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Name: Stephen D’Amelio

What position are you running for? Councilor Ward 13

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 enters the next Council term with significant opportunity, but also real risks from tariffs and trade uncertainty, AI-driven disruption, an aging workforce and employers scaling back.

My priority would be investing in Londoners and the businesses already here while continuing to attract new investment. That means faster, clearer permitting, a one-front-door approach for business, helping local companies scale and aggressively pursuing provincial, federal and corporate investment rather than placing every cost on municipal taxpayers.

One of our greatest opportunities is talent. Western has approximately 40,000 students and Fanshawe reported more than 19,000 students in 2025—nearly 60,000 potential workers, entrepreneurs and innovators in our community. We should work with employers and both institutions to expand paid placements, apprenticeships, retraining and direct pathways into London careers.

I also support co-operatives, employee ownership and succession models that keep businesses and wealth rooted locally.

Finally, downtown, transit, housing and culture are economic infrastructure. . City data estimates that tourism generated approximately $616 million in local GDP in 2023 and supported nearly 7,900 London jobs. Our UNESCO City of Music designation, festivals, sporting events, conventions, nightlife and downtown should therefore be treated not simply as cultural amenities, but as economic-development tools that can attract visitors, investment and talent.

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 support the new Downtown Plan, but my priority would be implementation and measurable results.

I would prioritize cleaner and safer streets, occupied storefronts, easier approvals for new businesses, coordinated construction and public spaces that are actively programmed rather than simply redesigned. Safety requires visible enforcement alongside outreach, mental-health, addiction and housing supports.

I strongly support adaptive reuse and office-to-residential conversions where buildings are suitable. These conversions have already created 213 downtown homes, bringing residents and customers into buildings that might otherwise remain vacant.

I would also prioritize the Plan’s City of Music, public-space and River District initiatives, using our UNESCO designation, Canada Life Place, Covent Garden Market, Dundas Place, festivals and the Thames connection to make downtown a destination throughout the year. The Plan contains 58 actions and four major “Big Moves”; the next Council cannot realistically treat all 58 as equal priorities.

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?

I support the Whole of Community Response with an eye to expanding supportive and transitional housing, prevention and outreach and ensuring Hubs actually provide pathways into permanent housing. We should measure success by how many people become and remain housed, not simply how many programs we fund.

I would build on the model of London’s new Micro-Modular Shelter at 3900 Cheese Factory Road, which provides up to 70 people with private shelter, meals, hygiene facilities, case management, mental-health and addiction supports and transportation. I believe we should explore developing this concept into a larger wraparound community model, where housing and shelter are connected in one location with health care, mental-health and addiction treatment, income and employment assistance, identification services, meals, hygiene, storage, case management and pathways into permanent housing.

London’s current micro-modular site already provides transportation; I would expand that principle into a reliable service network.

I support strengthening London’s Coordinated Informed Response and Downtown Response Team, which already bring City staff, outreach agencies and police together.

I would also seek Provincial and Federal governments be meaningful funding partners in housing and homelessness rather than continually shifting costs to municipalities.

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

I support greater infill and density where infrastructure, transit and services can support it -particularly downtown, along major transit corridors, around employment areas and through redevelopment of underused properties — while respecting established neighbourhoods and ensuring residents have a meaningful voice in major changes.

I want London to place greater emphasis on rent-geared-to-income housing, where what someone pays reflects their actual household income, alongside nonprofit, co-operative and supportive housing.

That means leveraging provincial and federal funding, expanding partnerships with nonprofit and co-op providers, continuing appropriate office-to-residential conversions and creating mixed-income communities rather than concentrating lower-income residents.

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?

I view cultural infrastructure as part of London’s economic and community infrastructure. During the next Council term I would prioritize maintaining and modernizing the facilities we already have before committing to major new projects, particularly where age, accessibility, technology or capacity are limiting their use.

London’s new Downtown Plan specifically identifies strengthening our UNESCO City of Music designation and public spaces as major priorities, and I believe we should use that designation much more aggressively to attract events, visitors and investment.

Investment decisions should be based on usage, accessibility, economic and tourism impact, community benefit, lifecycle costs and the ability to attract provincial, federal, philanthropic or corporate funding.

