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Name: Samuel Trosow

What position are you running for? Councilor Ward 6

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’s principal opportunities and greatest strengths derive from our exceptionally strong post-secondary educational sector as well as the creative energies of London’s diverse residents. London is home to a top research institution which attracts a world-class faculty, post-docs, graduate students, librarians and other researchers. This potential source for massive innovation, economic development and cultural and civic enrichment needs to be better integrated in combination with our local talent pool.
A serious obstacle is the risk of losing local talent if they do not feel they have the opportunity to enjoy a safe, secure and affordable community with adequate transit, reasonably priced housing opportunities, adequate health care services, and ample entertainment and recreational opportunities. We need to do more to retain graduates in the community and this requires addressing the general crisis of affordability within the limited ability of a municipality. London must be seen as an attractive community where talented individuals want to settle, flourish, raise families and pursue their careers.

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.

I have supported the development of the new Downtown Plan and I have made some revisions to it. But it cannot become yet another planning document that ends up on the shelf. It needs purposeful implementation and funding and this will require difficult choices.
I have consistently spoken to the need (1) to more purposefully discourage commercial vacancies; (2) to recognize the central role of the arts, culture and heritage sector; and (3) to improve public transit and active transportation opportunities for getting to and around the downtown. For vibrant public spaces that people want to come to, we need to address all three of these issues.

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?

London’s all of community response needs to be consistently coordinated and properly funded within the limits of the City’s resources. But we are constrained by a regressive and restrictive property tax system that makes it impossible for a city like London to solve these systemic problems. We should continue our advocacy work, consistently pushing senior levels of government to step-up and do their proper share. But we also need to assess what factors are within our control and which can be meaningfully addressed within our constrained resources. We need a plan, and we need to stick to it.
Londoners need to feel safe in public spaces, but we should avoid falling into a cycle of blame, shaming, scapegoating and stereotyping. London is a much better place than is depicted in some social media circles and we need to take a positive, hopeful and forward-looking approach. The homelessness problem will best be solved by creating more housing opportunities. That is deeply affordable and supportive housing accompanied by necessary wrap-around services. I support the “housing first” approach as I believe safe and secure housing is a fundamental right that should be applied to all persons. Our community-based responses must be supported and expanded, and our front-line service providers must be better appreciated.

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

We need to reorient our planning and development approval mindset. We are constrained by increasingly restrictive provincial planning rules (like the loss of the bonusing tool and other restrictions). But there is still ample opportunity for meaningful local decision-making which emphasizes building affordable housing units, respecting neighbourhood character, and realistically understanding infrastructure limitations. We exacerbate traffic gridlock and frustrate our mobility goals when we approve projects without fully considering the cumulative impacts of traffic in the vicinity. The massive developments approved along the Oxford corridor without meaningful plans for higher order transit is an example I have been consistently raising throughout the council term.

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?

The current council expended considerable funds upgrading the JLC/ Bud Gardens/ Canada Life Place arena and the next council needs to emphasize smaller venues that are underutilized and inadequately maintained. We should reconsider how we are using Centennial Hall and the bandshell at Victoria Park as examples. I support conducting a city-wide cultural infrastructure needs-assessment survey early in the council term and then target hotel occupancy and other funds towards priority-needed improvements. We need to better recognize and support our anchor institutions in the downtown like Museum London, the Grand Theatre, and the London Public Library. We should also prioritize the reinvigoration of community grants and better support the London Arts Council.

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?

We need to build out our public transit service to better serve the airport, the VIA-Rail station, emerging employment areas, newer subdivisions, and inter-city connections.
Transportation planning is fragmented between the city and LTC and this must be better integrated especially as we are completing and bringing into service the new BRT system. The remaining western and northern prongs of higher order transit must be planned and funded to complete the network.
We need transit that is frequent, accessible, comprehensive, reliable, and affordable. The next council must carefully implement the Mobility Master Plan and provide adequate funding to realize its goals with an eye towards improving service, enhancing mobility and ensuring equity for all Londoners.

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?

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?

We need to move beyond performative statements to properly recognize the goals and commitments of the ambitious yet achievable ReconciliAction Plan. We should implement the Plan with clearer timelines and delineation of departmental responsibilities. We must better understand the scope and extent of the “duty to consult” and how it fits into our land-use approval, community development, and resource management functions. Clearer protocols, roles and expectations are needed to satisfy this mandatory legal and moral duty.
Reconciliation and the city’s other diversity and inclusion policies should play a more central role in directing planning for the arts and culture sector. We should rely on the expertise we already have in the equity-seeking communities and better incorporate their representatives directly into the ongoing process.

