It's time to deliver: Mayors call for mature, pragmatic coordination across all governments to meet Canada's housing goals Français
OTTAWA, ON, May 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada's pledge to build 500,000 homes each year will only succeed if federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments are working together—aligning investments, focusing on shared priorities, and resourcing the levers that deliver results. That's the message from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) Big City Mayors' Caucus as local leaders gather in Ottawa for FCM's Annual Conference and Trade Show.
"We agree with the Prime Minister—it's time to build. But we can't build without delivery—and delivery happens when governments are aligned; resources are targeted, and municipalities are equipped to do the work on the ground. Delivery happens when governments are aligned, resources are targeted, and municipalities are equipped to do the work on the ground." said FCM President Rebecca Bligh.
A National Prosperity Partnership should be a functional, practical blueprint for this kind of collaboration. It's about governments working together — across respective jurisdictions and mandates — to coordinate on housing, infrastructure, and economic growth, and to align existing resources accordingly. The focus is on delivery: setting shared objectives and resourcing the levers that move real outcomes forward — many of which are with local governments, where that delivery takes shape.
"Cities are ready to deliver — but we're being asked to meet today's housing and infrastructure challenges with outdated tools and limited capacity," said Josh Morgan, Chair of FCM's Big City Mayors' Caucus. "That's why we need a mature conversation about how governments work together. We need a modern approach that aligns plans, funding, and delivery — so communities on the front lines are equipped to succeed."
This year's Annual Conference also features a high-level meeting between Canadian Mayors and a delegation of U.S. Mayors — highlighting the critical role local governments play in strengthening cross-border economic relationships.
At a time of trade tensions, supply chain pressures, and shared infrastructure challenges, cities are working together to advance practical solutions that support both national competitiveness and local prosperity.
By aligning efforts to facilitate trade, workforce mobility, and resilient infrastructure, municipal leaders are helping to reinforce the conditions that drive economic growth on both sides of the border. These discussions also reflect an expanding role for local governments in shaping international engagement—from trade and climate resilience to inclusive economic development. FCM will continue building strong relationships with its American and international counterparts to advance shared priorities and deliver results for communities.
That commitment is reflected in the presence of a U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) delegation at FCM's Annual Conference, reinforcing the strong cross-border ties that support shared priorities—from economic growth to climate resilience.
The delegation includes:
Andrew Ginther, USCM President and Mayor of Columbus, Ohio
Tom Cochrane, USCM CEO
LaToya Cantrell, Mayor of New Orleans, La.
Bryan Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hills, Mich.
This call to action is being amplified as local leaders gather in Ottawa to align their priorities and speak with one voice. As Prime Minister Carney prepares to meet with Canada's Premiers, the message to First Ministers is clear: Canada's success depends on a new way of working together—one that respects jurisdiction, but reflects a matured, pragmatic approach to collaboration. That means aligning resources, coordinating objectives, and actually resourcing delivery—laser-focused on results that, by design and necessity, are achieved through local governments. In the face of economic uncertainty, shifting global markets, and rising pressures on Canadians, now is the time for governments to stand together and deliver.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities unites more than 2,000 local governments at the national level, representing more than 92 per cent of Canadians in every province and territory.
SOURCE Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Observer
11 minutes ago
- National Observer
Katherine Zien
Liberal support for oil and gas has hurt the Canadian economy. On average, other economic sectors sustain more than eight times more jobs per million dollars of GDP than oil and gas extraction. By Greg Mikkelson Katherine Zien
Canada Standard
38 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
Economic Watch: Doubled U.S. steel, aluminum tariffs spark criticism, trade war concerns across globe
As the largest supplier of U.S. steel, Canada has called the additional levies "unlawful and unjustified," and vowed to fight. BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Government leaders, businesspeople, and analysts have voiced concerns and criticisms over the recent U.S. tariff hikes on imported steel and aluminum, warning that the measures would not only harm the interests of U.S. trade partners, but also fuel a global trade war and deal a blow to the world economy. The United States started to raise tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25 percent to 50 percent starting from Wednesday, according to an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The European Commission criticized the new U.S. tariff measures, warning that the move could prompt swift European retaliation. "The EU is prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest U.S. tariff increase," the commission's spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The U.S. action undermines the EU's ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated agreement with the United States, according to the statement. As the largest supplier of U.S. steel, Canada has called the additional levies "unlawful and unjustified," and vowed to fight. "Canada's new government is engaged in intensive and live negotiations to have these and other tariffs removed as part of a new economic and security partnership with the United States," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement Tuesday. "We are in intensive negotiations with the Americans, and, in parallel, preparing reprisals if those negotiations do not succeed," said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday. Unifor, a Canadian general trade union, called on Carney to retaliate immediately and urged Canada to pause exports of critical minerals to the United States. Hundreds of Canadian steelworkers have lost their jobs since initial tariffs took effect, said Unifor, warning that layoffs in the auto and aerospace industries could also occur. "This isn't trade policy, it's a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers," said Marty Warren, United Steelworkers National Director for Canada, in a statement. Thousands of Canadian jobs are on the line, and Canada needs to respond immediately and decisively to defend workers, added Warren. Calling the impact of the initial 25 percent tariffs "devastating," after it resulted in job losses and a drop in shipments to the United States, Catherine Cobden, CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said a 50 percent tariff will lead to a "dramatic acceleration" of those trends. "At a 50 percent tariff, we basically consider the U.S. market closed -- completely closed, door slammed shut, if you will -- to Canadian steel," she said. "We can't ship at 50 percent. Perhaps we can stockpile for a few days, but obviously we can't keep producing if one of our major markets is shuttered." Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said: "With the 50 percent tariff, not only is American steel going to be less internationally competitive but so are the multitude of American industries that depend on steel as a necessary input." The new rate on imported steel will almost certainly enlarge the profits of domestic steel companies while U.S. manufacturers and American households will pay dearly for the bonanza to steel barons, wrote Hufbauer in an opinion piece on Monday. The tariffs make it more expensive for domestic auto manufacturers to produce here, and "it's an economically inconsistent, illiterate policy that seems to be hiding under the national security justifications," said Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. "They've never given any justification why 25 percent is the right number, let alone why 50 percent is," Winegarden was quoted by a report on According to Felix Tintelnot, a professor of economics at Duke University, no business leader should make massive upfront investments in heavy industry if they don't believe that the same policy will last for a few years. Jeremy Flack, CEO of Flack Global Metals, a U.S.-based steel trader and manufacturer, said the tariffs have led to a pause of orders and reduced demand for steel. "We are not getting any orders. Volumes starting from February have begun to decline," Flack said.
National Observer
an hour ago
- National Observer
Reining in oil and gas is good for the economy
In biophysical terms, the oil and gas sector has expanded to the point of dominating the Canadian economy. The raw material extracted from nature by the oil and gas industry now outweighs all other domestic extraction of natural resources. This includes trees felled, ores mined, fish caught, gravel quarried, livestock slaughtered, coal mined and crops harvested. When burned, Canadian oil and gas emit well over a billion tonnes per year of climate-wrecking carbon dioxide. In sharp contrast to its biophysical dominance, oil and gas extraction provides only 0.4 per cent of Canadian jobs, and indeed only 16 per cent of jobs among extractive sectors. Moreover, most Canadian fossil fuel energy gets exported rather than consumed domestically. Even if domestic production of oil fell by nearly two thirds, and gas by more than a third, it would still be enough for current levels of domestic consumption. When Canada finally starts keeping, rather than breaking, its commitments to reduce fossil fuel use and thus greenhouse gas emissions, still less oil and gas will suffice for domestic consumption. Over the past 10 years, the governing Liberals promoted the biophysical takeover of the economy by oil and gas, largely through aggressive support of pipelines. They spent $50 billion buying, enlarging, and otherwise bolstering, the unmarketable Trans Mountain Pipeline. They sicced the RCMP on people defending Indigenous land against the Coastal Gas Link. And they launched a treaty dispute with the US to stifle tribal and state governments acting to shut down Enbridge Line 5. These actions have done tremendous harm to Canadian ecosystems and the global atmosphere. Liberal support for oil and gas has also hurt the Canadian economy. On average, other economic sectors sustain more than eight times more jobs per million dollars of GDP than oil and gas extraction does. Public and private investment in oil and gas crowds out investment in these other sectors, thus killing off jobs. By locking in fossil fuel, oil and gas investments lock out what we need more of, for both ecological and economic reasons. This includes solar energy, green buildings, mass transit and ecosystem restoration, all of which would create more jobs. At this week's meeting with premiers, Prime Minister Carney showed disturbing signs of caving in further to oil and gas. Instead, he must stop the industry's all-out assault on the biosphere. This means ending fossil fuel subsidies, rather than augmenting them, as the Liberals have in the past. And it means rejecting new pipelines and phasing out old ones, rather than proliferating them, as the Liberals have in the past. Humanity and nature urgently need our new government to finally set the Canadian economy on a more ethical and prosperous course away from oil and gas. Gregory M. Mikkelson, co-founder, Cross Border Organizing Working Group, As a tenured professor of environmental studies, Greg Mikkelson lectured and published in ecology, philosophy, and economics, with a focus on the nature, causes, and value of biological diversity. He also helped divest McGill University from fossil fuels. Having left academia, he now volunteers as a researcher and organizer for a growing international movement to shut down tar sands pipelines in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence watershed.
