This year’s Mayor’s State of the City Address brought a larger crowd than last year and was presented by Cogeco and hosted by the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. This sold-out event saw local business owners and politicians in attendance, including MPP Natalie Pierre, Regional Chair Gary Carr, and Burlington’s locally elected council members.
Marianne Meed Ward, the second female to serve as mayor, and the longest-serving female mayor in Burlington’s history, expressed her continued dedication to working collaboratively in the community — a commitment she embarked on during her first term as mayor. Now, residents can begin to see these collaborative initiatives come to fruition. In Meed Ward’s commitment to reasonable growth and development, the work completed in Burlington’s new Official Plan will help ensure that any future growth happens in the right places and at the right scale to align with the community’s vision.
Meed Ward is the chair of Ontario Big City Mayors’ caucus and a board member of the Association of Municipalities Ontario, and through these seats, the City of Burlington is afforded additional opportunities to advocate on issues that impact large urban municipalities.
Leading the speaking engagement with the key accomplishments of 2023, Meed Ward shared highlights that include 34 motions brought forward that unanimously accepted the province’s housing pledge for 29,000 additional residential units, unanimously approved the first-ever council housing strategy, and unanimously approved the city’s first integrated mobility plan.
Burlington’s Economic Development, which is supported by a grant from the city totalling $1.5 million annually, has also been busy serving the local community. The team has completed over 40 on-site visits to companies, invested in 170 small businesses through the Digital Main Street grant, and provided $400,000 in grants and services to 450 businesses for the My Main Street program.
Other key investments include free transit for seniors all day and every day and free transit for youth on evenings and weekends; revamping the Skyway Arena, which will open later this year; and of course, the Robert Bateman Community Centre, which will be home to Brock University, Tech Place, Halton District School Board, a branch of Burlington Public Library, gyms, pools, and many community meeting spaces.
The “Deputy Mayor with Portfolio” announced last year has been very successful, according to Meed Ward. This made-in-Burlington initiative has provided city councillors the opportunity to take on initiatives that are suited to both their interests and expertise.
Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, who is the deputy mayor for business and red tape reduction, supported the “My Files” online platform in an effort to speed permit processes and provide applicants with updates at their fingertips. Galbraith has also proudly worked with Landscape Ontario to help reduce permit timelines from 17 weeks to 5 weeks, says Meed Ward, for home projects like decks, gazebos, and major landscaping projects.
Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns is the deputy mayor for community engagement and partnerships, and in 2023, she is proud of the award-winning Food for Feedback community engagement event and the numerous community projects funded through the city’s Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund (applications for which are open until Feb. 29, 2024), including the Healing Forest at Paletta Lakefront Park.
Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan is the deputy mayor for the environment, and 2023 saw the launch of the Better Homes pilot program, which supports the installation of air source heat pumps in Burlington homes, and the launch of the city’s Green Fleet strategy, with eight new electric vehicle charging stations installed. Additionally, 2024 will see the launch of electric transit buses.
Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte is the deputy mayor for housing, and 2023 saw more streamlined processes and policies, allowing residents to update their homes to meet their family’s needs faster.
Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman is the deputy mayor for strategy, budget, process management, and performance measurement. As a result of Burlington’s innovative advancements, the city was one of the earliest and first municipalities to approve the 2024 budget, and this ensures that both the mayor and council members continue to be focused on the future. This includes the conversion of 700 acres of employment land to mixed-use residential in 2024.
Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna is the deputy of recreation and community services and he is most proud of some of the initiatives that started in 2023 and will continue in 2024, including the continued focus on the Live and Play plans for indoor and outdoor recreation programs. Another key highlight for the city includes the Burlington Teen Tour Band, who will be heading to France to march in the D-Day Parade on Juno Beach.
“I’m proud of the work that our deputy mayors and council have done,” said Meed Ward.
Meed Ward went on to express that as a municipality, and together with other urban municipalities, the city needs a new financial relationship between the provincial and federal governments and these cities.
“We all need a new deal, and we can’t continue to pay for services that our community and businesses need on the backs of tax-payers,” says Meed Ward.
Meed Ward also went on to acknowledge the city’s 150+ anniversary in 2023; while the city was incorporated 150 years ago, the plus symbol acknowledges the Indigenous community that called this land home long before Burlington was ever a city.
There were three significant areas of focus that Meed Ward wanted to emphasize: Burlington is open for business; Burlington is serious about homes; and Burlington is inclusive and welcoming to all.
The first pillar brought on the red tape reduction initiative in 2019 to help both businesses and residents improve application timelines. Additionally, the city is about to launch a brand new artificial intelligence (AI) tool for commercial development, marking Burlington as the first city to utilize such technology commercially internally. According to Meed Ward, the tool uploads the city’s zoning bylaws, and when applicants submit their documents, AI automatically evaluates the application’s compliance against the relevant rules, producing immediate feedback. The goal is to save applicants both time and money.
Meed Ward also mentioned Brock University’s satellite campus that is currently occupying the former Lester B. Pearson High School building, and will eventually make Robert Bateman Community Centre its home. Both Mohawk College and McMaster University also share campus space in Burlington, with Mohawk operating out of the Village of Tansley Woods, and McMaster at the DeGroote School of Business on the South Service Road.
“We welcome post-secondary institutions and satellite programming here in Burlington as one of the best ways to boost local employment and provide you the workers you need for your jobs, for your businesses, and we hope the graduates of Brock, Mohawk, and McMaster will find jobs right here in Burlington,” said Meed Ward.
Burlington Economic Development continues to be busy, pursuing over 90 leads currently. Other noteworthy mentions include companies such as Cultivated B, Deploy, and K3 Green Tech — all of which are operating successful business ventures in our city.
The second pillar highlights Burlington’s stance on being serious about homes. On January 15, the city announced the $21 million agreement with the federal government under the Housing Accelerator Fund to enable the construction of 613 new homes in the next three years, supporting the city’s Housing Action Plan.
The Housing Action Plan includes seven initiatives:
- streamlining planning and building approvals
- implementing Major Transit Station Areas and a community planning permit system
- supporting additional residential units
- identifying incentives for rental and non-market housing
- building community and park capacity by creating a housing connection centre
- leveraging public lands and partnerships
- ensuring municipal infrastructure needs
Meed Ward was also happy to share that there are currently 41,000 units in the city’s planning pipeline, which will help to achieve the province’s mandate of 29,000 homes in Burlington by the year 2030.
Finally, complete communities continue to be on the forefront, said Meed Ward, communities with amenities and necessities like parks, services, jobs, and restaurants to build communities where everyone feels welcome and included.
Burlington has seen a record number of investments, both from private citizens and other levels of government. These include the above-mentioned $21 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund; $5 million from Michael and Laura Paletta for the Mental Health and Addictions program at Joseph Brant Hospital; $250,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to the Art Gallery of Burlington; $141,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to the Polish Community Centre; and $11.8 million from the Canada Community Building Fund.
“These investments are a vote of confidence in our community, and a promising future,” says Meed Ward.
The Mayor’s State of the City Address event was held at the Burlington Convention Centre on January 25, 2024.