I also want room in that system for grassroots organizations and emerging artists, not simply our largest institutions.

The goal should be cultural infrastructure that is used frequently, financially sustainable, accessible to Londoners and capable of bringing people & economic activity into our neighbourhoods and downtown.

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?

Locally, I would prioritize 15-minute service on major high-demand corridors, better reliability, earlier and later service and transit designed around major employment areas and shift changes.

I support direct shift-change routes, smaller buses or on-demand service where full conventional routes are inefficient and partnerships with major employers to identify actual employee travel patterns. Planned expansion into areas including Innovation Park is a step in the right direction.

London must also strengthen connections beyond the city. Our downtown intercity bus terminal should connect seamlessly with LTC, VIA Rail and the airport. I would advocate for more frequent and reliable VIA service along the Windsor–London–Toronto corridor; VIA currently lists 41 London-to-Toronto departures per week.

The City should actively support YXU in attracting and retaining routes and improving transit access to the airport.

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?

I would strengthen London’s existing Development and Business Portal into a true one-front-door system, with a single accountable contact for applications, clear checklists, expected timelines, outstanding requirements and automatic status updates. Where possible, departmental reviews should occur concurrently rather than moving a file unnecessarily from one department to another.

I also support regularly reviewing regulations and processes to eliminate duplication or outdated requirements while maintaining necessary safety, accessibility, environmental and community protections.

Procurement should remain open, competitive and transparent, but we can make it easier for London’s small and locally owned businesses, co-operatives and emerging companies to compete through simpler documentation, supplier education and appropriately sized contracts, while respecting trade obligations and ensuring taxpayers receive good value. London’s procurement policy already recognizes fairness, innovation and best value; we should build on that.

Finally, customer service needs measurable standards. I would publish approval timelines and service performance so businesses can see whether City Hall is actually becoming faster and more responsive.

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?

I support London’s Plan, but 155 commitments over ten years need clear annual priorities, budgets, timelines and accountability developed with Indigenous partners.
The next Council should publicly report what was promised, what was funded and what was completed and what results followed.

I would support stronger outreach to qualified Indigenous-owned businesses for municipal procurement opportunities, Indigenous entrepreneurship and employment initiatives and earlier meaningful involvement of First Nations and urban Indigenous organizations in planning and housing decisions.

Cultural investment should support Indigenous-led programming, artists, heritage and gathering spaces, while municipal services should be reviewed for accessibility and cultural safety.

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?

I would prioritize infrastructure using three tests: public safety and state of good repair, demonstrated need and whether the investment unlocks housing, jobs or economic growth.
I would also aggressively pursue provincial and federal infrastructure funding, partnerships and other revenue sources before turning to property taxpayers.

Every major investment should have a clear business case, lifecycle cost and measurable benefit. Competitive taxes come from setting priorities and leveraging outside investment not simply postponing infrastructure we will eventually have to pay for anyway.

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?

I support the goals of the Climate Emergency Action Plan, but climate action should be practical, measurable and economically sustainable.

I would prioritize investments that deliver multiple benefits: energy-efficiency improvements to homes, businesses and municipal buildings; stormwater and flood-resilience infrastructure; protecting and expanding our tree canopy and shaded public spaces; better transit; and transitioning municipal vehicles to electric, hybrid or other lower-emission options where the lifecycle costs make sense.

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 believe they should be exercised carefully and transparently, not as a substitute for collaboration with Council.

When those powers are used, my role as a councilor would be to examine the evidence, financial implications and impact on Londoners, ask difficult questions publicly and support or oppose the decision based on its merits—not simply on who proposed it. My responsibility would be to represent Ward 13 while remaining an independent vote and responsible steward of the entire city.

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 City should support this sector through predictable funding, streamlined permits, affordable access to public spaces, partnerships with local businesses and stronger promotion of London as a cultural destination. Municipal support should also come with clear goals and measurable outcomes, including attendance, tourism impact, local employment, private-sector partnerships and community participation.

The goal should be to invest in initiatives that can grow, attract additional funding and create lasting economic and community value for Londoners.

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