Making Edmonton More Affordable for Everyone

Recent years have brought significant financial pressures for Edmontonians. Higher grocery prices, rising insurance costs, and steep increases in rent have made it harder for many households to make ends meet. While many of these pressures are beyond the City’s direct control, there are meaningful steps we can take to make life more affordable.

I know how important this is from my own experience. My parents moved to Edmonton in the late 1970s and were able to buy a home in Rio Terrace, paying it off in just five years - something almost unimaginable today. But when my dad was laid off in the mid-1980s, our family’s income changed drastically overnight. And yet, we had the security of a stable home in a neighbourhood full of amenities. We still had safe streets, great public parks, and access to City services that helped us thrive despite financial challenges.

I see this same dynamic at play today in O-day’min. Our ward has - by far - the lowest average incomes in the city, but great neighbourhood amenities, easy access to transit, and the ability to live without a second (or even a first!) vehicle help provide balance to individual household budgets. 

Over the past four years on Council, I’ve worked to strengthen this balance for Edmontonians by:

  • Championing record affordable housing investments - exceeding unit targets to meet growing demand.

  • Supporting the new zoning bylaw to enable more market-affordable homes, housing choice in amenity-rich neighbouhoods, increased transit-oriented development, and reduce costly sprawl. 

  • Protecting affordable services by rejecting steep recreation and transit fee increases to keep these services accessible

  • Expanding the low-income transit pass program to serve more Edmontonians who rely on it.

  • Supporting a living wage for all City employees and contractors, because affordability starts with fair pay.

There’s more we need to do to support Edmontonians and strengthen our city’s affordability advantage. My focus moving forward will be to:

  • Maintain budget discipline to help moderate property tax increases while protecting core services, and addressing long-standing structural budget gaps

  • Expand industrial development to bolster revenues and lighten the tax burden on businesses, while also creating new jobs and economic growth

  • Introduce ‘substantial completion’ rules to limit expensive sprawl and manage the cost of growth responsibly.

  • Dedicate land for affordable housing in new neighbourhoods to keep communities accessible and diverse.

When done right, our cities can be engines of equity. I look forward to continuing to build an Edmonton where everyone can thrive.