The Pulse: March 31, 2025

This week, city council committees return from spring break for their first meetings during Mayor Amarjeet Sohi’s leave of absence to run for the federal Liberal party.

There is a community and public services committee meeting scheduled for March 31. There is an executive committee meeting scheduled for March 31 with a continuation on April 2, and an urban planning committee meeting scheduled for April 1.

Here are key items on this week’s agenda:

• Councillors may debate whether they should cut funding to programs that they say fall under provincial jurisdiction, including responses to homelessness, addiction, and mental health. In July, council asked administration to work with the province to shift all related services that the city is funding but are under provincial jurisdiction back to the province. Administration projected that by the end of 2024, the city will have spent more than $43 million responding to homelessness, addiction, and mental health. The report said that while some elements of that spending increased in 2024, municipal spending on short-term emergency shelters, day services, and addictions support has decreased, resulting in an overall decrease in city spending to respond to homelessness. The report is scheduled to be presented at a community and public services committee meeting on March 31, during which members could direct council to ask administration to cut funding to programs.
• Administration will ask council’s executive committee to approve amendments to Valley Line LRT agreements with AECOM Canada Ltd., Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc., and an external law firm. A report said the agreements are for engineering, financial, and legal services, and that the amendments are within the approved capital budgets. Administration recommends that details for the amendments be kept private. Executive committee is scheduled to review the changes at a meeting on March 31.
• The city has funded $443 million in infrastructure improvements through the downtown community revitalization levy (CRL), which spurred more than $4.7 billion in new development, a report scheduled to be presented to council’s executive committee said. The Quarters CRL has funded $100 million in improvements, attracting more than $550 million in development, while the Belvedere CRL has funded about $30 million in improvements and attracted $100 million in development. The report, a scheduled annual review of CRLs, does not factor in the proposed extension of the downtown CRL to fund a proposed event park beside Rogers Place, among other projects. CRLs are tools for municipalities to rejuvenate underdeveloped areas by allowing public infrastructure investments to attract private investments that can repay the public investment. Within the levy area, a baseline property assessment is established, and for up to 20 years, increases in property tax revenue above that baseline resulting from new development and property value growth, go toward the CRL. That means new developments essentially repay for infrastructure investments. The report said ongoing municipal tax revenues should cover the investments made in the respective CRL areas by the late 2030s.

• The City of Edmonton will transition to a mobile-only parking payment system, removing all physical EPark machines starting April 14, in an effort to minimize the 2025 tax increase. Payment options include the HotSpot parking app, online, and by phone. The City will remove the machines in phases from April 14 to July 31, beginning in the North Edge, Alberta Avenue, Kingsway, Stony Plain, 124 Street, and Old Strathcona Business Improvement Areas, before moving on to downtown and downtown parkades. Starting July 1, the City will also remove the two-hour parking limits from on-street EPark zones during evenings and weekends.
• The Homestead Investment Co-Operative (HIC) is seeking investors to buy shares of the Alberta Block building on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton. Founded by Tegan Martin-Drysdale and former mayor Don Iveson, HIC aims to allow Edmontonians to invest in the city’s downtown core, with a minimum investment of $10,000 and a goal of raising $9 million by June 16. The co-op is offering a minimum 6% annual return based on rent incomes, with additional returns possible from asset appreciation and expansions. As of March 20, HIC has raised $592,000.
• Some tenants of the Southwoods Village Townhomes in Hazeldean are being forced to move after Southwoods Village Management purchased the complex in mid-February and implemented significant rent increases to align rates with market value. Heaven Finlayson, a resident of three years, said her rent would have increased by $322 per month, plus additional pet fees, making it unaffordable. Coun. Michael Janz expressed frustration, noting Edmonton’s lack of affordable housing and advocating for more provincial support for renters.
• The Edmonton Police Service is piloting a program allowing officers to display the languages they speak on their uniforms. The initiative aims to better serve the diverse population in Edmonton, where 125 languages were spoken as of 2021. The program, which began in February, includes tags for 71 languages. The police service launched a language services department in 2019 and a live interpreter app in 2024.
• The City of Edmonton is accepting applications for the 2026 to 2028 Family and Community Support Services funding cycle until April 23. The funding supports preventive social services. Community-based programs can apply through the Community Investment Grant Portal. New applications are open for programs focused on positive mental health, poverty reduction, and homelessness prevention. New applicants can sign up for information sessions on April 3.
• Amarjeet Sohi, on leave from his role as Edmonton’s mayor, launched his campaign as the Liberal candidate for Edmonton Southeast on March 29. Sohi previously served as an MP for Edmonton Mill Woods from 2015 to 2019. Rod Loyola, a former Alberta NDP MLA who resigned his seat last week, also launched his campaign to be the Liberal MP for Edmonton Gateway.
• Ahead of the federal election on April 28, Postmedia published a list of confirmed candidates running in Edmonton’s nine ridings, noting that nomination forms are due by April 7. Due to redistribution, federal election boundaries have changed since the 2021 election. Advance voting will take place from April 18 to 21.
• The City of Edmonton has deactivated its speed-on-green intersection cameras as new photo radar regulations from the Alberta UCP government are set to take effect April 1. The new rules also ban about 1,500 photo radar sites across the province. While red light cameras are still permitted and photo radar remains in school and construction zones, municipalities can apply for additional enforcement locations by showing a safety need. The province is allocating $13 million for safer intersection reengineering, with $1 million available this year.
• The Alberta government will allocate $17 million to plan nine new urgent care centres across the province, including in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Airdrie, and Lethbridge. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the centres will be operated by Alberta Health Services, except for the one in Airdrie, which will be run by a private contractor. The centres will address urgent, non-life-threatening medical needs, with the aim of reducing emergency room wait times.
• Premier Danielle Smith defended her trip to Florida, saying her conversation with Ben Shapiro about tariffs accomplished “exactly what we wanted.” Speaking on her radio show, Smith said Shapiro dedicated an entire podcast episode to the detrimental impacts of tariffs. She also addressed concerns about a potential 25% tariff on oil and gas, saying she wouldn’t agree to an export tariff where the money goes to Ottawa, instead of Alberta, which sends $150 million worth of produce to the U.S.
• Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is expected to return to the ice before the end of the regular season, despite missing the start of the team’s four-game road trip due to a lower-body injury sustained on March 20 against the Winnipeg Jets. The Oilers also began their road trip without goalie Stuart Skinner and defencemen Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg. The team has nine games remaining in the regular season, concluding on April 16 against the San Jose Sharks.
• Leon Draisaitl scored his 50th and 51st goals in the March 29 Edmonton Oilers game against the Calgary Flames, leading to a 3-2 overtime victory. Draisaitl is the first NHL player this season to reach 50 goals, marking his fourth time achieving the milestone. He is now tied with Jari Kurri for the second-most 50-goal seasons in Oilers history, behind Wayne Gretzky.

