The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce is urging Edmonton city council to hold back on new infrastructure, maintain what the city already owns and improve construction planning as it prepares its next budget. Its Back on Track Business Budget sets out recommendations intended to guide decisions on taxes, services and projects, with the chamber saying the city should prioritize investments that deliver a clear return for Edmontonians.

The report was announced Monday and is based on engagement with business and community leaders. The City of Edmonton will begin building its 2027-2030 budget in November. The schedule for deliberations will be decided Oct. 6, and discussions are expected to start in late November and continue until mid-December.

Chamber president and CEO Doug Griffiths said rising costs to serve Edmonton’s growing population are outpacing revenue and shifting expenses to residential taxpayers. Government of Alberta data cited by CTV News Edmonton show the city’s population passed one million in 2018 and reached 1,238,295 by 2025.

“Public services cannot be measured in dollars alone, but our members know what it means to set priorities, live within a budget, measure what an investment achieves, and to change course when something isn’t working,” Griffiths said. He said the report recommends easing property tax pressures while continuing to invest in projects with a clear return for residents.

“That means maintaining roads and sidewalks, clearing snow, keeping downtown clean, and repairing neighbourhoods without automatically redesigning them from the ground up,” Griffiths added. The chamber’s recommendations include putting the brakes on building new infrastructure and concentrating on maintenance, as well as reviving a previously abandoned proposal to sell naming rights for recreation centres and other civic facilities.

One example in the report is the Victoria Promenade, where former Ledcor CEO Bob Walker lives. He enjoys seeing people use the wide sidewalk overlooking the river valley, but objects to the city’s long-term plan to rebuild the promenade on 100 Avenue between 117 Street and 121 Street.

The city lists 2026-28 as a possible construction window, subject to budgets. It says renewal work is an opportunity to repave roads, add curbs and sidewalks, make accessibility upgrades and replace street lights, while exploring bike lanes, shared pathways, low-impact development and open-space improvements.

Walker says the promenade needs routine maintenance rather than a full rebuild. “I’ve taken a picture of it just recently to show there’s nothing wrong with the promenade,” he said. “It doesn’t need anything.” His example reflects the chamber’s broader argument that existing assets should be maintained without automatically being redesigned from the ground up.

The report also proposes that people who live outside Edmonton pay more to use city recreation centres and attractions such as the Valley Zoo. It calls for the city to find partners to help advance Blatchford, the development on the former City Centre Airport lands, where large areas remain undeveloped dirt.

Griffiths, a former Alberta municipal affairs minister, said the city should reduce spending on responsibilities he considers provincial, including homelessness and social disorder. He said municipalities across Alberta should press the province to provide more resources and suggested a summit involving the premier and mayors whose cities serve large catchment areas.

“I think we need a bit of a summit between the province and the cities who are dealing with big catchment areas that a lot of stuff comes to,” Griffiths said. He said he was not suggesting the province had abandoned its responsibilities, and noted it was making new investments, particularly in safety and mental health, while saying more work remains.

Griffiths said the effects of crime fall on residents and businesses, which spend money addressing damage and adding security. He said the chamber will continue speaking with the public and business community and press its case during the October and November budget debate.

“Every day is a new day, and we’re going to continue to talk to the public, talk to the business community, and raise the issues in here, especially into the fall debate in October and November when they’re deliberating the budget,” Griffiths said. He said the chamber intends to ensure its views, information and suggestions reach council members and that the business community knows about the recommendations.

Griffiths said the chamber invested substantial time and effort in the report and expects council to take it seriously, given its stated interest in consulting the community. He described businesses as a significant contributor to the city’s tax base, quality of life and economic prosperity.

Construction disruptions are another central concern. The chamber says about 20 downtown businesses had closed so far in 2026 and calls for greater discipline in managing disruptions. Its proposals include directing more money toward speeding up downtown construction and treating cleanliness and safety as everyday services.

The report was presented at Jasper Avenue and 120 Street, amid the Imagine Jasper construction project. Six blocks of businesses on the avenue’s south side are cut off from the roadway. Josh Wilhelm, owner of Birch and Bear Pizza on Jasper Avenue, said loyal customers have continued to find their way around the work, but two years of restricted access have created a serious challenge.

“Obviously, the big thing for us as a business Downtown is access to our customers, and it is really difficult,” Wilhelm said. He said some projects and their planning have made it difficult for customers to reach businesses, and called for communication and planning that preserve access on foot and by vehicle while necessary infrastructure work proceeds.

Cheryll Watson, chair of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition, said the city could do more to bring people back to the core, including improving construction planning and emptying trash bins more regularly. She said downtown’s share of city tax revenue has fallen from a peak of 10 per cent to about five per cent, leaving residential property tax owners to cover the resulting deficit.

“For a small business, fewer people through the front door can be the difference between making payroll and closing their doors,” Watson said. She said about 20 businesses had closed that year, with owners citing construction access as a major reason in many cases, and described the effect as “a death by 1,000 cuts.” The city had approved about 120 new business licences, she said, but licences do not establish whether businesses have opened, what kind they are or how many jobs they create, and do not replace the businesses lost.

Earlier this year, Edmonton Coun. Anne Stevenson passed a motion to develop a business-friendly construction policy. She said the city is working to speed up construction and reduce its effects, but further improvements are possible.

“Construction isn’t just for the fun of it; it is for long-term investment and beautification of our city, but we have to make sure that we’re not losing businesses in the short term,” Stevenson said. She said the chamber’s focus on core services and downtown cleanliness aligns with city plans, calling them “quick wins and really important investments we can make.” The city has committed more than $550 million to the Downtown Action Plan, she said.

On property taxes, Stevenson said she does not expect residents to see increases as sharp as those during the previous four-year budget cycle. “We were coming out of the pandemic, dealing with global supply chain disruption, significant inflation, and I’m really proud that we didn’t kick those cans down the road,” she said. “We had some big increases. We took those hits last term.”

City of Edmonton CEO Stacey Padbury said the city values its relationship with the chamber and its budget input. “Building a budget is about making choices about services, construction projects, taxes and user fees that will affect over 1.2 million Edmontonians and we take that responsibility seriously,” Padbury said.

Based on reporting by Edmonton Journal and CTV News Edmonton.