The Region of Waterloo has five key things it wants from the next provincial government, and these are issues that affect a lot of people in the area.
The surprise election wraps up this Thursday, Feb. 27.
According to a press release, the region is sharing these priorities with voters and candidates alike to help strengthen the communities people live in.
“I want to be able to talk to new cabinet ministers, old cabinet ministers, people that may not be familiar with the Region of Waterloo and say in your first 100 days after this election, these are things that we have identified as our priorities,” Karen Redman, Regional Chair, told City News Kitchener.
The focus is on helping local governments provide a good quality of life for residents by 2050 when the population is expected to hit one million.
Economy
One big reason Doug Ford called this election was to get a fresh mandate amid worries about U. S. tariffs on Canadian products.
Waterloo Region wants the next government to “bolster” its local economy and support it through these uncertain times.
“We’ve had a diversified economic outlook and we’ve always punched above our weight in the Region of Waterloo,” Redman said.
This area could be hit hard if those proposed 25 per cent tariffs across many goods actually happen.
Just last year, Waterloo Region shipped $18 billion worth of manufacturing exports to the U. S., making up over 92 per cent of all its exports.
Housing and homelessness
Affording a place to live is a big worry for many here – especially since homelessness keeps climbing.
The region wants the province to “address the housing and homelessness crisis.”
The most recent count shows 2,371 people currently homeless in the region – more than double what was recorded back in 2021. Chronic homelessness has been rising around 28 per cent annually since 2020.
Add soaring home prices and less building happening locally, and it’s no wonder folks struggle finding safe housing. The region has pushed before for Ontario to take on more responsibility for paying when tackling homelessness locally.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) reports that an $11 billion investment over ten years is needed just to ease this crisis.
“In most provinces, affordable housing and social housing and services for homelessness are born by the province,” Redman said. “We cannot continue to put this on the taxpayers and homeowners…We need a new deal.”
Managing assets
Local roads, community centres, street lights – lots needs some upkeep or upgrades. The municipality hopes that will be high on any new provincial government’s list.
Redman says they want clear support focused on managing aging infrastructure while also building necessary infrastructure for housing growth.
Kitchener owns about $2.4 billion worth of non-core assets – like parks, vehicles and cemeteries – but less than half are rated “good” or better condition-wise.
Around $92 million worth are marked as “very poor,” with another $652 million listed as just “poor.”
Cambridge council got reports showing costs for fixing up city infrastructure over ten years have jumped quite a bit recently.
The Interim 2024 Asset Management Plan says maintaining repairs will cost $872 million between 2024-2033 – which is $146 million more than what was originally budgeted for capital spending over those years.
Transit
A long-term goal has been two-way all-day GO train service between Cambridge and Guelph, linking those cities easily together.
The region also wants stronger backing from province-wide funding toward other projects here too.
If Ontario provides extra cash it could really help Grand River Transit (GRT), which saw ridership bounce back past pre-pandemic numbers recently.
Buses and trains had 6.5 million riders between April-June 2024 alone with total yearly ridership hitting around 13.5 million-up almost fifteen percent from before COVID hit!
“I think we are demonstrating that we have the vision and the commitment to be very good partners,” Redman explained. “What we need is the province to step up. And this makes economic sense for them.”
Funding framework
For years now both Waterloo Region plus many other cities across Ontario have asked for a fairer way money flows between levels of government so they can plan better ahead.
The region spends heavily trying to fight homelessness while expanding transit takes much budget space too.
The Ontario Big City Mayors group (OBCM) has joined calls pushing hard for a new funding setup between province + lower-tier governments.
“As fast-growing municipalities, we bear major costs for maintenance and growth of community infrastructure and services,” Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said, “yet municipalities do not have available financial tools that grow with economy build housing & support social needs like mental health & homelessness.”
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities plus Association of Municipalities of Ontario also want changes made concerning how funds get shared provincially-municipally.
Differently from GTA areas which have their own deals, Waterlooregion doesn’t yet benefit from those same arrangements.
“There is no doubt that GTA takes a lot oxygen … We’re here saying we need those funds too; we’re one economic driver provincially & nationally,” Redman stated. “We want uniqueness but also access similar funding GTA gets.”
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