Here is the expanded version of my recent newsletter that was mailed to ward residents in November 2024. Thanks for reading!
I wanted to provide an update on the work my office is doing on issues important to you in Ward Métis. I remain dedicated to building a healthy, sustainable, and thriving city by protecting public services, improving housing and transportation options, and investing in the core city services you rely on and expect.
Growing Stronger Together
Edmonton is one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities, with over 100,000 new residents since 2022—people are choosing Edmonton. Our population has grown faster than expected, further straining City finances, as nearly all expenditure areas—including fire, emergency services, recreation, libraries, transit, and roads—must expand to meet demand.
As demand on city infrastructure and services grows, we must focus on building in and up instead of sprawling out; keep life affordable and taxes manageable; make smart investments in infrastructure and maintenance; and protect public services and amenities that will make our city a great place to call home for generations to come.
Rapid population growth is driving record demand for city services and housing:
Record 6.4M ETS trips in October 2024
Record monthly rec centre visits in 2024
46% increase in library visits in 2023
While this dramatic growth is a positive sign for our city, it comes with challenges. Unlike personal and corporate income taxes, which increase as the population grows, the municipal property tax levy is set as a fixed amount and then distributed. For services and infrastructure to keep up with population growth and inflation, the property tax levy must be adjusted accordingly.
Fall Budget Adjustment
The most recent fall budget adjustment aims to deliver some immediate relief and affordability, while laying the groundwork for a more fiscally sustainable future. It includes strategic reductions to control costs, while safeguarding the core city services Edmontonians rely on and expect, like fire services, public transit, snow clearing, roadway and park maintenance, libraries, and much more.
Council approved a property tax increase of 6.1% for 2025. For the average household, it amounts to about $47 more for every $100,000 of assessed home value. Increases like these are tough, especially as many families are navigating rising costs in their own lives. The cost of groceries, utilities, housing, and other essentials are straining household budgets, and I know people are looking for support.
I also know families and businesses rely on the City to deliver quality services with good value for tax dollars. That’s why this budget adjustment has been so challenging, as we worked to find ways to reduce the tax increase down from city administration’s recommended 8.1%, without compromising essential services and our financial future. Read more about the budget here, and visit edmonton.ca/budget for more details.
Housing for Healthy Communities
Thanks to Edmonton’s forward-thinking housing and zoning policies, we are leading the nation in homebuilding and working hard to protect residents from rising housing costs. However, the market alone can’t solve the housing crisis. With close to 5,000 people experiencing homelessness, we need urgent action from all levels of government.
Without safe, stable housing, people will continue to struggle, and encampments will persist. Council has directed $183 million towards 2,700 new and renewed units of affordable and supportive housing and $20 million to Indigenous-owned affordable housing. We continue to advocate for the provincial and federal governments to fulfill their critical roles in housing and healthcare.
About 1 in every 8 households, nearly 50,000 families, are in core housing need.
While Edmonton leads the nation in many housing affordability metrics, so much more needs to be done across the housing spectrum, from supportive to market and near-market housing.
Investing in Community Safety and Wellbeing
No matter who you are or where you live, everyone deserves to be safe. City Council is funding more resources than ever in public safety, including $119 million to fill gaps left by other levels of government related to the homelessness and addiction crises. While police funding is up 20% since 2022, we are also funding critical equipment renewal for first responders and peace officers, investing $10 million in 24/7 Crisis Diversion, and expanding outreach teams.
I championed a stronger approach to problem properties, helping establish the Community Property Safety Team and Canada’s first Derelict Tax Subclass for high-risk, vacant buildings.
This led to 5,000 inspections, 560 enforcement orders, 270 demolitions, nearly 300 properties taxed at triple the regular rate, and a 31% decrease in structure fires.
Make the right call with the City’s Neighbourhood Response Guide: edmonton.ca/CommunitySafety
Read more about Community Safety and Wellbeing in my recent blog.
A Thriving Economy
With $490 million dedicated to economic development this budget, we’re driving growth across industries—from industrial expansion to arts, festivals, and creative sectors. By creating diverse jobs and investing in quality-of-life essentials like parks, libraries, recreation centers, transit, and housing, we’re making Edmonton a competitive, vibrant place to start a business, raise a family, and build a life.
We’re also developing land suitable for industrial and commercial development to support a more prosperous City:
90 acres of industrial land currently undergoing planning and development to support and attract industrial development to the city, including the construction of crucial industrial road connections
Over 50 acres of industrial land sold and/or pending sale over 2023-2024
Over 27 acres of greenfield residential land sold for the construction of approximately 450 units
Over $53 million in revenue from surplussed City land that is pending sale and/or sold
Supporting local business and economic development is vital for a thriving Edmonton. Our Industrial Action Plan expands the tax base, and investments in arts, festivals, and Business Improvement Areas enhance quality of life and attract talent. In 2024, Edmonton saw a 32% increase in building permits, representing $3 billion in construction activity, and a 13% rise in new businesses. By reducing red tape, we saved businesses $5.3 million and cut wait times by 67,600 days, helping Edmonton remain competitive and vibrant.
We are also supporting Business Improvement Areas by funding $4M annually in enhanced cleaning, maintenance, and outreach teams.
