Edmonton to consider nighttime economy office

A dedicated nighttime economy office will be on the table during Edmonton city council's budget deliberations in November after more than a dozen representatives of arts and entertainment organizations attended an executive committee meeting on Oct. 21. Brent Oliver, the festival producer for Winterruption, was among speakers calling for a nighttime economy lead and a stakeholder alliance to be funded through the city's next operating budget. He said the position should focus on policy and coordination rather than event promotion, while tracking indicators such as nighttime spending, employment, and perceptions of safety.

The city had worked with Explore Edmonton and Night Time Economy Solutions to produce a report with seven action items that was presented to council in 2024, but the recommendations did not receive dedicated funding from the council of the time. Outside of the Downtown Action Plan, there are currently no municipal supports specifically dedicated for the nighttime economy, said a report that was presented to executive committee. The unfunded service package will include budget for dedicated personnel and operational support. The office would provide support to late-night economy entrepreneurs and business owners to improve and coordinate support for safety, transit, venue regulation, and late-night city services. The package could also simply include a staff member who is working during the night hours in case business owners have questions after 5pm, Mayor Andrew Knack said. "Should we not have a single person dedicated to working the nighttime hours, so that if somebody has questions about permits or how to operate businesses that they can call and do business with the city?" Knack said.

Oliver's other request for the nighttime economy lead? "For God's sake, don't call it a night mayor," he told executive committee. In an email to Taproot, he explained that the roots of a nighttime economy office come from that term, used in Berlin in the 1990s, but he doesn't think it's warranted moving forward. "The term 'mayor' implies that it's an elected official, and based on the public reaction last time to that term, I truly think another position title is more appropriate," Oliver wrote.