There is nothing really downtown Edmonton that is unbeatable in my opinion... infrastructure isn't there to create a urban-density-walkable-millennial-neighbourhood and not by a long shot, which is what I've seen in the renders for the Ice District. The only potentially usable walkable neighbourhood in Edmonton is on the other side of the river in Old Strathcona where the new LRT is not going. I guess the low-end cost is only $1,000 per cm, why build it where it can be utilized? ($1.4B for 14 km). Also, why does it cost Toronto $3,000 per cm? Just crazy. So that really caps the potential upside for some time. 104 street has one of the best farmers markets in the world (personally I think it is every bit as good as Lyon) but the entertainment district is essentially a casino and the arena. Even if they get a walkable grocer there is probably not enough demand to keep them (such things have happened in recent memory with downtown Edmonton grocers).
Secondly, there is a real question as to how many people in Edmonton actually want to live downtown... Mayfair, Hendrix, and new Edmonton downtown towers all struggling for tenants and at 40 - 60% occupied after a year of lease up. For one unit, not a big deal at all you will find a tenant. The mass consumption dream is still in the sprawl product which is readily available at very affordable prices with ample "sprawl" neighbourhoods occuring in all corners of the city.
That being said, you are certainly buying into a low point on condo prices. There may be a business case to be argued, but you are very macro-constrained from a returns point of view, as Thomas says, with condo purchases with no real way to increase your unit significantly above other units in the building.