Following a full day of dialogue with a group of innovation leaders, members of FCM's Big City Mayors' Caucus (BCMC) closed their Economic Summit by renewing their commitment to work together to build tomorrow's livable, inclusive and competitive cities.
"Our cities are hubs of growth and innovation, and as mayors we recognize this comes with real responsibility to shape not just tomorrow's cities, but tomorrow's Canada," said BCMC chair and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson. "Today's summit brought together a wide spectrum of views on what our urban future can look like, and how to design and build our way there."
Respected urban scholar Richard Florida kicked off today's summit with new research and analysis on city governments' indispensable role in driving prosperity-and more inclusive prosperity. Next, a panel of municipal finance experts answered mayors' questions about innovative tools and levers that are empowering local governments around the world to drive economic growth, strengthen infrastructure and improve residents' quality of life.
"To build tomorrow's cities — more livable, globally competitive, deeply inclusive — we'll need the right tools for the job," said Iveson. "Our toolbox is expanding with the National Housing Strategy breakthrough, and with the historic federal plan to invest in transit and other infrastructure. But if city-building is nation-building, we also need to be thinking beyond even 11-year investment plans. What's next for Canada?"
The mayors engaged a panel of private-sector innovation leaders on harnessing data and new technologies to drive growth, emission reductions, community resilience and citizen engagement. And a panel of civil society leaders brought fresh perspectives to strengthening cities' partnerships — with Indigenous communities, local stakeholders and other orders of government — to drive the next phase of inclusive growth across the country.
"Cities are seizing their leadership role in shaping tomorrow's Canada, but we don't and can't do this alone," said Iveson. "We live, breathe and succeed through our partnerships with other governments and stakeholders. And we need even stronger partnerships to achieve national goals faster-from reconciling with Indigenous peoples, to tackling the challenge of climate change, to delivering infrastructure projects that will transform our cities and this country."
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is the national voice of municipal government, with nearly 2,000 members representing more than 90 per cent of the Canadian population. Its Big-City Mayors' Caucus brings together 22 of Canada's largest cities.