Darren KirbyImagine being a business owner in downtown Edmonton. You decided to pay a higher price for your storefront, hoping downtown’s higher foot traffic would bring in enough customers to make the rent worthwhile. Instead, growing concerns around public safety have left customers feeling uneasy, with graffiti, broken windows, and unhoused people having nowhere to go. And, as if the money already spent on the security measures and deterrents weren’t enough, the City has now proposed that businesses pay for damages that occur.
The City of Edmonton has proposed changes that have raised concerns among downtown businesses, who are already paying out of their pockets for additional security and damages related to public safety issues. While businesses should take reasonable steps to protect their property, there needs to be a clear line between their responsibility and the City’s. Business owners can secure their storefronts and use deterrents but cannot control what happens outside their doors.
When safety concerns extend beyond a business’s doors and into public spaces, the responsibility falls on the City. But downtown businesses should not be expected to privately fund public safety or pay for problems they cannot control.
It is a business owner’s responsibility to make enough efforts to protect their property, employees, and customers. This can include simple measures such as strong locks, controlled entry, security cameras, alarms, property lighting, and signage indicating that valuables or cash are not left on-site. These measures will not prevent every break-in or violent incident, but they can act as a deterrent and make the store a less appealing target. It would also provide useful evidence when something does happen. Business owners should therefore be expected to make reasonable investments in protecting their own properties, but they should not be expected to eliminate the possibility of crime.
While businesses are responsible for securing the interior of their stores, what happens on the streets, sidewalks, and other public places surrounding them are out of their control. If customers are avoiding downtown because they do not feel safe walking in the area, businesses cannot solve the problem by simply installing another lock or camera. The City is responsible for maintaining safe public spaces and is the one with enough resources to address issues that individual businesses cannot. In 2025 alone, the Downtown Business Association’s Core Patrol recorded about 6,775 reports, including thousands of trespassing, disturbances, and wellness check responses. This shows that concerns surrounding downtown safety extend beyond individual storefronts and require government intervention.
Businesses are already bearing significant costs associated with crime and vandalism. A survey has shown that in the previous year, 44 per cent of businesses have spent at least $500 to repair damage from vandalism, break-ins, and shoplifting, while 24 per cent of businesses spent more than $2,500. These costs come on top of rent, wages, utilities, insurance, and the security measures businesses are already paying for. Asking businesses to take reasonable security measures is one thing, but asking them to pay for the consequences of a public-safety problem is another.
At the very least, the City should come up with a cost-sharing model between businesses and the City. Businesses could be required to meet a base set of reasonable security measures, with their share of the costs determined by how closely they meet those requirements. A business that has only 50 per cent of the required measures could be responsible for a larger share, while one that meets 100 per cent of the requirements would pay a smaller share. However, there could still be a minimum and maximum contribution for businesses, similar to an insurance premium. This would ensure businesses are accountable for protecting their properties without placing the entire financial burden of public safety on them.
Businesses are an integral part of downtown Edmonton and its safety. They should secure their properties, protect their employees and customers, and take required steps to deter crime; however, that’s their limit. When public safety concerns affect the streets and public spaces around them, the City needs to recognize their share of responsibility. A cost-sharing model could ensure businesses continue to invest in reasonable security measures while preventing them from carrying the entire cost. Businesses can secure their stores, but not the streets, at least not entirely.
