Edmonton’s nighttime entertainment and hospitality venues need more support if the city is going to host big events like the Juno Awards next year, industry advocates say.
At a meeting Wednesday, venue operators and business associations called on city councillors and administration to create a special office or person to directly support the nighttime industry.
Puneeta McBryan, executive director of the Downtown Business Association, said the city’s existing economic development staff are overstretched on daytime operations alone, and said that nighttime industries need help.
“Dedicated resources to this are absolutely essential,” McBryan told council’s executive committee. “We’re losing venues. If we haven’t already lost them, we’re at risk of losing them.”
McBryan said that potential gap in venues concerns her as Edmonton gets ready to host the Juno Awards next year.
“I’m frankly really nervous about how many off-site venues we even have to host music events anymore, in our downtown,” she said.
Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz said he supports the idea of a nighttime economic office and echoed McBryan’s concerns about whether Edmonton will have sufficient spaces for the Junos next year.
“One of the best parts about the Junos is not the awards, it’s the three weeks before and three weeks after when all the visiting artists are coming in and jamming out,” Janz said.
Brent Oliver, a venue programmer and former manager of several music venues in Edmonton, spoke to the committee about the Junos, and said the event needs about a dozen spaces.
“It will likely be a stretch to try and get 11 or 12 venues at this point, and to try and also keep it walkable, I think is very important, which would mean trying to stay downtown,” he said.
Dedicated office would help: advocates
Oliver also made the case to councillors for a designated nighttime economic office and strategy.
“Currently venues like the Starlite Room, theatres like the Citadel, bars and pubs along Jasper Ave. have to jump through various municipal and provincial departments to get permits, approvals, city support, enforcement and licensing,” he said.
He suggested a nighttime economy approach for the arts, sport and hospitality sectors would help businesses navigate issues around operating after work hours.
“Our industry provides so much for Edmontonians and tourism, as well as a significant economic impact on the city,” he said.
Organizers of music festivals, outdoor beer gardens and markets operating outside business hours have no one to call if there are last-minute or unforeseen questions in operating the event, McBryan said.
Oliver said after-hours issues became more obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many of my colleagues were left having to speak directly to city council members and elected officials to address issues of funding, safety and support,” he said.
Councillors directed city administration to report back ahead of the 2023-2026 budget cycle in the fall with a model to support the nighttime economy, and consider a designated person like a night mayor, as one of the potential options.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi acknowledged the need to develop the nighttime economy as part of a thriving city in entertainment, arts and culture.
“And having more eyes on the street in the evening, on the weekends,” Sohi told reporters outside the meeting. “It is important that we have dedicated resources to support the growth of that sector.”
The Alberta government has recently allowed municipalities to create “entertainment districts” within a city, where there could be a suspension of open liquor laws, McBryan said.
Other cities have nightlife economic strategies, a city report shows.
Toronto has a nightlife action plan and the deputy mayor on council is the night economy ambassador, while Ottawa is developing a plan.
Abroad, New York has a night mayor and Pittsburgh has a nighttime economy manager as well as action teams to address nighttime activities in public safety, hospitality, development, transportation, and personal accountability.
London, England, has an extensive strategy that includes a Night Czar, a post-pandemic plan with recommendations on visas, training, creative hubs, safety, and licensing, and a women’s night safety charter.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
