Warmest Wishes for the Holiday Season
And Wishing You A Prosperous And Joyful New Years
Dearest friends,
I want to extend my warmest wishes to all of you and your families as we approach the end of 2024. This year was an incredible reflection of what makes Edmonton the best place to live.
This year, Edmonton has been recognized across the country and the globe for its excellence. In August, McLeans named Edmonton as one of their “Best Affordable Places to Live in Canada”. In October, we made it on Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel list where our city was highlighted for excellence in entertainment and promotion of Indigenous histories. And just last month, we ranked on the newest Resonance and Ipsos Research list of the World’s Best Cities for 2025.
We have seen incredible progress on our infrastructure projects this year, with the opening of the 50th Street Bridge and the completion of sections of the Yellowhead Trail Freeway Conversion. Edmonton Transit hit record ridership numbers and is on track to exceed 60 million trips in 2024.
With the approval of the fall budget adjustment we ensured that core services are protected while lowering the tax levy by 2% and providing much-needed investments to our communities and businesses. We’ve increased service levels on tree pruning and turf maintenance, increased the Business Improvement Area’s funding for enhanced cleaning, and ongoing funding for the City Centre Optimization pilot program
and provided a one-time top-up of the Community League Infrastructure Program.
Moving into next year and the final year of this Council’s term, I am excited to continue to follow through with our values of protecting core services, and ensuring everyone in our city feels that they belong and can thrive.
I hope each and every one of you has a happy and safe holiday season and I hope to see you at the New Year’s Eve fireworks display at City Hall!
Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi
Pinoy Edmonton News 