Strained finances: Edmonton short $1.8B for renewal of roads, city buildings

Edmonton will need $4.4 billion to renew and renovate roads, bridges and city buildings from 2027-30.

The problem: city council is $1.8 billion short.

Outgoing Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi blamed previous administrations for the renewal deficit.

“You know, this is what happens when councils pass the buck to future councils instead of taking the responsibility seriously,” Sohi said.

The mayor says Edmonton has not been investing enough to keep up, and overall provincial funding to cities has been reduced.

But one of the councillors running to take over the role of mayor in the next municipal vote believes inefficiency is a major problem.

“We’re spending too much money on our infrastructure,” said Coun. Tim Cartmell. “From neighbourhood renewal to vertical infrastructure to buildings that we might have to let go.”

Cartmell, who’s running in the Oct. 20 election under the “Better Edmonton” banner, says the city is getting a bad deal on new fire stations, for example.

He also believes neighbourhood renewal projects have ballooned to include unnecessary improvements.

“You’ve got a road with no cars and no bikes and we’re pounding all this money into extra-wide sidewalks, right? When, quite frankly, if you’re riding a bike, you’re going to ride it on the brand-new asphalt anyway,” he said.

Cartmell is calling for a deep dive on the Edmonton infrastructure budget.

But fellow councillor Erin Rutherford strongly disagrees.

“We’ve done it,” Rutherford said. “This is, quite frankly, a political ploy. He’s trying to make a narrative of the fact that there’s all of this money to be had, when we know for a fact that there is not money to be had in either our growth or renewal.”

Rutherford says a new property tax levy dedicated to renewing and maintaining Edmonton assets will help the city shrink that deficit – as long as there’s a political will to uphold that decision after the fall election.

“The next council, if they try to do a bunch of austerity measures and cuts, that’s when we’re going to see an issue in 20 years’ time,” Coun. Rutherford said. “And then that council will have no ability to change it.”

City council has created a new special infrastructure committee to try to work through some of these issues. It will meet for the first time June 25.

The province’s new municipal affairs minister, meanwhile, defended provincial funding programs for Edmonton and said more cash in forthcoming.

“$179 million was provided to the city through the Local Government Fiscal Framework – an increase of more than 13 per cent from last year. Through Budget 2025, we increased Grants in Place of Taxes (GIPOT) to 75 per cent, with plans to increase to 100 per cent next year,” Dan Williams wrote in a statement to CityNews.

“This will provide the city with roughly $28.6 million in funding this year, which is an increase of more than $10.5 million from last year. The City of Edmonton can use this increased funding to help advance their local priorities.”