My point is the two cities have become more similar over the years. If you have been around for a while you can remember a time when Edmonton had a majority of Liberal MLA's and Calgary few or none.
My apologies for being unclear. I'm talking about the biggest financial groups in the country, namely pension funds, life insurance companies, and the like. Some of that money is run in-house and/or though third-party advisors and fiduciaries. You could also add corporations like Brookfield and Kingsett.
Canada may still bear some fruit of Trudeau's labour. Trump pulled the USA out of the Paris Climate Accord and there are some reports that the EU is now opposed to signing long term LNG contracts with American energy suppliers because of it. Who knows, they may have blow up the Nord Stream pipe line for nothing. Moreover, there's nothing wrong with being an elite banker. In fact its probably helpful to have personal relationships with European decision makers. In response to Trump's tariffs, its believed that Carney and the leaders of France, Germany, and Japan got together and orchestrated a sell off of American treasuries last week that destabilized the American bond market last week and forced Trump to relent on some tariffs. It's unclear if PP or anybody in his party has the depth of international financial knowledge and the connections to pull off something like that.
The thing is though the people leaving the GTA are doing it because they want a single family home, not an apartment in a much less desirable downtown.
Surprising some like the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund isn't looking out here for new opportunities. One of the richest pension funds in the world and they always seem to be buying apartment building/condos. Maybe they have bought some out here that I don't know about but I do know they do invest in those kinds of ventures.
Yes, that could help, but we need more than a PR campaign. A weak corporate head/office sector and civic indifference to attracting more has led to a downtown that has struggled for decades.
Ontario Teachers' real estate group is Cadillac Fairview. They're barely represented in the Prairies at all, and regrettably their focus is elsewhere. Edmonton doesn't have the kind of real estate that they're focused on (top tier only), and they've not been a fan of the overall Edmonton market.
Hey! This is a prime lot! These things are relevant. But also, your post was
disagree. Everything you’ve mentioned is driving temporary visits to downtown. Nothing building downtown culture. More importantly, nothing building brand recognition outside of edmonton. I completely AGREE that these things are great for Edmonton, but are missing the point why we are not going to have any legacy prime lot projects any time soon.