Added transit service hours, Amarjeet Sohi leaving council to run for the Liberal Party of Canada, and extended producer responsibility for waste and recycling are three stories the co-hosts of Episode 301 of Speaking Municipally examined. Here’s a snapshot:

1. Bus hours up, bus hours down

On March 24, the City of Edmonton announced that Edmonton Transit Service will offer 50,000 extra service hours in 2025. Co-host Mack Male noted that some of those hours will go to route 747, which runs between the Edmonton International Airport and the Century Park LRT station. Co-host Troy Pavlek said the increased hours are “something the transit service needs,” but had a but. “Not everything it needs, but it got some (of what it needs).”

The city’s press release said this change is a net increase of 50,000 service hours. That means some transit routes get more hours, some routes get less, some get created, and some get eliminated. A bus route servicing Keswick and Glenridding Ravine, for example, will debut in late April. The city said it will further detail the changes in April and May.

2. Principe questions Sohi’s leave despite taking one, too

Amarjeet Sohi announced his intention to run for the Liberals in the Edmonton Southeast riding just days after appearing on Speaking Municipally’s 300th episode last week. On March 23, Prime Minister Mark Carney called an election for April 28. This past week, Sohi’s fellow councillors granted him an unpaid leave of absence as mayor to allow him to run. Should he not win, Sohi will finish his term as mayor, but said he will not run for mayor in the municipal election in October. During a procedural “stumbling block,” Pavlek said, Coun. Karen Principe asked during the council meeting to discuss the leave if Sohi could step down instead. Principe, who will serve as deputy mayor until April 21, took leave to seek the nomination in Edmonton Griesbach for the Conservative Party of Canada but lost this month.

“The unpaid lead of absence is (the) standard practice of politicians in the City of Edmonton,” Pavlek said. ”(Principe) is now back to taking her council salary.” Male added that, in the past, former councillors Tony Caterina, Mike Nickel, and Ben Henderson have taken leave to pursue elected office at other levels before (though none served as mayor). Pavlek and Male also discussed the potential for Coun. Andrew Knack or former mayor Stephen Mandel to run for mayor in 2025.

3. Unpacking new waste rules

The Government of Alberta in bringing extended producer responsibility rules into effect on April 1. That means the onus will shift from municipalities to the producers of products to handle them after use from consumers, much like how Alberta handles beverage containers. “Producer Responsibility Organizations” Circular Materials, Product Care Recycling, and Call2Recycle will now handle things ranging from batteries to plastic products in Edmonton, the city’s release says.

“Almost every other province in Canada already has an EPR program,” Male said. “I don’t think (adding that in Alberta) will dramatically impact your cost or the cost that you pass on to the consumer.” Still, both co-hosts said “middlemen” could complicate the process because they will handle future decisions on waste and recyling drop-off. That could cause “some confusion and a split in the way that we do things,” Male said.

The March 28 episode of Taproot’s civic affairs podcast also covered developments in both Edmonton and Calgary’s film and hydrogen industries. Plus, Taproot’s managing editor, Tim Querengesser, provided an update from the Taproot newsroom. Speaking Municipally comes out on Fridays. Listening and subscription options are all right here.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Strategy Learning Lab: BOLD & Strategic Bridge starting at 10am online
• IWD Edmonton 2025: Redefine Possible Hackathon starting at 10am at Edmonton Unlimited
• Game Dev Connect: Community Networking Event starting at 4pm at NAIT Productivity and Innovation Centre
• nêhiyawêwin (Cree Language) Classes starting at 6pm at Edmonton Public Library (Highlands)
• Audreys Book Club starting at 7pm at Audreys Books
• An Evening with Tommy Emmanuel, CGP starting at 8pm at Winspear Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• April 3: Business Breakfast at St. Albert
• April 4: Friendly Fridays: April Edition starting at 2:30pm at Spruce Grove
• April 7: Plastics, Health & Action: A World Health Day Event at Metro Cinema

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.