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?

Public safety and regular replacement and maintenance must play a central role in these decisions. Deferring necessary projects in the interest of meeting a pre-set budget target must be avoided. We can’t afford to politicize our infrastructure program which must remain professionally determined based on the best evidence and public safety interest.
I find the increased pressures to depart from the longstanding principle that growth must pay for growth to be disturbing. The general taxpayer cannot be called on to subsidize new developments.

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?

The recent audit showing that we have not met our climate change targets is very troubling. It points to the need to reevaluate our approach and commitment to these goals. Councillors need to be better integrated into the process and there should be regular reports at standing committees with more frequent public participation opportunities. Reducing emissions is the key priority, and this requires improving public transit and active transportation opportunities. Reducing waste, and better protecting tree-cover, farmland and watersheds are also crucial priorities.

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?

I have consistently opposed the expansion of strong-mayor powers as I feel they are inconsistent with a properly functioning local government, are inimical to effective representation, and generally create a dangerous power imbalance in city halls across Ontario. While I will attempt to work productively and respectfully with whomever is elected Mayor, I believe Ward Councillors have a special responsibility to exercise heightened diligence, ask the difficult questions, and not feel pressured to passively go along with votes on Mayoral Directives. My voting record reflects these concerns.

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?

The arts, culture and creative sectors must be viewed as an essential component in London’s future growth and development. There is currently a disconnect where the arts are too often seen as a “nice-to-have” add-on, neither a policy priority nor subject for funding. We heard this at the council table during budget deliberations, and we’re hearing it during this campaign.
But the creative sector is not only a driver of economic development and urban regeneration. It is essential for the human soul, personal growth and civic pride.
The next council must better engage in long-term planning for this sector. This should include assigning explicit responsibility to a Council standing committee, defining clearer staff and department roles, and paying more attention to ongoing public feedback especially from the creative artists themselves.
We can’t view long-range capital investments and recurring operating costs as one-off requests which are too easy to dismiss in times of budget stress. Instead, anticipating the need for these investments must be hard-wired into the system, just like planning for roads, sewage and public safety costs.
Arts and culture contribute to London’s placemaking, an important ingredient for downtown vitality, tourism, and civic identity.
We need to take a critical assessment of existing facilities and programs to determine where are there gaps and the need for improvement. This survey should be conducted at the start of the new council term, in advance of the next four-year budget cycle which will be considered in 2028. The city should also give more attention to arts funding in its advocacy work with the Provincial and Federal governments.
Regarding infrastructure investment, many of London’s cultural facilities, creative spaces, and heritage assets face aging infrastructure and capacity challenges.
There needs to be more space in the core and throughout the city dedicated to creative production; be it art-studios, performance and exhibition venues, rehearsal spaces or live-work opportunities. These must be accessible and affordable to emerging artists in the creative sector who lack funds and corporate backing.
Filling the need for creative space corresponds with strategies to reduce commercial vacancies in the core. An assessment of vacant storefronts and office buildings is needed to identify good candidates for potential conversions and redevelopment. Better use of the vacant buildings registry and stepped-up building inspections will be required, and this can be supported by a targeted licensing and registration program. While the city lacks the jurisdiction to impose a “vacancy tax,” it has broad licensing, registration and code enforcements powers which could be better utilized to support conversions that would benefit the creative sector.
Separate and apart from economic development benefits, the community well-being aspects of the arts and culture sector needs more emphasis. In addition to promoting large events that will bring tourists to London, we must also take a community-oriented and grass-roots approach which recognizes the very rich cultural life right here in London. We have a very strong set of community bands, choirs, artist collectives, and other groups which need to be better recognized and nurtured.
Art and music should be better incorporated into our Age Friendly City strategy and small community grants, and other supports should be reinstated, expanded and valued.
Municipal budgets require making choices among various priorities. And I believe that support for the arts, culture and heritage sector should be seen as a greater priority than in the past. The 2024-27 multi-year budget process, the first under the new Strong-Mayor-Powers rules, produced disappointing results for the creative sector. This change will require greater political will on the part of the council, a reallocation of priorities, and a reoriented mindset about London’s path to economic development, prosperity andcivic pride.
We can no longer afford to think of the arts, culture and heritage as after-thoughts which would be “nice-to-have” as resources allow. I firmly reject the “back-to basics” argument that marginalizes support for the creative sector, and I will continue to work diligently as a City Councillor towards these ends.

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