Months ago, I called my team to let them know that I was going to publicly disclose my donors. I wanted to do it early and often throughout the campaign, even though disclosure isn’t legally required until after the election.
A Stronger Environment Means a Stronger Community
The pandemic has shown us the value of greenspaces in Calgary. Stuck inside, many of us found relief and refuge along the Elbow and Bow rivers, and in places like Nose Hill, the Weaselhead, and Griffith Woods. There is growing consensus that parks, greenspaces, and natural areas provide significant benefits to our mental and physical health, climate resiliency, and sense of community. We need to ensure that as Calgary grows, these areas remain accessible and continue to thrive as healthy ecosystems.
I support the Community Safety Investment Framework
Community safety is paramount for Ward 8 and Calgary’s economic recovery. As a community leader in Ward 8, I have led successful initiatives to create safer communities in collaboration with the Calgary Board of Education, The City of Calgary and Calgary Police Service.
Reinvest In Our Main Streets
Main streets are vital to the success of our neighbourhoods
When we create welcoming, safe, and beautiful streets with dedicated pathways for walking or wheeling, we also create more opportunities for people to connect with their neighbours and local businesses at a human scale. Calgary’s Main Streets Program is key to making inner-city neighbourhoods more livable and setting a strong foundation for local businesses to continue to thrive.
The City of Calgary has identified 24 main streets for revitalization across Calgary. Many of these are in Ward 8 neighbourhoods and are in various states of progress.
37 Street SW main street improvements currently under construction. (Source: City of Calgary)
A Vibrant Downtown is Key to a Thriving City
The Greater Downtown is the economic and cultural heart of Calgary
The Greater Downtown is Calgary’s business hub and gathering place for our arts and culture. It includes the Ward 8 neighbourhoods of Beltline and Downtown West in addition to Ward 7 neighbourhoods of the Downtown, China Town, Eau Claire and East Village. Despite making up only 0.7% of Calgary’s total land area, the Greater Downtown is home to 23% of the jobs and generates 14% of the city’s tax revenue.
I will defend the Green Line
The Green Line LRT is a transformative investment in Calgary’s future
The Green Line LRT project will transform how Calgarians move around this city, better integrate rapid transit directly within communities, and will be a critical tool for equity and sustainability. It will connect communities from the far southeast in Seton, through Ward 8 in the Beltline and Downtown, all the way up Centre Street North, past the Airport and to 160 Avenue North. Historically, Calgary has too often prioritized large highway projects, like the ring road, over good public transit. Now the Green Line, the largest infrastructure investment in our city’s history, is our chance to finally play catch-up.
Giving Thanks 🙏🏾
This campaign has been a humbling experience. To the hundreds of campaign volunteers, thank you for showing up day-in and day-out. To my supporters, thank you for your encouragement and your trust. As you all hopefully take some much needed rest, lean into a food coma, and get prepared for the final push, I wanted to say two things I'm thankful for.
Thank you all for the ongoing support. This is a generational election for Calgary, and I cannot express my joy at how we have all come together.
Thank you for being engaged. No matter what, people are paying attention about the things they care about. People are fighting for what they believe in. If anything else, that makes every step, every door knocked, every call made, and every email sent worth every moment.
If you haven't yet cast your ballot, advance polls are open until Sunday October 10, 3 PM.
Thanks so much— and take care this weekend.
Courtney
Rental Supply and Protections Key to Maintaining Affordability
Over half of Ward 8 residents rent, and one-third of those renters spend 30% or more of their income on shelter. Rental housing in Calgary, and particularly in Ward 8, needs to be maintained as safe, high-quality, and affordable for residents.
There are two interrelated ways of maintaining a housing stock that is accessible to a range of income levels: expanding the supply of housing, and legislative means such as protections or below market programs.
A Generational Investment in Richmond Green
More greenspace, more state of the art amenities, and more investment from The City
The proposal brought forward for the future of Richmond Green is one that will see a great deal of investment in the park: environmental remediation, more green space, and the creation of the diverse housing options needed to help address the social, economic, and environmental issues our city is facing today. Reinvesting in this important community green space is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We must be bold in our vision, and call for reasonable additional public investment to make Richmond Green a great community asset for today and for the next generation.
Safety and Mobility Improvements for Ward 8 Streets
Great neighbourhoods need great streets
Great cities and great neighbourhoods are defined by their streets. Ward 8 is full of great neighbourhoods, but many of our streets aren’t working for us the way they could be. Dangerous crossings, excessive cut-through traffic, and a lack of safe separation between cars and people on bikes and scooters affects all of us.
The City of Calgary budgeted $30-million on safety and mobility improvements across the entire city between 2019-2022—but that was hardly enough to make a dent. That’s why, if elected, I will fight to triple the budget for safety and mobility improvements that will make an impact in every neighbourhood. For less than the cost of one new suburban interchange, we can make streets in Ward 8 neighbourhoods safer and easier to get around. This could be further leveraged with the federal government’s new $400-million Active Transportation Fund that could expand the scope of these upgrades even further..
Here’s a rundown of what I would do in Ward 8.