Why run for Canmore Council?

Photo by Silckerodt Photography

Canmore is my hometown and it is a community I love dearly.

I loved it before I became a journalist at the local newspaper 15 years ago. In that role, I came to have an even deeper respect for our community as I delved into issues, wrote about our resilience and spirit, covered the politics and the processes.

Canmore faces difficult and challenging problems in the future and we need leaders that are willing and capable of doing the job at hand. I am putting my name forward as candidate for councillor because I believe I would be an asset to the next council and the community.

The past 40 years have been an interesting period for Canmore. So much has happened and sometimes I think we suffer the consequences of our own good fortune.

Being here is a privilege and we are rich in amenities. So rich, that it makes Canmore an increasingly attractive place to call home. That has translated into real estate and rental prices that rival urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver.

The pandemic did us no favours either. With many moving toward working from home, where they lived became optional and that has resulted in further demand for what we have here.

For others, the struggle to live here is real – many hustle every single day at multiple jobs to eke out a living to afford this community. Many choose to move away to communities where their dollars go further and owning a house with a yard is actually possible.

The affordability issue is one of several challenges facing us as a community as we head into an uncertain future. The next council will be tasked with setting a strategic direction with respect to the priorities it sees as the ones that are the most important to tackle over the next four years.

In my mind, these strategic priorities can be grouped into three sets of issues: housing/affordability; climate change/tourism; and wildlife connectivity and human use management /growth management.

The No. 1 priority of all candidates in this election is to not only bring their ideas to the table, but listen deeply about what residents are saying and engaging in a thoughtful dialogue around our collective vision for the future.

I am committed to doing this work for our community and ask for your support at the polls on Oct. 18.