Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is preparing to host the annual conference and trade show in Ottawa next month, representing 2,200 member municipalities across the country and more than 2,500 people expected to attend the event.
FCM, a national organization representing local government that has been in operation since 1901 and work with municipalities across Canada, including cities, rural communities, Northern communities and 20 provincial and territorial municipal associations.
This year, the annual conference in Ottawa will take place from May 29 to June 1 at the Rogers Centre and bring together more than 1,500 elected officials from across Canada.
“We’re going to have a very large contingent of people, and it’s great for the economy,” Tierney told Ottawa Compass. “Obviously, they’re going to fill up the coffers here in Ottawa, which I’m always happy about as city council here in Ottawa.
“But of course, it also gives us the opportunity to really talk about what our future is and how we want to take the next year ahead. Looking at how now, we have a new government in play, a new prime minister, and new ministers as well,” he continued. “So again, it’s a great opportunity for a front row seat and to hear the thoughts and express thoughts to a lot of those people that are in power.”
Tierney, who has been the councillor for Beacon Hill-Cyrville since 2010, has served as the City of Ottawa’s representative and board member of the FCM and was recently appointed as the new vice-president of FCM.
He says Ottawa has a unique role in the FCM and that he has been working overtime with federal partners to work on addressing the federal election and ongoing Canada-U.S. relations.
“It’s given me a real insight into every aspect. Let’s face it, we’re in Ottawa, so we’re going to bump into people, whether it’s at a local pub or a local restaurant,” he said. “We’re always crossing paths, and we have very similar synergies.”
The FCA has sent representatives to the National League of Cities (NLC), its counterpart in the U.S., to discuss tariffs and economic and political pressures that are “hitting both sides of the border right now.”
“We’re the closest to the people. Everyone knows that, but they also know what their municipal tax bill is. People never can tell me what they pay in provincial or federal taxes,” he explained. “They have much bigger access to money, and we’re hoping always to continue that discussion.
“Whether it’s housing, policing, infrastructure… Those are a lot of the discussion points. When you can get over 2,000 member municipalities to sing from the same song book and go in and lobby the federal Government on these issues, it’s pretty impressive.”
The Ottawa-specific priorities that Tierney expects to headline at the conference include interprovincial trade barriers, housing, infrastructure and homelessness. But he said these are also national issues that he imagines will be similar for many municipalities.
“[Homelessness] is a national emergency that requires a lot of attention, but it also requires a lot of money as well,” he said. “We want to work with the federal government on what their plan looks like, because we saw a lot of it during the campaign, and I think we have a good opportunity to really flesh out exactly what they’re talking about.”
In the past, party leaders and prime ministers have attended the conference or sent representatives; former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended last year, and former NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has made appearances at multiple conferences.
It’s a habit that Tierney said he hopes new Prime Minister Mark Carney maintains, particularly now that Carney has been elected to represent the Ottawa riding of Nepean.
“Right now, we look forward to chatting with [the federal government] and seeing what a lot of these new ministers are thinking, especially when it comes down to building a half a million new homes a year — that is a challenge,” Tierney said. “And without empowering local governments to deliver those to Canadians, it’s really going to be difficult.”
The program for the event includes workshops, regional caucus meetings, a local Indigenous artisan market, a trade show, and activities with partners like Destination Canada, Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), to name a few.
Next year, Tierney will be the president of the 2026 conference in Edmonton, a role that hasn’t been held by an Ottawa representative in an estimated 84 years.
“It’s been many years since we’ve had someone from the nation’s capital, as even a table officer or first, second or third VP. I’m privileged to be first vice-president. You know, I get to interact, and it gives me access,” he explained. “When they need me to go speak to a minister on demand or speak to a shadow minister, I literally have the opportunity to go up and speak to them. I’m very proud.
“This is it. We’ve never seen it like this, especially with what’s happening in the States, the financial pressures we’re going to start feeling soon, and how we have to band together as a country,” Tierney continued. “You look at during COVID, and right here in Ottawa, we had the convoy. It’s been a struggle, but at the same time now, this is our opportunity to shine.”
