RECAP: Guthrie Tells Chamber to Just Say “No” to More Provincial Downloading at Budget Breakfast

On Thursday morning, Mayor Cam Guthrie and Chief Administrative Officer Tara Baker took part in the second annual budget breakfast with the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. If you’ve been following along, there was maybe not a lot of new information about the budget itself, but there was some new commentary from the mayor especially about provincial priorities and why the City of Guelph and other municipalities need more help from Queen’s Park. You can dig into the full recap below! Continue reading “RECAP: Guthrie Tells Chamber to Just Say “No” to More Provincial Downloading at Budget Breakfast”

GUELPH POLITICAST #481 – The Business Climate (feat. Andy Veilleux)

Donald Trump’s return to the White House promised economic disturbances if not outright challenges, and this is on top of the challenges that already existed like supply chains, wages, turnover, and the high cost of housing and real estate. It’s also worth noting that these are not Guelph-specific challenges, but that’s okay because the new president of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce is not from Guelph. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #481 – The Business Climate (feat. Andy Veilleux)”

RECAP: Mayor Touts City Resilience and Future Concerns at State of the City

The 2025 State of the City event at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre is one of the first big community events of the year gathering folks from the business community, area non-profits and government reps and staff. Last year, Mayor Cam Guthrie used is a platform to announce his about face on Strong Mayor Powers, so we enter this year’s speech with some questions about what he might do now…. Which are answered in this recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Mayor Touts City Resilience and Future Concerns at State of the City”

GUELPH POLITICAST #451 – The State of the City 2024

The 2025 State of the City is coming up soon – Thursday February 6 to be precise – and as we always do at this time of year, we’re going to roll the audio from the previous year’s State of the City as a refresher course. The goal is to remember where we were at the time, where the mayor wanted to take us, and where we ended up now before Mayor Cam Guthrie starts looking to the future again! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #451 – The State of the City 2024”

Guthrie Uses State of the City to Declare Himself a Strong Mayor

There’s usually not much in the way of surprises at the annual State of the City speech. Every year, it’s mostly about ideas and initiatives that that the mayor’s already discussed in other venues and interviews, usually wrapped in some kind of gag or gimmick. But this year there was no gimmick, but there was something new: Mayor Cam Guthrie anointed himself a Strong Mayor, and now he will stretch out and use his powers. Continue reading “Guthrie Uses State of the City to Declare Himself a Strong Mayor”

RECAP: Mayor Guthrie Lays Out Current State of the City

It’s the best day of the year if you like networking and hearing the Mayor of Guelph talk. This morning at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre on Stone Road, the Guelph Chamber of Commerce is hosting their annual State of the City event. Mayor Cam Guthrie will tell us what the score is, what’s at stake this year, and what the priorities of his office and city council are. What gimmick will he use? Will there be a surprise guest? Let’s find out! Continue reading “RECAP: Mayor Guthrie Lays Out Current State of the City”

GUELPH POLITICAST #405 – The State of the City 2023

Every year, the Guelph Chamber of Commerce hosts an event called the State of the City, and like its more famous counterpart south of the border, it’s a chance for the head of the city to lay out the challenges and priorities facing the Royal City for the next 12 months. Make no mistake, there are no shortage of challenges, but in order to unlock the future, you must first find the keys to the past. This week, we get those keys out of the drawer. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #405 – The State of the City 2023”

Guthrie Drops Gimmicks for Serious Talk at State of the City

Over 850 people made their way to the Delta Hotel on Stone Road for the annual winter ritual of hearing the mayor talk. The Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City event for 2023 had the usual aspirational statements and hopeful outlook about the future, but it also came with a warning about the tough times ahead and the need to work together as a community to meet the challenges were all familiar with by now. Continue reading “Guthrie Drops Gimmicks for Serious Talk at State of the City”

GUELPH POLITICAST #358 – The State of the City, A Year Ago

Every year, the Mayor of Guelph is invited to an event called the State of the City where he or she gives a speech to the members of the Chamber of Commerce about the current issues facing Guelph and how city council plans on addressing them. It once was said that to understand the future, you have to look to the past, so what was on the mayor’s mind last year when he talked to the Chamber? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #358 – The State of the City, A Year Ago”

GUELPH POLITICAST #341 – Election Economics

This week, the Guelph Chamber of Commerce posts the recorded Q&As they’ve done with the candidates running in each of Guelph’s six wards, and the mayor’s race, deviating from the live format they’ve done in years past. But today, it’s the Chamber’s CEO and President turn to answer the questions as we dive into the election issues at the intersection of government, business and community. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #341 – Election Economics”