‘If we’re serious about economic growth, municipalities need to be seen as partners in the national growth model’: Saab
Carole Saab has spent the last five years leading the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. From a global pandemic to an affordability crisis and economic uncertainty, she’s seen how municipalities have stepped up to ensure Canadians thrive and prosper. ‘This is the moment to double down on delivery,’ she tells Means & Ways.
‘There’s an increasing acknowledgement that if we need to meet this particular moment, it’s all hands on deck,’ says Carole Saab, Federation of Canadian Municipalities CEO.
If the federal government is serious about building Canada, it needs to do so in alignment with the cities and towns that are the country’s economic engine, says Federation of Canadian Municipalities CEO Carole Saab.
Municipalities aren’t just service providers — they’re key economic actors that play a large role in Canadians’ quality of life, Saab told Means & Ways in an online interview. Economic uncertainty, high housing costs and inflation hit communities first, and they bear the brunt of the housing, public safety and public health crises, she said.
Infrastructure, roads, access to broadband internet, housing supply, workforce mobility, the Canada-U.S. relationship and global trade are all issues where municipalities are on the front line, she said. “Increased tariffs on steel impact the delivery of core infrastructure. Municipalities are not insulated. They’re where these issues come home to roost.”
Luckily, municipalities are stepping up in ways that complement provincial and federal ambitions. She highlighted Brampton’s new Centre for Innovation, Churchill’s multi-government rail collaboration, and Sturgeon County’s broadband partnership as proof points.
Culture of action
“These aren’t one-offs. Municipalities can act quickly,” Saab said. “The federal government can learn from that culture of action. … If we’re serious about economic growth, municipalities need to be seen as partners in the national growth model.”
This includes rural Canada, which is “fundamental to the country’s future — not just as the source of our food, energy and resources, but as a driver of economic growth, resilience, and national prosperity,” Saab said in a report, The future of rural Canada, released during FCM’s national conference May 29 to June 1.
The report highlighted aging infrastructure, inadequate connectivity, rising public safety pressures, “and a fiscal framework that was never designed for the responsibilities rural governments now carry,” as part of a system that no longer matches today’s realities. “Rural communities are ready to lead, but they need a partner in Ottawa who will match their ambition,” Saab said.
Fiercely focused
Saab stressed the need for flexible federal funding and more rural voices at policy tables. Ottawa-based FCM represents more than 2,000 cities and communities across the country, home to 92% of Canadians.
On the fifth anniversary of her appointment as CEO of the FCM, Saab is reflective, proud and still fiercely focused on transformation. Her tenure has spanned a turbulent five years marked by a global pandemic, economic volatility, political uncertainty and deep structural challenges, but she sees real progress.
“We’ve helped shift the national conversation,” Saab told Means & Ways. “There’s broader recognition that local governments are playing a role. At the macro level, it’s a substantive shift.”
But she’s blunt about the main roadblock: the mismatch between municipal responsibilities and their funding tools. “The biggest, most persistent challenge is the lack of alignment across orders of government. We’re operating with 19th-century fiscal models and delivering 21st-century services.”
“Increased tariffs on steel impact the delivery of core infrastructure. Municipalities are not insulated. They’re where these issues come home to roost.”
Limiting frameworks
Municipalities largely receive revenue through property taxes, while provincial legislative frameworks reduce options to develop revenue from other sources, resulting in a reliance on grants and transfers from the federal, provincial and territorial governments.
Since 2016, inflation-adjusted sales and income-tax revenue has increased 3.5% a year, while municipal property tax revenue is down 1.1%, according to an FCM backgrounder. Yet, municipalities are “expected to manage housing, infrastructure and public safety — all while absorbing economic shocks,” Saab said.
The FCM is calling on the federal government to invest adequately in the next generation of essential infrastructure and to bring together all levels of government to create a Municipal Growth Framework. By establishing a new, diverse, predictable, and fair funding model for municipalities, local governments will be better equipped to deliver the high quality of life Canadians expect and deserve.
Saab has a clear message for Ottawa: “This is the moment to double down on delivery. There’s an increasing acknowledgement that if we need to meet this particular moment, it’s all hands on deck.”
