Strengthen Our Communities

Decline in Community Associations – New communities struggle with membership and connections due to lack of funding for events, community halls, and gathering spaces.

Pandemic Impact – Many communities in Ward 13 and across the City struggled to survive this time due to the inability to host events or in-person meetings.

The Comeback – Efforts to support Ward 13 Community Associations include grant funding, City services support, casino enrollment, and private sector endorsements. We have seen all our communities bouncing back through the incredible efforts of their members.

Reduced Role in Development and Funding Cuts – The City of Calgary has reduced the role of Community Associations in development decisions, decreasing resident involvement. Residents know what is best for their communities. We need strong Community Associations to have thriving communities.

Support Gathering Spaces – My focus will be to support communities' vision for the future and secure funding for gathering spaces and community halls. All levels of government should be more involved in supporting local Community Associations, and I will continue to advocate for that. Private sector involvement should be encouraged and actively sought out to support our communities.

Communities First – Emphasize community involvement and engagement in decisions and prioritize policies to bring communities back to the table. I will put our Communities First.

We have seen a sharp decline in the state of Calgary’s Community Associations in recent years. New communities struggle to build membership and to create meaningful connections with their communities because of a lack of funding to build their communities through hosting events, building community halls, or maintaining any type of gathering spaces for their communities. Following the pandemic, we had many communities struggling to survive in Ward 13 due to their inability to host events or to host in-person meetings.

I have been working very hard to support our Ward 13 Community Associations to rebuild from these challenges. Through grant funding for events, providing support for City services, encouraging enrolment in casinos, and even connecting communities with endorsements through the private sector we have seen all our communities moving in the right direction over this Council term. But there is far more work to be done.

The City of Calgary has drastically reduced the role of Community Associations in development decisions within their communities in recent years. Having a role in planning decisions used to be a significant driver for residents to become involved with their CA. Additionally, funding supports that used to exist for the construction of community halls have been reduced by both the city and the province. We have a total of three community halls to support the entirety of Ward 13 and it is a daunting task to raise the required funds for those communities that don’t have a hall. A key priority of mine over the next term will be to support our communities in their vision for the future and we will work hard to secure funding for communities who wish to provide gathering spaces and community halls for their residents.

I believe that nobody knows community needs better than the residents of that community. We need to place more emphasis on community involvement and engagement in decisions that affect them. We have seen far too much dictating from City Hall to our communities without meaningful engagement being conducted. Power being centralized at City Hall and making decisions on behalf of so many communities with differing needs simply does not make sense, so I will prioritize policies that will bring our communities back to the table so they can be actively involved in the decision-making process. I want to put Communities First.