Mayors unveil wish list seeking funding for affordable housing, climate change
HALIFAX — Canada’s big city mayors are gearing up for the 2019 federal election by making a wish list topped with funding for affordable housing, climate change and new revenue tools.
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said Thursday “strategic discussions” are underway at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference in Halifax that will shape the top priorities for mayors ahead of the next election.
Despite major commitments from Ottawa on a number of key issues, he said municipalities are still waiting for results — particularly on affordable housing.
“On paper we’ve made huge progress with the national housing strategy but none of us have actually seen any dollars flow yet from that strategy into our communities,” Iveson said, noting that decades of underfunding has created an acute backlog of social housing.