Growing Our Local Economy

Ashley's goal is to make Edmonton the best place to get a job, own a house, launch a business, start a family, and be part of a community. We want our talented family and friends to stay here and contribute to our shared prosperity. Ashley knows how many local businesses are struggling to make ends meet. The City must be an active partner in our recovery. To do that, we must support main streets and community hubs by investing in infrastructure, and gently boosting density to ensure businesses have enough customers to sustain themselves.

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Retaining & Attracting Jobs & Employers

To enhance Edmonton’s attractiveness and competitive position we must support a high quality of life and low cost of living.

Edmonton can be an even more attractive place to live, work, and visit. Let's build on what makes Edmonton great, like our world-class River Valley, universities, arts and festivals, and low tax environment, while improving housing and transportation choice.

We want our talented family and friends to stay here, and contribute to our shared prosperity. To do that we need to make Edmonton the best place to get a job, own a house, launch a business, start a family, and work remotely. This means supporting the amenities, services, programs and infrastructure that contribute to a high quality of life and low cost of living. It also means hiring and spending locally to support our skilled labour pool.

Main Streets & Business Improvement Areas

The City must be an active partner alongside business in revitalizing Main Streets such as 118th Ave. and 101st Ave.

Now more than ever, we must foster a business-friendly environment to help refill vacant storefronts and support struggling businesses. We can create a competitive business environment by streamlining permitting and making strategic investments in better lighting, wider sidewalks, and facade improvements. Not only will this incentivize businesses and housing to fill in vacant or derelict sites, it will create a more comfortable pedestrian experience so that patrons feel safe and visit more regularly. Zoning that gently boosts density can also help ensure businesses have enough customers to sustain themselves.

Beyond infrastructure, great places are defined by great experiences. Arts and culture are fundamental components of a vibrant local economy. From festivals and murals, to theatre and live music, creating places where people want to be is a collective effort. To do this, we must maintain funding for The Edmonton Arts Council so that we can continue fostering a vibrant arts scene.

Community Hubs & Local Entrepreneurship

Places of connection are vital for innovation, and Ward Métis is full of potential.

Ward Métis has some incredible local businesses and a rich culture of entrepreneurship. We also have a number of under-utilized properties and assets that could be put to better use and re-imagined as community hubs. Part of growing our local economy is creating places for connection. This means supporting public gathering spaces (plazas, multi-purpose buildings, green spaces) and fostering an ecosystem of entrepreneurship.

Let's make it easy for community-serving businesses to take root - think local cafes, restaurants, daycares, seniors housing, co-working spaces, and corner-stores. The City can also do more to make room for social programming, community kitchens, tool libraries, parenting programs, urban agriculture, and incubator spaces. This will help keep money flowing through our communities while moving us closer to 15-minute districts.