A growing population is stretching Edmonton organizations that support newcomers thin.
Africa Centre supports newcomers and people of African descent in Edmonton. The centre is feeling the pressure.
“Housing is becoming a huge need. There’s been exponential growth in the need for our mental health clinic,” the centre’s executive director, Sam Juru, said.
Juru has been with the centre for less than two years.
In that time, he says the client base has exploded, as people move from other provinces and outside the country.
“It’s that duality of migration that’s coming up that we’re seeing,” Juru said.
Statistics Canada data shows Edmonton added 63,215 people to its population in 2023.
“I don’t think we ever would have expected so many people coming to Edmonton, ward Nakota Isga councillor Andrew Knack said.
The City Plan charts Edmonton’s path to accommodate a population of 2 million people. Council says the programs are in place, but rapid growth is changing timelines.
“I think a lot of us were thinking that it’s probably going to take a decade to hit 1.25 million, if not more than that,” Knack said.
“We’re going to be at (that number) probably by the end of 2025.”
One former city planner says the city needs a balanced approach to absorb the growth.
Neal LaMontagne says cities can’t spend too much in anticipation of more people, because of the tax burden on existing residents.
“We work in a fiscally constrained environment. We want to make smart choices, wise choices,” LaMontagne said. “That’s hard to do, not impossible but hard to do in any city.”
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi says his plan involves investing in basics.
“Ever since I got elected, my goal has been we need to invest back in core municipal services,” Sohi said.
Meanwhile, newcomer groups are expecting to stay busy.
“We need for those migrants to thrive and prosper themselves,” Juru said.