Mayor Berry Vrbanovic’s Statement for New Year’s Day 2024

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, issued the following statement for New Year’s Day 2024.

“Happy New Year, Kitchener! Over the past few weeks, each of us have been celebrating the Season in our own ways and traditions, and as we celebrate the New Year today, together with friends and family here in Kitchener, across Canada and around the world, let us reflect on the past year, continue to share special moments with our loved ones, and welcome 2024 and the year ahead with hopes for health, happiness and prosperity.

The past year has been a year of incredible opportunities and unique challenges, a year of continued success and growth for our City, while also ensuring we work with other orders of government and tackle the challenges impacting some of our neighbours.

During the past year, we saw many successes including the start of construction of the new University of Waterloo Health Innovation Arena, opened our new SDG Idea Factory incubator, and became the City of Champions with many championship wins including by locals Jamal Murray of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, and Nicolas Hague of the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights. We also celebrated TVO Polkaroo’s 50th birthday at the Kitchener Public Library, welcomed the Prime Minister, Lieutenant Governor, Premier and many federal and provincial ministers to Kitchener, became one of 16 Canadian cities awarded transformative funding by Minister Sean Fraser through $42.4 million from Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund and continued to play a leadership role on the provincial, national and global stages with our work with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), United Cities & Local Governments (UCLG) and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

Amidst all these challenges, our community also stood with fellow Canadians and those around the world through some difficult times caused by global inflation, climate change, geopolitical instability and a variety of other factors. Locally, we continued to be impacted by issues such as food insecurity, mental health, addictions and homelessness and shared in the pain felt by many of our neighbours from the conflicts being experienced in various regions of the world. We called for a new fiscal framework with our federal and provincial partners and joined together with cities around the world in continuing the fight on climate change. Through all this, we exhibited the resilience both Canadians and especially Kitchener residents are known for. We rolled up our sleeves, looked out for each other, and worked to ensure that Kitchener continues to be a caring community where everyone belongs.

As our community looks ahead to 2024, we do so with much hope and optimism, as well as a renewed commitment to work together to tackle the challenges before us, as a community and together with our federal and provincial partners, the business community, academia, not-for-profits, and most importantly you, our residents who are the foundation of this community. Building upon our new 20-year vision, “Building a city for everyone where, together, we take care of the world around us – and each other,” I look forward to working with our caring and passionate City Council and staff throughout 2024 to begin to implement our recently approved strategic plan including continuing our Housing for All implementation, continued economic growth through Make It Kitchener 2.0, investments in parks, trails and cycling infrastructure, completing our arts & culture plan and development of a municipal newcomers strategy.

As we look to the year ahead, let’s recommit to the values that are important to our community and we as Canadians. Let’s celebrate our diversity, focus on our unity and the things that bring us together, and most importantly, let us exhibit the kindness, care and compassion that we as Canadians and Kitchener residents are known for. Canada is the best country in the world, and by continuing to work together, Kitchener and its residents and businesses, will continue to lead the way in making it better!

Happy New Year, Kitchener."