Mayor Vrbanovic joins Canada’s Big City Mayors in Ottawa at FCM

Ottawa – Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic began several days of meetings in Ottawa yesterday, starting with Canada’s Big City Mayors Caucus (BCMC), who met ahead of the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference this weekend. Mayor Vrbanovic joined Mayors of Canada’s 24 Largest cities in meeting with several key Federal Ministers on Thursday to discuss priorities for Canada’s largest cities, and today heard from Prime Minister Mark Carney in his first visit since taking over as Canada’s PM.

“These meetings with Canada’s new government in Ottawa are a generational moment for our country, where we all need to come together to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing cities and communities across our great nation,” said Mayor Vrbanovic. “To achieve our mutual goals on housing and our economy, with the speed and innovation that this moment requires, the federal and provincial governments can demonstrate we truly are Stronger Together by including local governments at the table for a true, #TeamCanada approach.”

Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney received three standing ovations from Canada’s Mayors and local elected and staff officials during his inaugural visit to the FCM Annual Conference, as he outlined his government’s commitment to prioritizing nation building and a strong partnership between federal and municipal governments where Ottawa becomes a catalyst and not an impediment to achieving those goals. From Build Canada Homes to high-speed rail from Windsor to Quebec City; and from keeping municipalities whole financially to addressing issues of safety and security, he indicated his intention to “govern by working with others, by working together.” Prime Minister Carney added, “Let’s build big, build bold, build now, build together!”

Yesterday, BCMC had three meetings with key Ministers in the federal-municipal relationship – Hon. Dominic Leblanc, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy; Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue; and Hon. Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure.

During those meetings, BCMC raised a range of priorities which collectively called for a National Prosperity Partnership to coordinate on housing, infrastructure and economic growth with a focus on swift delivery of results.

“Kitchener, together with big cities across the country, is ready to implement the vision of the federal government to Build Canada,” said Mayor Vrbanovic. “Cities, in the words of PM Mark Carney, are ready to “Build Baby Build” but we need to be at the table and have the necessary financial supports as we work through these significant goals and objectives together.”

Kitchener is a top-performing city in Canada, committed to accelerating housing, including streamlining permit approvals, developing new zoning frameworks and unlocking land to build housing faster. This has been supported by federal programs such as the Housing Accelerator Fund and demonstrates the opportunities to enable more housing through supporting community infrastructure. Through the City’s Make It Kitchener 2.0 economic development strategy, Kitchener also has the big, bold ambition needed to strengthen Canada’s and Kitchener’s economic future.

Big City Mayors also met with their U.S. counterparts, including the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, CEO Tom Cochrane and the Mayor of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell. Mayor Vrbanovic and Team Kitchener continue to work with FCM and municipal partners in our region and across Canada to leverage our U.S. municipal relationships to raise awareness about the impacts of tariffs and seek support for a renewed, strong trade relationship.

“Mayors are critical actors in major economic relationships and cities are critical to the Canada-U.S. relationship,” said Kitchener’s Mayor. “We are keenly aware of the high stakes that come with this moment and how we are stronger together to deliver on positive outcomes for the residents in our cities and communities.”

At Thursday’s meetings, Mayor Vrbanovic, as Co-President of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) presented a declaration, A Case for Constructive Multilevel Multilateralism as part of the Urban 7 (U7) handover in Canada’s G7 Presidency year to Deputy Minister Cynthia Termorshuizen, who is serving as the Personal Representative (Sherpa) of the Prime Minister for the G7 and G20 meetings this year. The U7 is a collective of municipal associations representing local governments across G7 nations, sharing many of the same challenges and priorities on things like housing, economic growth and climate change.

“This important declaration is a joint call for close co-operation and a compelling vision for how cities can work in partnership with national governments. The City of Kitchener stands ready to continue working with all orders of government and partners across the world to ensure a prosperous future for all.

For more information, please contact:

Shannon Weber, Chief of Staff

City of Kitchener

519-904-5776

Shannon.weber@kitchener.ca