Growth beyond oil will be hard slog, Iveson predicts
Mayor plans for quick victories with Beaumont and airport transit but wants to look past oil for growth, Elise Stolte writes.
With Beaumont acting friendly and a possible transit deal to the airport, Mayor Don Iveson is hoping for a few quick regional victories in 2018.
But landing the real prize — major economic development not related to the volatile oil and gas sector — could still be a long, hard slog.
“That’s where our future prosperity is going to come from. But we have to unite all the pieces ... for innovation and economic growth,” said Iveson, pledging in a year-end interview to make regional job growth his primary focus this term. “There aren’t quick wins there.”
Mayors across the region got a stern warning during Iveson’s first term as mayor — stop fighting or the world will pass you by.
That was from a team of experts commissioned by nine frustrated mayors willing to go it alone if the others didn’t co-operate. Since then, the province cut the fractious Capital Region Board to just 13 members and formed a new economic development arm, Edmonton Global.
In the new year, the Edmonton Global board has to hire a chief executive. Then he or she needs to scale up and get busy.
“That will be turning intent into action,” said Iveson.
Iveson wants Edmonton Global to focus on existing areas of strength such as health, artificial intelligence and food, “places were we’ve played before and could play an even bigger role.”
There’s opportunity to create new companies where those fields intersect, between health and artificial intelligence, for example, he said, hoping to export new solutions to the world.
Edmonton recently voted to invest nearly $1 million per year in Health City, a booster and concierge-like service to help connect entrepreneurs with local health data and opportunities.
Much more can happen when all regional partners come together with shared investing for shared benefit, he said. “It’s a lot of relationship building and alliance building. But there is a shared sense of urgency. People want to do this. They’re hungry to do this and they have real hope for Edmonton’s ability to grow in the future.”
Edmonton got into a real tiff with Beaumont last term. First, Iveson launched an annexation bid for nine quarter-sections of Beaumont land immediately after Beaumont successfully annexed them from Leduc County.
Then he blocked Beaumont’s development plan for that land at the Capital Region Board, arguing much of the land slopes toward Edmonton so Beaumont should at least partner with Edmonton to run the pipes.
But a new mayor in Beaumont is turning the page, said Iveson. They met several times, including one long one-on-one chat. Iveson described it as “a real open and friendly working relationship.”
“Beaumont is under new management and I think we’re going to be fine there,” he said, suggesting they may have at least a framework agreement on joint planning to announce in the new year.
New Beaumont Mayor John Stewart said, “It’s almost as if we hit the reset button.”
He hopes the neighbouring municipalities can plan that land use together, moving forward as quickly as possible. He said he also hopes Beaumont can benefit from seeking economic growth as a region and eventually joining neighbours in regional transit options.
An interim deal on south-side transit is emerging. Iveson said talks are moving rapidly. The mayors of Edmonton, Leduc County and the City of Leduc have a highlevel agreement that a shared service makes sense.
“We laid all our cards on the table and convened a technical working group (with this) as our top priority,” said Iveson, who wants a new service when the new outlet mall and hundreds of service jobs open in May.
The service could run between Century Place LRT station, the Edmonton International Airport, Leduc and perhaps Nisku.
“The will is there. We agree to principles,” he said, adding he expects a technical plan in February or March. It would be the first regional transit service in operation involving Edmonton.
In the meantime, Edmonton is increasing prices on the Route 747 to the airport to about $10 each way, including a transfer ticket, starting Feb. 1.
(Major economic development not involving oil and gas,) that’s where our future prosperity is going to come from. But we have to unite all the pieces ... for innovation and economic growth. There aren’t quick wins there.