Municipal Election 2025 city councillor candidate (Ward papastew) Q&As: Mark Hillman

This article is part of The Gateway’s Q&A series with the 2025 municipal election city councillor candidates in Ward papastew. Ward papastew is home to the University of Alberta’s North Campus.

Mark Hillman is a city councillor candidate for Ward papastew. Hillman is a member of the Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton (PACE) party. Hillman sat down for an interview with The Gateway to talk about how they would address student issues.

The following responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Why are you running in this election?

Mark Hillman: There’s many reasons I guess it’s really hard to pin down to just one. [It would] either be the financial situation in the city, zoning bylaws, really just lack of collaboration and communication with our city council, safety on the LRT, there’s many reasons. For me it kind of came down to something that I was taught when I was really young. My grandfather used to tell me that if you don’t vote, don’t complain, and I feel right now there is a lot of things that are worth complaining about in the city. That’s really what it boils down to at the end of the day. I really I’m not old enough to be to be jaded about the whole process just yet so I feel that there’s still chance to turn things around.

What would you say are three main takeaways from your platform?

Hillman: The first one would be about the zoning bylaw. This current council has really been irresponsible, and zoning is one of the most important things council can do. We’ve created a blanket bylaw that has impacted homeowners. It was intended to reduce rent across the board, but it has done the exact opposite. The takeaway is that we need to have responsible policies that address affordability and respect homeowners, and we’re not doing that right now.

Somehow, we keep building units, but rent and the cost of homeownership keep going up. Rent in Edmonton has increased faster than in almost any other city in the country. You could make the argument that we need rent controls, and that would be a valid argument, but unfortunately that’s a provincial jurisdiction, so I have no say over that.

The next big takeaway for me is that we need to get some value for our property taxes. I know that’s not something university students really think about, but if everybody wants to one day own a home, it’s becoming harder and harder to do that. This current council has been heavily reliant on property taxes, overspending, and taking on debt. The only solution is to get serious about spending, particularly on extras. I want to bring our finances to a responsible place so we can continue to afford the things that matter.

The third thing for me is safety and security, particularly on the LRT. I’m really concerned about ridership and people’s confidence in the system. A lot of people rely on it, but ridership is down. About six years ago, the cost recovery ratio on the LRT, how much it pays for itself, was about 50 per cent. Last year it was 24 per cent. People don’t feel confident or safe using it, and that’s a huge problem. We can’t build or expand the system if people don’t feel comfortable using it in the first place. I really want to bring safety and security back so everyone can feel safe riding again.

Note: Transit ridership decreased during the pandemic, but have now largely returned to pre-pandemic levels. The Gateway could not find information on the cost recovery ratio for the LRT, though a Transit Fares and Subsidies report by the city from 2016 found that there was a cost recovery ratio of 45 per cent for all transit services.

If elected, you would be responsible for representing many of the students who attend the U of A. What would be your priority in representing those students on City Councils?

Hillman: My priority for representing students on council would be to have a very strong collaboration and relationship with the student union and any other student representatives possible. At the end of the day, I feel students are often unheard and unrepresented. Many university students can’t vote, and even among those who can, there is a low turnout. Because of that, a lot of politicians tend to ignore them, and I don’t think that’s the right approach.

I think the right approach is to engage with students as much as possible. That could mean making appearances in classes, especially for policy students, or maintaining open communication with the student union. One thing I really want to do is take on interns from the University of Alberta, because I remember how hard it was to get internships when I was a student.

Affordability is a big issue for students. How do you plan to advocate for students amidst the cost-of-living crisis?

Hillman: Part of the problem is the blanket, one-size-fits-all zoning. We have heavily incentivized developers to build in areas that intentionally have a higher value so they can charge more rent. They’re building deeper into mature neighbourhoods and not necessarily near LRT stations or campus where students would benefit. They’re building in places that are more expensive for students, and that’s a problem.

One thing we can do is have a district plan instead of this blanket. That would give us more control over where developers build. It’s not that they can’t make money, they can, but right now they’re making money off it and everyone else is suffering. Developers could not have asked for a better zoning bylaw. They couldn’t have lobbied for anything better, and we’ve given it to them on a silver platter, and it’s causing problems.

That’s one issue we can address for affordability. Otherwise, it gets complicated. We need to co-ordinate with the university to make sure we have more student housing, because the university itself has a lot of control there. That comes down to good co-operation between the city and the university.

Transit access and transit safety are other big concerns for students. How would you work to address these issues?

Hillman: For safety on the LRT, council has implemented a bylaw where police officers are only allowed to observe and report. They cannot enforce. That’s a problem. What we need to do is bring [Edmonton Police Service (EPS)] back onto the LRT so we have someone who can not only observe and report but also enforce.

That does three things. First, it acts as a deterrent. If someone who can stop you from committing a crime is standing right there, you’re less likely to do it. Second, it builds confidence. Right now, confidence is at an all-time low. No one feels safe using the LRT. People would feel much safer if there were EPS officers on the system. I’m not talking about putting one in every single car, but having them patrol stations and ride occasionally. Finally, when something does happen, and I know it will at some point, we would have someone who can actually do something about it instead of just taking out a phone to record it.

Note: The Gateway could not find a specific bylaw that has been passed that prevents EPS officers from enforcing laws. It’s worth noting that the City has Community Standards Peace Officers, Transit Peace Officers, and Municipal Enforcement Officers that have varying responsibilities and powers.