This week, NDP leader Tom Mulcair reiterated to a partisan assembly in Montreal his intentions of appointing a federal minister of urban affairs. The reaction at the provincial National Assembly was swift and unanimous opposition: a federal ministry responsible for relations with cities would interfere with provincial jurisdiction. This discord contrasts the meeting in late March between Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and Toronto Mayor John Tory who united forces to push an urban agenda into the upcoming federal election campaign. Federal attention, they argued, is based on the need for recognition of the key role Canada’s big cities play for the country. And they are right about that.
In Canada, the six largest metropolitan areas (Toronto, Vancouver, MontrĂ©al, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa) are home to nearly 50 per cent of the country’s population and generate close to half of Canada’s GDP. Big cities must be recognized as true players by all other orders of government in Canadian federalism. Quebec doesn’t think so? We beg to differ.
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The world has been urbanizing and the next century has been described as belonging to the metropolis rather than America, China, or BRIC. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, ”œcities – not states – are the islands of governance on which the future world order will be built”. This new focus has been recognized as a priority by the newly elected Conservative government in the UK; Chancellor George Osborne’s first post-election speech prominently featured plans for devolution of both power and levers in order for cities to ”˜take control of (their) own affairs.’ We, in Canada, need to catch up to this reality.
As we are not close to reopening constitutional debates in this country, the solutions need to emerge notwithstanding the legal framework that defines Canadian municipal governments as creatures of the provinces with no constitutional autonomy. Practical, realistic solutions should instead aim to foster a more collaborative federalism.
In spite of written definitions and constraints, sparking a sweeping culture change in municipal governance and intergovernmental relations is doable. Big cities’ governments need to coalesce, speak with one voice, and help show the provinces and the federal government the way forward.
This idea is of course not entirely new. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) does convene a Big City Mayors’ Caucus (BCMC) but it represents the interests of 22 Canadian cities, ranging from Windsor (population 216,000) to Toronto (population 2.5 million). As a result, the interests of the members of the BCMC – like those of the FCM more broadly – can vary greatly. In other words, important networks do advance the agenda of Canadian cities; however, none specifically addresses the challenges of Canada’s largest cities.
Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montréal anchor the urban landscape in Canada. These four urban centres united have more than enough weight to push an urban agenda into the key debates of the country. Also, while the larger metropolitan areas of these centres are important at all institutional levels, the mayors of these four cities act as de facto spokespeople for their metropolitan regions. Finally, adding other important cities – for example Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Halifax, and Québec City – to such a collective could strengthen its voice without jeopardizing its characterization as a ”œbig cities” group.
To become a sustainable advocate for an urban agenda, a collective of Canada’s biggest cities should seek consensus and identify the major challenges facing Canada’s big cities, create mutual understanding on issues, and develop common public policy objectives to meet those challenges.
It should communicate clearly why the challenges of Canada’s big cities are challenges for all Canadians, and why the status quo is not a sustainable option.
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It should also be connected deeper than the mere political strata. Building communication channels and collaborative spaces in the long-term requires the participation of mayors and other elected officials but also of key municipal public servants and external stakeholders. With a tri-sectoral approach to collaboration and integration – politics and public service, business, and civil society –intermunicipal initiatives could be sustained notwithstanding municipal elections.
Such a collective would help big cities face an increasing number of challenges that fall within and outside of their jurisdiction such as aging infrastructure, the integration of new Canadians, housing, emergency preparedness, and climate change readiness.
So far, cities have often asked to be invited to the ”˜table’. Eventually, a Big Cities Collective would be setting a new ”˜table’ to discuss common goals and present these to the other orders of government when required. In setting a new table where decisions are sought and made, cities will be better able to control the agenda. The message to other orders of government will be to get engaged for fear of missing out. It will be up to the Big Cities Collective to host them and, in the long run, invite and work with them for sustainable solutions.
As the voice of Canada’s big cities collective emerges and resonates across the country, there is little doubt about the influence it will have. A central collective will help Canada’s big cities move an urban agenda forward.
It will be no small feat for cities to achieve this coalescence. It could take years; however, once the collective forms, the political weight of its unified voice will grow.
The time to get this culture change started is now. With the approach of the 2015 federal election, big cities should seize the occasion, set a new agenda, and have their voice heard by all orders of government. Not just their province.
Emilie Nicolas (@Emilie_Ni), Morvan LeBorgne (@MorvanLeBorgne), and Jesse Kancir (@JNKancir) are 2014-2015 Action Canada Fellows and co-authors of the report ”˜Empowered Cities: A New Path to Collaborative Federalism’, available through www.actioncanada.ca
