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Name: Kamrul Ahsan

What position are you running for? Councilor Ward 7

What do you see as the principal opportunities and obstacles facing London’s economy over the next Council term? What should the City do to support business growth, job creation, entrepreneurship and investment, and how should it work with employers, Western University, Fanshawe College and others to attract and retain the talent London needs?

London has a lot going for it. We have Western, Fanshawe, strong health and life-science sectors, manufacturing, agri-food, technology and a growing creative sector. Our population and economy are also growing. The challenge is making sure that growth translates into good jobs and more investment. The City should focus on getting the basics right: reliable infrastructure, serviced employment lands, reasonable taxes, faster approvals and a business environment where people can actually get projects moving. We also need to do a better job connecting local employers with the talent we already have. Western and Fanshawe should be much more closely connected to local employers through co-ops, apprenticeships, applied research and training programs. We should also make it easier for newcomers and other workers who are underemployed to find jobs that match their skills.

London now has a new Downtown Plan. Which elements would you prioritize and what results should Londoners expect to see during the next Council term? Please address the downtown business environment, public spaces, housing and office conversions, cultural and civic destinations, safety, transportation and implementation accountability.

The new Downtown Plan gives London a good direction. The important thing now is actually implementing it. I want a downtown that is busy, clean, safe and welcoming throughout the day and evening. That means supporting downtown businesses, improving public spaces, making streets more attractive and active, and addressing vacant and underused buildings. We should make it easier to convert suitable vacant office space into housing, while continuing to support businesses and cultural uses downtown. We also need good public spaces and stronger connections to the Thames River and other destinations. Transportation matters too. People should be able to get downtown easily by transit, walking, cycling or car.

Most importantly, Council needs to be accountable for implementation. Each major action should have a responsible department, a timeline, a budget and a public progress report. Londoners should be able to tell whether the plan is actually being delivered.

London faces an urgent health and homelessness crisis. Residents, employees and businesses also have concerns about violence, property crime, public disorder and confidence in public spaces. These conditions require related but distinct responses. What actions would you support in each area, and what responsibilities should fall to the City, police, the health system, other orders of government and community partners?

Homelessness requires housing, shelter, outreach, mental-health and addiction services, and better coordination between agencies. The City has an important role in housing and homelessness services, but it cannot solve the health-care side of the problem on its own. The province needs to do its part on mental health, addictions and health care. At the same time, people need to feel safe in their neighbourhoods and public spaces. Police should focus on violence, crime and situations that require police powers. The City has responsibility for things like lighting, parks, sanitation, by-law enforcement and the design and maintenance of public spaces. I don’t think we should choose between compassion and public safety. We need both, with each level of government and community organization doing the job it is actually responsible for.

What changes would you support to increase housing supply and affordability and create neighbourhoods with access to employment, services, transportation and public amenities?

London needs more housing, but simply building more expensive housing will not solve affordability. I support allowing more forms of housing, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhouses and mid-rise apartments, especially near transit, jobs and existing services. We should make it easier to build these forms of housing without unnecessary planning delays. We also need more affordable and non-profit housing. The City can contribute land, incentives and partnerships with housing providers, co-ops and community organizations. Growth also needs to come with the things that make neighbourhoods work: transit, parks, schools, childcare, shops and other services. People should not have to drive across the city for everything.

London’s cultural facilities, venues and public spaces are essential to the life of the city, and several face age, capacity or funding pressures. What cultural infrastructure should be prioritised during the next Council term, and how should the City decide where to invest?

Before building major new facilities, we need to take care of the ones we already have. That means looking at the condition, accessibility, safety, capacity and long-term operating costs of London’s cultural facilities and deciding where investment is most needed. Centennial Hall and other aging facilities cannot simply be allowed to deteriorate until replacement becomes unavoidable. I also think we should look at how underused municipal buildings and other spaces could be made available for artists, community organizations and cultural uses. When Council considers a major cultural investment, residents should know both the capital cost and the long-term operating cost, as well as the public benefit the project is expected to provide.

London’s economic success depends on reliable local, regional, national and international connections. How would you improve local transit and service to major employment areas and shift workers, intercity bus and air links, and passenger rail? What should businesses and employees be able to expect in terms of frequency, reliability and access?

Transit is one of the biggest economic issues facing London. A worker can’t take a job if they cannot reliably get to work. We need more frequent and reliable service, particularly to major employment areas, hospitals, industrial areas, Western, Fanshawe and other places with large numbers of workers. Transit also has to work for people who start early, finish late or work shifts.

