Then, before we could recover, COVID hit. Entire industries were forced to close their doors with no notice. Businesses had to learn how to work remotely on the fly. Many businesses have not been able to operate at full capacity for more than 15 months now. 

As we hopefully begin to see the end of the pandemic on the horizon it is important that the City supports businesses to get back on their feet, to succeed and create good middle-class jobs that Edmontonians need.  

The Role of Mayor and Council

One of the most important things the Mayor and Council can do is support and promote business in Edmonton. This means working with and building a stronger partnership with the business community and with the provincial and federal governments to attract investment, retain businesses, and help them grow.

It also means setting clear direction to City Administration so they know that Council and the community expect them to be more responsive, consistent and efficient in their dealings with businesses, and then holding Administration to account.

The Mayor plays a key role and a very important role as a champion and convenor for business. But the Mayor cannot do it alone. Edmonton Global, Innovate Edmonton, the Chamber of Commerce, and other groups do important work in attracting businesses and promoting their needs. The Mayor needs to provide leadership by working with these organizations and with City Council, the region, and other orders of government to leverage resources, remove barriers, and move forward in a coordinated way.

I believe collaboration is key to success and I have shown through my leadership that big things can be done when we collaborate – we cannot succeed without it. I have a strong record of collaborating and delivering results, and that will be my approach as Mayor.

My Goals

As Mayor, my goal would be to make doing business easy, convenient, and affordable in Edmonton. Openness is a tenet of good governance which I have practiced throughout my public life. 

I will keep an open door and regularly meet and communicate with the business sector so I can respond quickly to issues as they come up.

When Edmonton’s economy is not performing at its maximum, the Edmonton Region and Northern Alberta’s potential suffers. During my time as city councillor, AUMA vice-president and federal minister, I have developed strong relationships that I will leverage to deliver for Edmontonians. 

I will work with Edmonton Regional and northern partners to develop an advocacy plan for the provincial and federal governments to encourage investment in Edmonton and our business community.

I have a long history of collaborating and working with Edmonton’s business community. I will build on that strength and work together with the business community to identify priorities and opportunities.

I have been a strong champion of economic diversification and I will support diversification and the growth of homegrown industries including:

• Leveraging Edmonton’s strengths around artificial intelligence, machine learning, health technology;
• Energy transitions, including renewable energy, hydrogen, sustainable building and infrastructure;
• Life Sciences, such as pharmaceutical research, innovation,and development.
• Community-oriented, neighbourhood-scale development; and,
• The creative sector, which employs many Edmontonians and also makes our city more attractive for talent and investment.

As a federal cabinet minister, I successfully delivered major investments in the Edmonton region, which included strategic investments in Edmonton’s post-secondary institutions to foster innovation, revitalization of Fort Edmonton Park to promote tourism,  the 50th Street Overpass, the EPCOR Smart Grid Project, the NAIT Productivity and Innovation Centre, investment in the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute and the approval and construction of Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project.  I will leverage my experience and connections to build on these successes as Mayor.

The Opportunity Before Us

It is a challenging time as we come out of the pandemic, but also a time of opportunity. The opportunity to be a city where you can start and grow a business. A city where, whether you work outside the home or at home, you’re surrounded by a vibrant neighbourhood with local amenities open throughout the day.

Edmonton has many assets. Its highly skilled workforce, many of whom come out of our local post-secondary institutions. Connections to the north, and to major centres. A collaborative, can-do attitude. We care about each other, and we want each other to succeed. 

Here are the opportunities I see.

Making Edmonton an easy, convenient and affordable place to do business

• Supporting all business—from neighbourhood entrepreneurs to local innovators to the development industry—by reducing permit times for licensing, development, inspection, and establishing timelines and holding the City Administration accountable for meeting them.
• Focusing on efficiency within the City, making strategic investments in the Planning Department to modernize it and make it responsive and efficient, and looking at changes through the current zoning review to provide greater predictability for builders and community members.
• Fixing unnecessary permitting delays to reduce costs for businesses. We need to make the process more affordable and easy to navigate. Every day spent waiting for a permit costs businesses and individuals money, whether it’s for a new build, energy upgrade, or license.
• Putting supports in place for business owners from equity-seeking groups to help address longstanding gaps and promote diversity in the business community. 

Supporting the tech and innovation economy

• I have been a strong advocate for Edmonton Global, securing federal funding to get it going. I will support innovation by looking at how the City complements Edmonton Global and the rest of the ecosystem, leveraging strengths in artificial intelligence, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing, among others.
• Exploring the key energy transition policy mechanisms and “renovation revolution” to green our buildings and infrastructure, such as expanding the Clean Energy Improvement Program. 

Supporting the downtown core and other business districts through and beyond the recovery

• Supporting downtown coming out of the pandemic. I have been a passionate advocate for downtown and showed leadership for the downtown arena and surrounding development. We need to build a downtown where people will want to visit, live and do business. We know the way people work and where they work is changing, and that introduces new challenges and opportunities for businesses and residents in the downtown core that will need to be addressed through programming and strategic investments.
• Engaging other Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) to address their distinct needs, and ensure that our recovery efforts embrace the whole city.
• Addressing core social policy priorities – including housing and homelessness, mental health and addition, and community safety – to ensure that our city remains a safe and healthy place to live, work, and do business.
• Building vibrant neighbourhoods. Putting the structure and supports in place so coffee shops, restaurants, and other local businesses can thrive at a neighbourhood level across every part of the city.

Supporting the creative sector

• As a former theatre artist, I understand firsthand the value the creative sector brings to our communities. Supporting arts and culture, and hospitality sectors, which are key to attracting new people and investment, enhancing our quality of life, and are a huge employment sector.
• Putting the “festival” back in “festival city” by finding ways to help festivals and organizations through the recovery. Incredible cultural experiences are something Edmonton is known for across Canada and the world. We cannot lose the cultural gems that make the city so unique.

The challenges and opportunities ahead require a collaborative, regional approach. Whether it’s supporting local businesses at home, building our region’s brand across Canada and globally, or planning events that will attract tourism, we must be prepared to work with our regional partners in the private and public sectors in a collaborative and proactive way. We will have a stronger voice when we work together as one community, one city, one region.

An Economy for All

To build an economy for all, we also need to focus on people at risk of being left behind.

Economic recovery requires an approach that allows everyone to succeed and thrive in our city. This can only be done if we look beyond the traditional economic lens and integrate our efforts on social issues. This includes addressing housing needs, particularly for our most vulnerable Edmontonians. The City can take a leadership role on this—not just as the moral thing to do, but as an economic driver. This will be a key strategy in revitalizing our downtown and will result in less spending on health, justice, and emergency services. 

We also know that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women’s participation in the workforce, so the City must take an active role in supporting women entrepreneurs and workforce participation. This includes a focus on expanding childcare options. 

Finally, as Treaty 6 people, we know that much more needs to be done on reconciliation with Indigenous communities, and economic development can play an important role in this work. Under my leadership, the City will work closely with Indigenous communities to encourage and facilitate economic opportunities that have been previously unavailable.

The Coming Days

In the coming days, you’ll see policy proposals from me that will transform the way the city interfaces with business, moving to a mindset of facilitating business and supporting the business community, not obstructing it. And you’ll see some ideas around how we transform the City’s approach to supporting the innovation economy.

This is only the beginning. Over the following weeks and months, I’ll continue to engage with members of Edmonton’s business community across sectors as I form policy that helps create an economy in Edmonton for everyone.