Election outcome hinges on city votes, Iveson says
More than in any previous federal election, this vote will be won in cities, Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson told a news conference Tuesday.
Iveson wore a politically neutral purple tie and shied away from directly telling residents how to cast their ballots. However, he urged voters to review party platforms on transit, infrastructure and housing as outlined by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on its federal election website, citiescan. ca. The group is also asking candidates to pledge their support for urban issues.
Canada’s demographics have been shifting for generations so that two-thirds of Canadians now live in cities, Iveson said. The most recent changes to riding boundaries have converted several rural-dominated ridings into urban ridings, which means urban dynamics are at the forefront on the campaign trail.
“In this election, clearly cities are where the election outcome is going to be decided,” Iveson said at an announcement timed to coincide with similar announcements from more than a dozen other Canadian mayors.
“For too many Canadians, you’re the ones facing the Catch-22. If you try to move out far enough to where you can afford housing, you face punishing traffic congestion and a long commute. If you try to move closer to work to avoid being stuck in traffic, you can’t afford a home,” he said.
“The good news is that we’ve seen historic progress from all parties on these key election issues. All federal parties now get that investing in public transit and infrastructure is part and parcel of building a stronger economy. This alone is a huge win for Canadians.”
Iveson said Canadians have seen solid commitments on public transit from all federal parties. All three are also starting to understand key concerns around infrastructure, such as making its resilient in a changing climate. But he’s still hoping to see more progress on affordable housing.
The New Democrats have sizable and detailed commitments to social housing. The Liberals have general commitments to social infrastructure and detailed commitments on supporting, maintaining and increasing the supply of rental housing.
The Conservatives have commitments to support Housing First initiatives to reduce homelessness, but have said they don’t want to be involved in building social housing, said Iveson. That’s primarily an area of provincial jurisdiction, but Iveson argues federal government should be involved because it’s critical to the economy and to Canada’s urban aboriginal population.
Iveson said he hasn’t decided which party he will vote for, and won’t make that decision public when he does.
Cities started advocacy work for the election campaign 10 months ago after recognizing Canada’s mayors agreed on various issues, said Iveson. The campaign is just “the tip of the iceberg” in terms of cities being a united and influential voice at the national level, he said.
We’ve seen historic progress from all parties on these key election issues.