We are Guelph Stronger Together

Labour, students, and community promoting a Guelph vision for and by community members. We are Guelph community members united in our commitment to transparent, community-driven leadership that serves every resident. Our guiding philosophy is investment in a future that meets Guelph’s needs. We are dedicated to housing affordability, public safety, greening our communities, good jobs, reliable transportation and smart growth. As a candidate for the City of Guelph, I recognize that the decisions made in the 2026-2030 term will shape our community for generations. I hereby pledge my commitment to the following pillars of leadership.

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Housing

Greening Our Communities:

• Net-Zero Commitment: Work collaboratively to reach Guelph’s goal of becoming a net-zero carbon community by 2050 Accelerated

• Action: Reach Guelph’s target of a 63% per capita reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 (against the 2018 baseline).

• Green Building Standards: Advocate that all new municipal and residential developments comply with high-tier Green Development Standards.

 

Deeply Affordable & Green Housing

• Accessible Affordability: Prioritize mixed housing options where rent is capped at 30% of household income, with an emphasis on subsidized and deeply affordable accessible units.

• Densification: Growth that prioritizes sustainability and densification with a focus on walkable neighbourhoods near transit and services.

• Green Standards: Mandate that all new developments meet Green Development Framework (GDF) standards to ensure long-term energy efficiency and lower utility costs for residents.

 

Dignity in Basic Needs

• Safe Shelter: Ensure reliable, around-the-clock access to safe shelter and three nutritious meals a day for every resident in need.

• Immediate Support: Maintain and expand emergency community grants to bridge service gaps for daytime drop-in spaces and food security.

• Public Safety: Champion safety initiatives that ensure a secure environment for every neighborhood and every community member.

 

FOOD

Urban Agriculture & Sustainable Food Systems

• Community Garden Incentives: Promote and create incentives for apartment, commercial, and municipal buildings to utilize rooftops and planter boxes for community food gardens.

• Sustainable Infrastructure: Promote the integration of urban food production into smart growth planning to enhance local food resilience and reduce transport emissions.

 

Scaling Food Sovereignty & Support

• Expansion of The SEED: Support an increase in funding for The SEED’s sliding-scale grocery programs, which allow residents to pay what they can afford to ensure high-quality food access for all.

• Neighbourhood Dining Halls: Support the expansion of the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition (GNSC) to establish neighborhood dining halls in every ward, providing meals at cost through a community house model.

• Surplus Food Recovery: Support strengthening networks between grocery stores and community service providers to redirect surplus food to those in need.

 

Employment

Protecting Vital Resources & Reclaiming Public Services

• Water Sovereignty: Pledge to fiercely oppose the privatization of our local water supply and systems, ensuring they remain a protected, publicly owned resource.

• Opposing Privatization: Resist the contracting out of essential municipal work, ensuring services remain accountable to residents rather than profit margins.

• Municipalizing Waste: Work to keep city composting operations under direct municipal jurisdiction and to have city works operate them; establish clear, mandatory bylaws for composting and waste sorting to ensure 100% community participation.

 

Economic Stability & Quality Employment

• Secure Jobs: Promote a Guelph’s "Living Wage" city by prioritizing secure, high-quality municipal employment and supporting local businesses that provide stable jobs, and tying new business approval and city-issued development incentives to a commitment to pay all employees a Guelph living wage.

• Local Resilience: Support a "Guelph-First" procurement policy that aligns with the provincial Buy Ontario Procurement Directive, ensuring municipal bids for goods and services prioritize local, provincial, and Canadian suppliers.

 

Sustainable Jobs & Energy Future

• Community Energy Initiative (CEI): Commit to the Guelph Community Energy Initiative as a driver for the "green-collar" economy, creating stable, well-paying jobs in renewable energy and building retrofits.

• Protecting Worker Rights: Uphold and protect the rights of all workers, supporting fair labour practices and safe working environments as core components of Guelph’s economic identity.

 

Transportation

Reliable & Equitable Transportation

• Modernizing Transit: Support a free, accessible, and safe transit system with optimized routing to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions.

• Equitable Growth: Work to ensure that service expansion—from snow clearing to transit frequency—is distributed fairly across all neighbourhoods, meeting the unique needs of every ward. Advocate for reliable bike and walking lanes/trails that are maintained year-round.

 

Taxation and accountability

• Lobby to increase Federal & Provincial financial support to municipalities, instead of increasing property taxes and fees to cover shortfalls and downloading of service provisions

• Ensure value, quality, and transparency in tax spending through an open review process that engages all community members in defining Guelph’s priorities and needs.

• Direct city staff to create a vote dashboard that records councilors’ votes.