Big City Mayors’ Caucus meets with Prime Minister to advance priorities for Kitchener & other cities

This week, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, together with Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) big city mayors’ caucus and FCM board members from across Canada are meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Cabinet Ministers to discuss major issues across the country and advocate for cities ahead of the federal budget. Major themes include affordable housing and homelessness, mental health and addictions, planning for the next generation of municipal infrastructure and transit, and managing the effects of climate change.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the mayors of Canada’s largest cities to discuss city priorities including federal-municipal collaboration, housing and homelessness, infrastructure, transit, and climate change. The group highlighted shared priorities that will improve Canadians’ quality of life, cities’ recommendations for Budget 2023, and building on federal-municipal partnerships.

Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion, Ahmed Hussen, also met with mayors to discuss easing the housing crisis by maximizing the Housing Accelerator Fund and continuing to scale up the Rapid Housing Initiative and the Reaching Home program.

“Like so many cities across Canada, Kitchener is seeing the impact of inflation, a higher cost of living and an increasingly unaffordable housing market,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “While Kitchener continues to use the tools we have available to help with housing affordability and availability, we know the best results will be achieved when all orders of government work together on behalf of all Canadians. This is especially true as many cities and regions, including Kitchener and Waterloo Region, are seeing a significant rise in homelessness and encampments, and an increasing need for funding to support solutions for those residents who need support.”

Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities Dominic LeBlanc, discussed how cities can work together to tackle our biggest challenges, including core infrastructure renewal and climate change. Mayors emphasized that continued infrastructure investments are needed to help support increased housing, from water and wastewater infrastructure to community amenities like parks and arenas.

Climate-resilient infrastructure was highlighted as another important aspect of climate adaptation for Canada’s cities. This includes building retrofits, transit system expansion and electrification, and investing in more climate resilient and natural infrastructure.

“Investing in next-generation infrastructure is key as we look to rebuild following the recent pandemic years and to unlock the potential of Canada’s cities and ensuring we are prepared for the future,” said Mayor Vrbanovic. “With consistent and reliable funding, core infrastructure projects support economic growth, create jobs, support the development of housing, and ensure communities are more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather.”

As the federal government moves toward finalizing the 2023 budget, city priorities and intergovernmental collaboration will help address shared national challenges such as housing supply and affordability, mental health and addictions, infrastructure investment and renewal, and tackling climate change toward Canada’s net-zero commitments.

For more information, contact:

Bethany Rowland
Director, Corporate Communications & Marketing
City of Kitchener
Bethany.rowland@kitchener.ca