that people are willing to lend to this project.  It is reminiscent of community members getting together for a barn raising many years ago.     

November 2009 - Canwest Elevator and Lifts is a full service elevator company that offers a complete line of elevating products. These include porch lifts, stair lifts, luxury residential elevators, accessibility lifts and elevators in high rise buildings. Our roots however lie in accessibility products. These include wheelchair lifts that enable a person to enjoy all levels in their home. Unfortunately, some of the families most in need of this type of product are the least able to afford it. Funding agencies are seldom able to help due to the significant costs involved.

 The ownership group of Canwest Elevator and Lifts has decided to embark on an initiative that will endeavor to supply and install at least one accessibility elevator or inclined platform lift into a home each year at no cost to the family. The recipient will be determined by a simple means test of need and inability to pay. There are many parents that are coping with physically challenged children under very trying circumstances. It is our intent to offer them a gift that will help them manage a little easier. Canwest Elevators has been a supporter of Easter Seals for many years and we have decided to ask for their assistance in determining the recipient.

The process of installing an accessibility lift into a home requires the construction of the hoistway that the platform travels up and down in. We start with a pit that is cut into the concrete slab and a hole that must be cut into each floor that is penetrated. The walls of the hoistway are framed, dry walled and painted. Electrical disconnects must be put in place and then begins the construction of the elevator. Common residential doors are utilized with a special interlock to make the hoistway secure. The equipment and labour to install the elevator will be supplied by Canwest Elevators and Lifts.

In order to make this project a success we will require the support of some of our community partners. We are looking for the assistance of our equipment vendors, building supply stores, home builders, home renovators and designers. This will truly be a community project with volunteer labour, skilled in each discipline, coming together to make a difference in somebody’s life. We are inviting you to participate in this project.

We need framers, drywallers, drywall finishers, painters, concrete finishers and electricians that are willing to put in a few hours on weekends or evenings to complete the hoistway construction. We will also need a building supply store or two to donate materials needed to finish the hoistway. If the hoistway cannot be constructed within the perimeter of the existing home it may be necessary to construct it adjacent to an outside wall. This would then require insulation and siding materials.

In order for this project to succeed, we need your help. If you are skilled in any of the areas mentioned, or if you have other skills or materials you believe would make a positive impact please do not hesitate to call. Your contact at Canwest is Dave Davies. I can be reached by any of the following means.

Office  403 203 3244 ext 103
Cell  403 312 9655
Email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   

If there were an elevator in the home she could simply wheel onto the lift and push the button to go up or down.  She would be able to do so without the assistance of a second family member.  The cost to build a hoistway and install a lift into a home would come to about $36,000.00.  The cost for such a project is prohibitive for many families and funding is very limited.  It is even more limited for someone such as Lorinda, who turned eighteen while in the hospital recovering from her injuries.  Most funding agencies are not willing to assist persons over eighteen years of age.

April 29th 2011 - We are well on our  way to providing our second donation of an elevator to a deserving recipient. Alberta Easter Seals is currently finalizing the selection process and we should have an announcement soon! The Canwest crew is excited about the May 15th fundraiser at the Ironwood Stage and Grill. We hope to attract enough people and media attention to make Give a Kid  a Lift a household name. For ticket information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Remember if you would like to donate please mention "Give a Kid a Lift when you go to the Easter Seals site.