Calgary refutes premier’s claims on funding priorities

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says there was no money in the budget for downtown revitalization in Calgary because the province never got a list of priorities from the mayor’s office.

“It just so happens that we didn’t receive the priority list from the City of Calgary. I’m meeting tomorrow with [Edmonton] Mayor Sohi — Mayor Sohi did write me a letter and told me what his priorities are for Edmonton,” Smith said Monday.

However, the Calgary mayor’s office is pushing back on that claim, saying it did submit its list of priorities. It provided CityNews with the letter sent to the finance minister last fall, with the list including a request that the province match Calgary’s $100 million downtown revitalization investment.

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Smith says the province’s own consultations determined what Calgarians want to see.

“One of the things that we heard in Calgary, that the number one most important thing was, was public safety. And so it’s really what sowed the idea of us creating the task force that we did, that is a multi-level, multi-party task force that includes representatives from our government, multiple ministries, plus representatives from the municipal level of government,” she explained.

Meanwhile, the province confirmed in an email to CityNews after Smith’s comments that it did receive a list of priorities from the city, adding some of those “recommendations were in fact addressed in the budget.”

However, when it comes more specifically to the Downtown Revitalization Program, the government says Smith and the minister of municipal affairs are “looking forward to having discussions” with Mayor Jyoti Gondek on specifics.

Earlier this year, the province announced it was investing $5 million to “create an investment-friendly environment” in downtown Calgary.

More recently, the Alberta government added that it was going to continue to work with the city to improve the downtown core — despite no new funding being allocated for revitalization in the budget.

Chamber of Commerce President Deborah Yedlin called the lack of funding an insult after the finance minister spoke at a recent chamber budget event.

Minister Travis Towes said at the event the government’s role is to create an environment of competitiveness in the economy, which would result in investment attraction and economic growth.

“One of our competitive advantages right now is world-class commercial space at affordable prices. That’s been one of the pieces that really make Alberta attractive to the business community,” he said.