Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek focused on larger nation-building style projects in her Stampede meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, saying that she was pleasantly surprised by how well they both understood Calgary’s challenges.
The mayor updated local media Monday morning on her visit with the PM and Minister, saying she had limited time to dig into details on the various needs the City of Calgary has concerning infrastructure and policy.
“I brought forward the things that right now are of the greatest significance and importance to us as a city, as well as how our city has a role to play in nation building,” Mayor Gondek said.
In particular, she said they all agreed that Calgary – and Canada – is an energy superpower, and that Canada has a role to play globally as an energy leader.
“Minister Hodgson and I discussed the need to tell the full story of our energy sector, that it’s not just an economic driver, but it’s also a force for innovation as well as environmental progress,” she said.
“This sector powers homes, businesses and government services across this country. We need to stop apologizing for it and start building upon it.”
Mayor Gondek said she was also able to push the Prairie Economic Gateway into the conversation as a nation-building project. She said both the PM and Minister understood the significance for Calgary and for Canada.
“They recognized that now is the time to back up federal vision with real investments,” she said.
Prairie Economic Gateway is the vision for an inland, rail-connected port in a shared district between the City of Calgary and Rocky View County that could generate more than $7 billion in economic benefit and create 30,000 jobs.
The mayor said they also talked about flexibility on federal clean electricity regulations, given the pressure on the provincial electricity grid in the face of data centres and the proliferation of AI.
Municipalities need help: Mayor Gondek
It wasn’t all big picture issues, however.
The mayor has often expressed the need for other orders of government to come together to help Canadian cities deal with constant growth pressures. She took the opportunity to share that message again.
“Our city is growing fast, and our systems – water, transit and electricity – need urgent attention. Growth is our reality, and we must keep pace,” she said.
“We need to understand that the federal government will find the solutions in concert with the provincial government, because no city can build pipes, roads and transit on promises alone.”
They did talk about development fees in cities and how that could be overcome. Mayor Gondek said that any federal help flows through the province, and that any movement on that would likely have to be in concert with them, or help would have to go directly to the industry.
Mayor Gondek said that the Calgary Stampede is a good time to connect with politicians from all orders of government.
“While Stampede is best known for rodeo and pancake breakfasts, it’s also become Calgary’s stomping grounds for politics and for good, engaged discussions with elected officials,” she said.
