Kitchener Mayor and Council advance Kitchener priorities at AMO with Provincial Ministers

Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, together with representatives from the City of Kitchener return today from Ottawa where they attended the 125th anniversary conference the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) including individual meetings with a record 16 Provincial Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentary Assistants and Opposition Leaders to advance key issues impacting Kitchener and cities and communities across the province.

The last two days of individual meetings followed the annual joint meeting of the Ontario Big City Mayors’ Caucus (OBCM) and the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO) where Mayor Vrbanovic joined his colleagues in the call for a new municipal funding framework and for an integrated and comprehensive solution to the homelessness, mental health and addictions crisis.

“The City of Kitchener is partnering with all orders of government to build more homes, stronger neighbourhoods and a thriving economy,” said City of Kitchener Mayor Vrbanovic. “In everything we do, Kitchener works hard to advance both Kitchener and shared priorities by being a trusted partner, backed by our track record of bold and meaningful actions.”

Team Kitchener had a record number of delegations, meeting with 13 Cabinet Ministers and Opposition leaders including the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Infrastructure, Transportation, Finance, Health, Red Tape Reduction, and Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. In addition, Mayor Vrbanovic participated in delegations with OBCM and the Region of Waterloo.

Kitchener specific delegations provided an opportunity to thank the government for funding announcements in recent years including funding for the University of Waterloo Innovation Arena in Downtown Kitchener as well as the $14 million received in April 2024 in Building Faster Funding while also advocating for priorities including Two-Way, All-Day Go and Highway 7 with the Township of Woolwich, recreational investments, funding for new schools to support our economic growth, and a continued focus on Kitchener’s Make It Kitchener economic development priorities.

In advocating for shared priorities, Kitchener joined OBCM Mayors in echoing the calls for all orders of government to come together for a new fiscal framework that municipalities rely on to provide essential services and build strong communities and the Region of Waterloo on funding to support programs to support New Canadians arriving in our community.

"As fast-growing municipalities, we bear major costs for maintenance and growth of community infrastructure and services, yet municipalities do not have the available financial tools that grow with the economy, build housing and support our social needs like mental health and homelessness,” said Mayor Vrbanovic. “Now is the time to come together, for an all-of-government approach to invest in Ontario’s people and infrastructure and with a tangible action plan that builds a better Kitchener and a better Ontario together.”

For more on the joint OBCM/MARCO meeting, read Ontario’s Big City Mayors’ news release.

Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) includes mayors of 29 single and lower-tier cities with a population of 100,000 or more, who collectively represent nearly 70 percent of Ontario’s population. OBCM advocates for issues and policies important to Ontario’s largest cities.

The Association of Municipalities (AMO) represents 444 municipalities who work together to achieve shared goals and meet common challenges. AMO is celebrating 125 years of municipalities collaborating and tackling issues across Ontario.

For more information, please contact:

Shannon Weber, Chief of Staff

City of Kitchener

519-589-4435

Shannon.weber@kitchener.ca