We should continue improving rapid transit, but we also need to improve the conventional bus network that most Londoners use every day. For intercity travel, the City should continue working with VIA Rail, GO Transit, intercity bus operators and the airport to improve connections and make London easier to reach from other communities. Businesses and workers should be able to expect transit that is frequent, dependable and available when they actually need it.

What changes would you make to municipal approvals, regulation, procurement and customer service to make it easier to invest, build and operate a business in London?

Running a business is already complicated enough without unnecessary municipal delays. The City should make approvals easier to understand, reduce duplication, improve online services and give applicants clearer timelines. For larger or more complicated projects, businesses should have a clear point of contact who can help them navigate the process. The City also spends a significant amount of public money through procurement. We should continue looking at ways to create opportunities for local, small and Indigenous businesses while maintaining open, competitive and fair procurement. Good customer service should be treated as part of economic development, not as an afterthought.

London City Council approved the 2025–2035 ReconciliAction Plan in May 2025, committing the City to 155 actions over ten years. What should the next Council do to translate these commitments into a clear, properly resourced implementation plan developed with Indigenous partners? How would you advance reconciliation through economic development, procurement, planning, cultural investment and municipal services?

The next Council should work with Indigenous partners to establish a clear implementation plan with timelines, funding, responsible departments and regular public reporting. The plan contains 155 actions, so there needs to be a realistic way of tracking which actions are actually being completed. Reconciliation should also be reflected in how the City buys goods and services, plans neighbourhoods, supports housing and invests in culture. There are real opportunities to support Indigenous businesses, Indigenous employment and training, Indigenous-led housing and cultural initiatives. These should be built through genuine partnerships with Indigenous communities.

London’s growth depends on roads, transit, water and wastewater systems, emergency services and community facilities. How would you determine which investments proceed first, pay for growth fairly and maintain competitive property taxes?

My approach is simple: prioritize infrastructure based on need, safety, capacity and the services required to support growth. Growth should pay its fair share of the infrastructure that growth requires. Development charges are an important part of that, but we also need responsible long-term financial planning so that existing taxpayers are not continually asked to absorb the costs of new development. At the same time, we need to maintain the infrastructure we already own. Roads, water systems, transit, emergency facilities and community buildings are expensive to replace when we wait too long. I want growth to be properly planned from the beginning instead of approving development first and trying to catch up with infrastructure afterward.

London City Council approved the Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2022. The Plan calls for a 55 per cent reduction in community-wide greenhouse-gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. Which elements of the Plan would you prioritise, accelerate or change during the next Council term? How would you ensure that climate action strengthens resilience, affordability and economic competitiveness for residents and businesses?

London should continue working toward its climate targets, but climate policy also has to make sense for households and businesses. I would focus on areas where we can reduce emissions while also lowering long-term costs and making the city more resilient: energy efficiency, building retrofits, transit, active transportation, tree canopy, local energy and protection against extreme heat and flooding. The City should also consider climate impacts when making major infrastructure decisions. It is much cheaper to design for future conditions than to repeatedly repair damage later. Climate action should be practical, measurable and connected to affordability and economic competitiveness.

How should Council respond when strong-mayor powers are exercised, and how would you use your role as a councillor to provide effective scrutiny and accountability?

As a councillor, I would respect the Mayor’s legal authority under Ontario’s strong-mayor legislation while continuing to do my job as an elected member of Council. When strong-mayor powers are used, Council still needs to provide scrutiny. I would expect decisions to be properly documented, financially justified and open to public review. My role would be to ask questions, examine the evidence, understand the financial and service impacts and make sure residents know why major decisions are being made. The Mayor and Council should be able to work together, but cooperation should not mean that Council stops asking difficult questions.

What role should arts, culture and the creative industries play in London’s economic and community development? How should the City support cultural organisations, artists, venues, festivals and creative businesses while ensuring that municipal investment produces lasting public value?

Arts and culture are not just something we fund for entertainment. They are part of what makes London an attractive place to live, visit, work and invest. London’s UNESCO City of Music designation gives us an opportunity to build on our existing music, arts, festival and creative sectors. The City should support local artists, venues, festivals and creative businesses, including smaller organizations that can have a hard time accessing funding or space.

At the same time, public funding needs to produce a public benefit. We should be clear about what we are trying to achieve and report back on participation, accessibility, local economic activity and other outcomes.

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