November Update: CCH tour, Palliative Care, ABMunis, Volunteer Celebration
November was a busy month for the new Canmore town council, including me. Here is an update about what I have been up to during the first few weeks after the election.
I had a full schedule throughout the month, including attending the 2025 ABMunis fall convention in Calgary along with 1,200 other newly elected officials. I ran as a candidate for Director Towns South, which would represent communities across southern Alberta that are registered as Towns at the convention.
Unfortunately, I was not successful. But it was an amazing opportunity to connect with other elected officials and work on solutions to problems we all share. Networking and building relationships across the province is an effective way for me to advocate for my community as an elected official.
Congratulations to all the successful candidates. I was particularly impressed with Coun. Janelle Sandboe from Chestermere, who’s entire council, and mayor, supported her campaign throughout the convention. It shows what success can look like when a council works as a team.
I had the privilege to tour the brand new Canmore Community Housing Vital Homes Ownership project in Stewart Creek. Some families have already moved into their brand new, below-market, stacked townhouse units.
Thank you to everyone involved in making this project happen, including Ashton Construction, CCH, and Three Sisters Mountain Village.
CCH’s Vital Homes program is the definition of success. It has been building rental and home ownership units below market for almost 20 years, and in that time, it has rarely had to advertise any of its inventory. That’s because we have waiting lists of people waiting for the opportunity to live in Canmore more affordably.
Did you know that currently, CCH rents are on average up to 40 per cent below market? While policy directs units to be 10 per cent below market, the rental rates before, during and since COVID have been so high that raising rents for Vital Homes units would be unnecessary and have the opposite effect of what we are trying to achieve.
I live in Palliser, so I am watching every single day as 144 units of new below-market rental units are being built in my neighbourhood by CCH. We are also at the beginning of the master planning process for the remainder of the Palliser lands.
I attended an interesting talk recently that highlighted the ability to finance multi-family rental construction projects in our community without the need for large up-front capital investments. This is important to keep in mind as we move forward with planning for our future housing needs as a community. We have everything we need right now to plan for our future and build the housing we need.
Congratulations to Bow Valley Palliative and the unveiling of the Pestell Centre for Compassionate Care in November. It was exciting to be able to celebrate this milestone with the dedicated supporters of this grassroots organization.
My heart is filled with joy to think of how much hard work and organizing it took for this project to go from a vision to reality. Thank you to everyone who took up the cause to make our community more amazing by bringing this health care facility to Canmore.
I was also pleased to get to tour the new employee housing units at the Gateway by Three Sisters Mountain Village. This new commercial hub is an important investment in the future of Canmore. Yes, there is a Dollarama, and I am stoked for it, too.
By ensuring there is housing in this subdivision, and having employee housing specifically, we are creating more opportunities for people to live, work and play in Canmore. These units were impressively designed to offer private storage and quality of life for individuals and families.
Last, but not least, I had a fantastic time at the Mayor’s Volunteer Celebration. For almost 40 years, the mayor of Canmore has had the honour of celebrating our local volunteers. We are so blessed to call this place home, and this event reminds me of how many hardworking, caring, and compassionate citizens we get to call our friends and neighbours.
A personal shoutout to Pennie Casey, who was honoured for her tireless work for the Canmore Folk Festival. That’s decades of volunteering to coordinate other volunteers. And also a huge standing ovation for Canmore Pride, which was honoured for its work on advocacy, inclusion, and representation in our community.
There was a gas leak at the construction site in my neighbourhood that night, almost preventing me from taking the Route 12 Roam free public transit to the event. Thanks to the amazing work of our local Canmore Fire Rescue team, I was able to catch the last bus that evening.
