The vast majority of candidates for council and mayor said they want to Grow the residential population to revitalize downtown when answering Taproot's candidate survey.
Fifty-one candidates chose that response. Among them are incumbent councillors who are running for reelection — Michael Janz, Aaron Paquette, Erin Rutherford, Ashley Salvador, Keren Tang, Jo-Anne Wright, and Ward O-day'min incumbent Anne Stevenson. Downtown Edmonton is located within O-day'min, and all other candidates for the ward who responded to the survey chose this option.
When it comes to candidates for mayor, Tim Cartmell, Tony Caterina, Abdul Malik Chukwudi, Rahim Jaffer, Andrew Knack, Omar Mohammad, Utha Nadauk, and Michael Walters all suggested that, if elected, they would work to grow downtown's residential population. Of note, Cartmell, Jaffer, Knack, and Walters participated in a mayoral forum about downtown this month
Seven candidates answered that, if elected, they would work to Attract more visitors. Notably, this was the second-most popular answer among candidates for mayor, with Ronald Stewart Billingsley, Jr, Andy Andrzej Gudanowski, and Olney Tugwell selecting this option.
Mayoral candidate Paul Bakhmut, and council candidates Jason Bale for Ward Karhiio, Nurmaiya Brady for Ward Anirniq, and Sandeep Singh for Ward Sspomitapi, suggested they would work to Increase the number of office workers downtown if elected.
The candidates who answered I don't have a position on this issue were Vanessa Denman for mayor, Abdulhakim Dalel for Ward Métis, Michael Elliott for Ward pihêsiwin, and Rozalia Janiszewska for Ward papastew.
Candidates Larry Langley for Ward pihêsiwin and Albert Mazzocca for Ward Dene did not answer the question.
As of this writing, 25 candidates for council and mayor have not yet completed the survey.
Past investments to revitalize Edmonton's downtown have led to malls, LRT, and arenas. Yet the current council inherited a pandemic-ravaged urban core in 2021. A decade ago, downtown's workforce was once more than 92,000, with tens of thousands more in students and residents. Today far fewer office workers, including city workers, journey downtown and the area's businesses are increasingly dependent on events, such as crowds drawn by the Edmonton Oilers. Since this council took office, Edmonton City Centre has entered receivership, leaving some wondering if the 1.4 million square-foot development should be repurposed to respond to a changed downtown.
Downtown revitalization projects instigated by the current council include the Downtown Action Plan, which budgets $4.5 million in 2025 and 2026 (alongside funds from other budgets to be determined) for eight action items, including improving safety in public and private spaces. The city has also allotted $15 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund to build student housing, begun construction on a $42-million pedway, earmarked roughly $45 million to build Warehouse Park, and signed a $400-million deal with the province and OEG to build an event park beside Rogers Place, along with new housing.