New city manager assumes busy portfolio

Guiding Edmonton through the economic hurdles of the COVID -19 pandemic, ensuring a smooth fall civic election and keeping big construction projects on track top the hefty list of priorities for the new city manager.

Andre Corbould spent his first big day on the job Monday speaking to transit workers before publicly appearing at city hall Wednesday after being picked in November for the position.

A big part of what drew him to seek the job is the level of public participation and the overt transparency of municipal government.

“I will continue to talk and listen to mayor and council, staff and citizens to hear their guidance and perspectives,” said Corbould. “I'm looking forward to connecting with many partners and with the people of Edmonton as soon as I can.”

Corbould comes to the position after serving as Alberta's deputy minister of education. Prior to working with the provincial government, Corbould had a 28-year career in the Canadian Armed Forces with tours in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. He was appointed deputy minister of education this past January after serving in several ministries, most recently for agriculture and forestry.

Corbould said he doesn't see any major hurdles to adjusting to municipal governance and he plans to move forward with all of the major projects underway in the city, including the Metro and Valley Line LRTS.

“I will be taking a close look at them as we get into the transition and I get briefed up on projects,” said Corbould. “The key is that we're not going to slow down, stop, pause; we're going to maintain the momentum of the city work that is ahead of us.”

He said he sees orchestrating all those projects with one another as the biggest challenge in making sure they move forward without losing any momentum.

Mayor Don Iveson, who appeared Wednesday from his home as he awaits the return of a COVID -19 test, said Corbould was chosen from well over 100 applicants from across Canada and a few people who applied from outside the country.

“It was widely contested and there was quite a bit of interest. So, Andre rose to the top of a tall stack of applications,” said Iveson.

The process of hiring Corbould was one year in the making after former city manager Linda Cochrane retired in September 2020.

While the hiring process took place, Adam Laughlin assumed the role of interim city manager.

Corbould acknowledged it is a difficult time to step into city administration as municipalities across the world deal with COVID -19.

The City of Edmonton is dealing with the pandemic on a number of fronts, including providing adequate and safe shelter space for the homeless population, enforcing their mask bylaw and having to lay off staff to deal with the economic fallout.

“These are challenging times for municipal leaders and, as city manager, I will continue to keep the health and safety of employees and Edmontonians in this pandemic a top priority,” said Corbould.