Latest news with #EddieRobar
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Edmonton Chamber of Commerce eyes municipal future
The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce (ECC) departed from convention at its latest State of Our City event to have a more 'frank, solutions-focused conversation' about the city's future, which notably excluded the mayor. 'We're not here to beat anyone up, but we are determined that we're not going to settle for the status quo anymore, and we're going to drive this city forward,' said chamber CEO Doug Griffiths in his opening remarks to the audience. A crowd of more than 700 packed into the Edmonton Convention Centre on Thursday for the event. However, with an upcoming municipal election in the fall and after losing his bid for a federal seat, the chamber opted not to speak with Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and instead spoke with city manager Eddie Robar, Explore Edmonton's Traci Bednard, Oilers Entertainment Group's Tim Shipton, BILD Edmonton Metro's Kalen Anderson and Griffiths about the future of the city. A leading topic for the afternoon panel was understanding what gets in the way of more investment in the city, whether it's for big projects, business, or infrastructure. Robar pointed to Edmonton recently earning the top prize from the Canadian Home Builders' Association award for facilitating home building. 'Relative to the rest of the country, we're the best,' Anderson said, clarifying later that being the best still isn't good enough. 'We're the best city in the slowest country,' she said later. While she applauded efforts at the municipal and provincial governments to reduce red tape, Anderson says there's still more work to be done. Panellists were also asked about the effects of the city's ever-growing population, estimated at more than 50,000 newcomers every year. Though it may be heartening to see people take an interest in the city, Griffiths said, 'population growth, no matter what they do, is going to be challenging because they don't bring their infrastructure with them.' 'It's probably our biggest challenge, but also our biggest opportunity. When people come, businesses want to come, too. We're growing really heavily on that people side, but we're on that tipping point of when the people come, the business come as well,' said Robar. Anderson suggested that ensuring the city is more nimble to adapt to increasing demands on infrastructure will help with increased load. That means a need for better planning, she said. Although property taxes have risen for Edmontonian, Explore Edmonton CEO Traci Bednard said the visitor economy in the city can alleviate some of that economic pressure. Unlike new residents in the city, visitors don't burden the city's schools or houses, Bednard said, and we have the hotel capacity to accommodate them. 'We're all going to be cheering on the Oilers tonight, (but) the Explore Edmonton team will be at the Expo Centre. We have volleyball supernationals. We have 35,000 participants who will come from across Canada and spend like a week in Edmonton. And that will be an economic impact of $53 million,' said Bednard. Panellists concluded by being asked what they would like to see in the next municipal government, prompting answers highlighting the need for continued policy refinement in housing, investment in the downtown core, among others. Shipton suggested after the success of the recent Village at Ice District project MOU, that further partnerships between different levels of government for more big projects would be an opportunity. Griffiths just wants to see a municipal government more amenable to the business community. 'Some people from the city will deny it, but Edmonton does not have a pro-business brand out there. I would like to see an attitudinal shift,' said Griffiths. 'We're not a group to be dealt with. We're important partners to grow the economy. And so approaching us with a positive mindset that says, 'How can we help you?' is the Number 1 thing I would ask for in the next election.' Edmonton mayor announces homelessness, housing task force in annual state of the city address New study ranks Edmonton as most builder-friendly in Canada Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
CBC
05-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Edmonton city council, business leaders talk tariff strategy as administrators review contracts
Promised tariffs on Canadian goods may have been paused, but efforts in Edmonton to prepare for them are ramping up. Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said during a city council meeting Tuesday that he and Eddie Robar, the city manager, met with the heads of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and the economic development agency Edmonton Global on Monday night to discuss the issue. They plan to call a meeting with chief executive officers from other economic development agencies and organizations, including the Edmonton International Airport, Epcor, the Edmonton Screen Industries Office and Explore Edmonton to discuss diversification, supply chains, infrastructure investment and interprovincial trade advocacy. Sohi said he will also be convening a meeting with the chair of the Edmonton police commission to discuss further work combating the illicit drug crisis. "I hope the message today is clear: that we are all working together to approach the situation with the seriousness it requires and the collaboration it requires," he said. The mayor said city council should keep encouraging Edmontonians to buy from local companies. "Every local purchase is a vote of confidence in our local economy and supports local jobs," he said. Effects of tariffs on City of Edmonton City manager Eddie Robar said the promised tariffs are expected to be "highly disruptive" to Edmonton and regional economies, potentially affecting spending, trade flows, pricing and gross domestic product. Uncertainty could dampen business investment, lead businesses to relocate, and drive people and businesses to stockpile goods, he said. He said tariffs and retaliatory tariffs would have far-reaching effects on many aspects of the city's budget. The weaker Canadian dollar has already led to higher costs for transactions in U.S. dollars, he said, and increased costs for lumber or steel could drive up housing costs. Robar said city administrators are reviewing contracts with U.S. companies and looking at ways of mitigating cost increases. Mayors to meet Thursday Sohi said he will be travelling to Ottawa on Wednesday and will be meeting on Thursday with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) Big City Mayors' Caucus, a group of representatives from Canada's biggest cities. He said the group will be developing a united municipal strategy and meeting with federal ministers. The FCM, which released a statement strongly condemning the U.S. tariffs on Feb. 1., intends to ramp up its efforts to build support among U.S. mayors, Robar said. Opportunities for businesses Doug Griffiths, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said work is underway between chambers of commerce in large cities to eliminate trade barriers between provinces. He told city council the chamber has been having a conversation about identifying Canadian goods on store shelves. Griffiths said the tariff situation is a crisis but also an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted. "This is the perfect opportunity for this city to start to evaluate its economic opportunities and achieve its full economic potential," he said. Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global, said if a large federal assistance program arrives in response to tariffs, some of that money should go toward making the Edmonton region more attractive for international investment. Councillors spoke at Tuesday's meeting about the importance of being united and working together to find solutions.
