Alberta’s business leaders are worried about the state of their communities.
At the heart of their worry is crime and safety. When communities are safe, secure, and well-maintained, they thrive. This isn’t a “nice-to-have” — it’s essential for attracting people, supporting businesses, and building lasting prosperity. Unfortunately, that sense of safety has eroded in Alberta communities, threatening both the vibrancy of neighbourhoods and the strength of various local economies.
As Albertans head to the polls this fall, local governments must make safety, security and addressing crime a top priority.
The Business Council of Alberta (BCA) advocates for thoughtful, non-partisan policy at the provincial and federal levels. Municipal matters have traditionally fallen outside of our mandate; however, recently, CEOs have consistently told me that they are concerned about the state of Alberta’s communities.
That growing chorus compelled us to provide broad recommendations to all Alberta municipal leaders, given every local government in the province will be refreshed in about one month’s time, and they need good advice from the business community.
This summer, BCA surveyed its members — comprising CEOs and leading entrepreneurs representing hundreds of thousands of jobs across the province’s regions, industries, and company sizes — and found that a staggering 94 per cent of business leaders are concerned about public safety and crime.
I was struck not only that crime and safety emerged as the top local-level concern for business leaders, but also by the intensity of that concern.
In follow-up discussions, business leaders described trouble with everything from social disorder and safety concerns for staff in downtowns to vandalism and theft at stores in smaller, rural communities. Many worry that if these crime-and-safety issues persist, companies will relocate offices outside of downtown cores, further draining their vitality, reducing foot traffic, and eroding the property tax base that funds local services. Downtowns are already struggling with post-pandemic back-to-work challenges. We don’t need even quieter ones.
In smaller communities, ongoing crime and safety concerns could push businesses to close storefronts altogether and move online, gutting main streets and stripping away the amenities that make these communities feel alive, accelerating the sense of decline that many rural centres are already battling.
Municipalities of every size across Alberta are facing these challenges, and it’s shaping where businesses are — and aren’t — willing to invest.
These challenges aren’t unique to Alberta, either. Communities across Canada are grappling with a deterioration of public safety and a rise in social disorder. The causes are complex and interconnected, spanning from much-needed bail reform and ending the catch and release of repeat offenders, to addressing mental health, addictions and housing.
But while the roots are broad, the impacts are felt most acutely at the local level, by residents, employees and businesses. More than ever, people are looking to their local governments for action. Municipalities must step up, take a clear leadership role, and work in lockstep with provincial and federal partners to confront these challenges head-on.
What’s more, businesses want to work with local governments on solutions. Together, the private and public sector can develop business and safety advisory task forces with local government and law enforcement, or better real-time monitoring and alerts for criminal activity, or even start collaborating to support public-space security and uniformed presence on the street.
Yet right now, business leaders don’t feel like local governments are willing to partner with them. Over 65 per cent of the business leaders we surveyed feel that local governments do not care about business or support their growth. That number is extremely concerning, because business is the lifeblood of any community. It creates jobs, generates tax revenue, and contributes to the charities and organizations that strengthen our social fabric.
This should be a wake-up call for local governments and candidates: Now is the time to engage meaningfully with businesses, and addressing crime and public safety is the perfect place to start making changes. Failing to do so risks the erosion of the very vibrancy that makes communities thrive.
Adam Legge is president of the Business Council of Alberta.
As appeared in The Edmonton Journal.