Spread across three wards - with three sessions per ward - the project began in O-day’min (Downtown) in January 2023, moved to Dene (Northeast Edmonton/Sherwood Park) in November of 2024, before concluding in summer 2025 in Karhiio (Southeast Edmonton). 

These sessions get community members talking about issues that are important to them, in order to drive bottom-up policy making in the area. After being promoted  on social media, via email and through posters put up around the ward, the talks were held in local facilities, with lunch provided. 

“It’s a really exciting and interesting way to get to know that specific community, just by hearing what they want to say,” says Hazel Caturas, Community Engagement Officer for the initiative. 

The conversations, which usually lasted about an hour, started with three guiding prompts before developing into more casual, free-flowing discussions. “People are really motivated and excited to have a place to voice their thoughts and concerns. Every event I’ve been part of has been a really social and positive environment.”

Hazel notes that while Edmonton is an incredibly diverse city, there’s a common thread of issues which recurred among residents from across the different wards, specifically around affordability. But beyond the common concern of simply making ends meet, residents of different neighbourhoods voiced specific issues that are important to them due to their location, demographics, etc. 

“For example, one of the wards we consulted with is in an industrial area, so there were more talks about pollution and energy efficiency because people there live and work for these industries… In other wards, especially in the south where areas are being newly developed and less established, people are concerned about walkability and accessibility to transit.”

Conversations then tended to turn into information sharing sessions, where participants gave each other tips and resources on how to advocate for change in their community. They were also an opportunity to make certain topics more approachable for people, especially in a place as politically polarized as Alberta.

“In Alberta, it’s such a heated conversation, and people can get exhausted by election talks or by feeling that their ward spoke differently than Alberta as a whole. Having these local talks and seeing the change and impact they can make locally scales things down to a point where people feel empowered and like they can actually use their voice and advocate for what’s important to them.”

“That’s why the atmosphere is so positive—people are excited to voice their concerns and talk about what matters to them.”

Information gathered through these community discussions will serve as a jumping off point for a series of “Dotmocracy” sessions in Edmonton, which give residents in various public spaces the opportunity to vote on which issues are most important to them, as well as deepen the discussion around particular topics. Given the attendance of the community engagement sessions so far, Hazel is optimistic that this research will lead to real, tangible change in these communities.

“I was really surprised with how interested the councillors were in the results and how at every event there was someone who wanted to listen and be part of it. That shows people are involved locally and want to hear things at a level where they can enact change.”

And regardless of what specific policy changes ultimately come from them, Hazel noted that the experience itself changed her perspective on what it means to be in community, noting that in a post-COVID and increasingly isolated world, community is something we could all use a bit more of.

“That was one of the first times I got to be involved in a community event in my specific area. It feels so wholesome and motivating.”

“It makes me want to go out and meet my neighbors more.”

To read past reports from community engagement sessions, or learn about upcoming local events, visit communitytalks.ca