Amarjeet Sohi

Honestly, Mayor Sohi needs to wake up. I live in Edmonton and everything has gotten more expensive. Property taxes up, transit unreliable, and I still can't find anything affordable near work. My grocery bill has gone through the roof and city hall keeps talking about big projects instead of helping regular people pay their bills. We need a mayor who actually gets what life costs for working families right now.

Mayor Sohi has been in charge while Edmonton families deal with some of the worst cost pressures in years. Property taxes keep climbing, transit isn't reliable enough, and the city keeps approving projects that don't help everyday people. Meanwhile groceries, rent, and utilities are all through the roof. People in Edmonton are stretched thin and the response from city hall has been disappointing. We need leadership that actually puts affordability first.

Amarjeet Sohi was elected mayor of Edmonton in October 2021 after serving as a federal Liberal cabinet minister under Justin Trudeau in the Infrastructure and Natural Resources portfolios. He brought cross-jurisdictional experience and federal connections to the role — assets that have been both an advantage in securing funding and a source of scrutiny given the partisan context. Edmonton's most urgent and visible challenge during his tenure has been homelessness and encampments. The city has seen sustained increases in visible homelessness, and Sohi's administration has pursued a shelter-first and housing-first framework, working with social service organizations to expand capacity. The results are contested: advocates argue the approach is correct but chronically underfunded; critics argue the city has been too slow to act on bylaw compliance in areas affecting residents and businesses. Economic development, transit expansion, and the Blatchford redevelopment — a large renewable-energy-focused neighbourhood on the former City Centre Airport lands — are ongoing files where his administration has maintained momentum. His connections in Ottawa provided early infrastructure funding advantages, though the political landscape at the federal level has since shifted. Where the tenure has struggled most is in visible public safety outcomes. Crime rates in Edmonton have remained elevated, and pressure from residents and business owners on this issue has intensified through his time in office. Reviewed as an Edmontonian who expects the mayor to balance genuine compassion for the most vulnerable with accountability for safety and quality of life across the whole city.