PM Trudeau meets with Kitchener mayor to discuss shared priorities

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a stop in Kitchener on Tuesday morning to meet with Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and talk about their shared goals.

This marked the third time the prime minister visited the city in the past year.

The public portion of the meeting was short, where the two shook hands and made brief comments to the media about what’s important to cities like Kitchener and the various accomplishments of both Vrbanovic and Trudeau.

“I think of things like the investments in what was then the gas tax, and what’s now the Canada Community Building Fund, Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), as well as the Housing Accelerator fund,” Vrbanovic said to media at Kitchener City Hall. “These have all been priorities and, quite frankly, have been transformational for us.”

Trudeau responded by thanking Vrbanovic for his work in the community and said that working together is crucial.

“That's the really big message that has come through in politics over the past number of years as we're facing all sorts of challenges, all sorts of different crises. No one can go it alone,” Trudeau said. “I can’t think of a better partner across the country than Kitchener.”

The pair also met behind closed doors as well.

According to a media release from the city, they discussed the needs of the community, housing, the importance of maintaining a thriving economy and the need for collaboration to advance the localization of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.