In 2023, Edmonton ranked first in Canada by the Canadian Homebuilders Association across the three categories of approval timelines, government charges, and planning features for homebuilding. In 2024, Edmonton approved a record number of housing starts. Pro-housing policies like these are critical to efficiently turn rapid population growth into rapid economic growth.
We are seeing results, with the Conference Board of Canada’s July 2024 forecast for 2025-2028 ranking Edmonton #1 for Real GDP growth in Canada.
Keeping Edmonton Moving This Winter
Edmonton has enhanced its snow operations with a 20% budget increase, a new Assisted Snow Removal program for low-income seniors and people with disabilities and mobility challenges, and a real-time snow clearing map to track plows: edmonton.ca/SafeTravels.
Taking Care of What We Have
We all know that a little care can save a major repair, which is why we are focusing on renewing and maintaining existing infrastructure, helping minimize cost, enhance safety, and deliver value. Between 2022-2025, 15 neighbourhoods are being renewed, and 22 are up for alley renewal.
110 safe street crossing upgrades in 2024
High Level Bridge Rehabilitation ($200M)
Mill Creek Pool Rehabilitation ($7M)
Rundle Park trails renewal ($7M)
Did you know that the City of Edmonton maintains more than $34B worth of infrastructure assets, such as roads, bridges, buildings, sidewalks, parks, drainage, fire halls, and so much more? All of these assets need to be repaired and maintained or eventually they will fail. Unfortunately, for decades, repairing and maintaining most of these assets has been sporadically budgeted on an as needed and as funded basis.
For too many years, this has been chronically underfunded amounting to a staggering $470M shortfall every year. At the fall budget adjustment, we approved the creation of a dedicated renewal fund to begin making progress to address this shortfall to ensure that critical infrastructure does not crumble and require closure.
Climate Action and Environmental Protection
As of 2023, Edmonton's per capita energy use has reduced by 40 per cent from 2005, exceeding the target of 35 per cent by 2030. Unfortunately, city-wide, our emissions continue to exceed targets by more than 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually.
Just as financial budgets are under pressure to fund the services the City provides, the Carbon Budget continues to deplete at a rate which will miss the targets the City has set for reaching net zero emissions by 2050 for the Community and 2040 for the Corporation. That is why we are investing $320 million into climate action, supporting our green building industry, expanding our active mobility network, ensuring our City vehicles are emissions-neutral, upgrading City buildings to net-zero, and planting trees to clean our air and shade our streets.
This Council has invested the most funds ever committed by an Edmonton City Council for climate action. We are tackling climate change by creating green jobs, expanding low-emissions transit, reining in sprawl, protecting natural areas, and planting 2 million trees. Applications are open for the new Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) to help reduce home energy costs and improve efficiency: ceip.abmunis.ca
Finding Efficiencies & Savings
Since 2015, the City has achieved $1.9 billion in budget savings through ongoing efforts to deliver programs and services more efficiently. To keep Edmonton’s property taxes competitive, City Council directed administration to identify a further $60 million in annual budget reductions and redirect $240 million toward essential services.
Not only are we finding more ways to deliver services more efficiently, Edmonton is committed to smarter growth that prioritizes existing neighborhoods over urban sprawl. Our updated Zoning Bylaw and District Planning foster upward growth and connectivity, easing infrastructure strain and reducing costs for taxpayers. We have also fast tracked the redevelopment of Exhibition Lands, which saw its first land sales in 2024.
We are also taking concrete steps to ensure the unsustainable sprawling pattern of growth that has led to these tumultuous financial challenges is fully addressed. Substantial Completion is a new policy being developed to ensure that new suburban growth does not place large costs on property taxpayers in the rest of Edmonton.
Transportation That Connects Us All
Our growing city needs a complete and connected transportation network. With $1.8 billion for roads and continued investment in active and public transit, we're enhancing access, and reducing congestion.
Improvements include: 120,000 new bus service hours, 20 new buses, expanded on-demand transit routes, over 86km of new pathways for active modes, bringing shared e-scooters and e-bikes to all of Ward Métis, and the opening of the 50 Street overpass, eliminating wait times at the rail crossing. We are also investing $367M in Edmonton’s first new bus garage in over 10 years, growing our fleet capacity by 46%.
Edmonton’s evolving transportation network offers residents more freedom, choice, and affordable options. Investments in active transportation have expanded bike and pedestrian pathways, while the Valley Line Southeast LRT has improved neighborhood connectivity and reduced congestion.
Construction on Valley Line West continues, and new North-South and East-West Bus Rapid Transit routes are in planning to meet transit needs as ridership continues to climb.
A City That Uplifts and Includes
I remain committed to building an Edmonton for all of us. This year, Council protected low-income transit and rec passes and rejected proposals to raise transit fares. We invested $3.6 million in anti-racism projects, advanced the Truth and Reconciliation Municipal Response Plan, and established a High Level Office for Reconciliation and Anti-Racism. The City is also partnering with the University of Alberta to create an online course highlighting and celebrating the history of Black Canadians.
As we continue to implement the City's Indigenous Framework, reconciliation remains an ongoing priority. We opened kihcihkaw askî - Sacred Land in partnership with the Indigenous Knowledge & Wisdom Centre, and renewed our agreement with the Confederacy of Treaty Six on shared housing priorities.
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