Infill debate top of mind for members of Edmonton’s new city council

Many members of Edmonton's new city council say it's time to act on what they heard from Edmontonians about infill on the campaign trail.

“We’ve heard enough,” says newly elected Ward pihêsiwin councillor Mike Elliott. “Knocking on the doors, it was fresh in our faces. People spoke, and we have to listen to the people.”

Elliott tells CTV News Edmonton it was clear to him during the election campaign that Edmontonians want to see action on infill quickly.

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“When you get those infills that, just when you look at it (from the perspective of) a neighbour walking down the street or as a citizen walking down the road… if it catches your attention and you go ‘what the heck is that?’ …Well, that tells you something right there.”

After a contentious multi-day public hearing in July, the previous city council made some changes to the city’s infill policy. While a maximum unit count per building remains at eight, those buildings now have to be smaller and appear more like a house from the street. The former council also put forward a motion for additional public consultation on the policy. A report from city staff on the consequences of dropping the unit per building cap from 8 to 6 is due in early 2027.

Re-elected Ward Métis councillor Ashley Salvador is one of the councillors who voted in July to reduce the unit count to six. She says she hears general support for infill from her constituents, but that it needs to be done in a way that fits the “context of the area.”

“As someone who does support infill, my concern was that if we aren’t making some of those adjustments, we actually risk the pendulum swinging the opposite direction,” says Salvador. “We lose some of that momentum and progress that we need to make on infill.”

Salvador says while the changes already made by the previous council will address some infill concerns, there will be plenty of opportunities for the new council to make more adjustments before the report’s release.

“As early as Q1 of 2026, we are going to be talking about further adjustments to the design and articulation of buildings in an infill context for those mid-block multiplexes,” says Salvador. “We’re also going to be talking about height, because that’s another concern we’ve heard in advance of that report. There will be multiple checkpoints… to refine what’s happening in mature neighbourhoods, to make sure this is rolling out in a good way.”

Salvador also wants to see more enforcement and stiffer penalties for developers and builders who don’t follow the rules.

“If they are not getting the right permits, if they are causing damage to adjacent properties, and not having protections in place as they should and are continuing to do so… those repeat offenders… that’s where we really need to crack down,” says Salvador.

BILD Edmonton Metro CEO Kalen Anderson says it’s too soon to know what impact July’s changes will have on the market, as many projects were already in the pipeline when the rules changed. The CEO attended July’s hearing, and she says developers are adapting to the new changes and expect more in the future.

“The process felt pretty chaotic for all parties,” she said Friday. “That destabilization creates a lot of emotional churn as well as fear, both within the community and within the marketplace.”

Anderson says Alberta has been experiencing “incredible” interprovincial migration in the last five years, from Toronto and Vancouver in particular. She says a reason for that is the province’s housing affordability. She says the new council should make its strategic plan known as soon as possible, so the industry can adapt without impacting the housing available for people choosing to make Edmonton home.

“Mayor (Andrew) Knack has described that they would outline their key priorities for the whole term, so that we can have some predictability,” says Anderson. “Then to go after, whether it’s updating the city plan, district plans, making additional tweaks to the zoning bylaw in a very methodical way, which can respond to community growth pressures, as well as what they heard at the doors, and the realities of industry.”

“We have to engage this now,” Elliott says. “We can’t wait for that report. We heard loud and clear what citizens want. Re-engage, take a look at this proper consultation, bring it back to the table and make changes that’s reasonable for everyone.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson