Saint John mayoral candidates address housing, safety, and taxes at public forum

As municipal elections approach, Saint John mayoral candidates addressed key city issues during an open forum last week at the Imperial Theatre.

Incumbent Mayor Donna Reardon and councillor Barry Ogden responded to questions on homelessness, community safety, road conditions and industrial taxes at the Human Development Council (HDC) mayoral forum. The event was moderated by SJToday publisher Geoff Walsh and featured questions submitted by residents through an HDC survey.

Candidate Blaine Harris did not attend. In a post on Facebook, Harris said health issues prevented his attendance. He later made himself available for an interview with Acadia Broadcasting last Friday.

Homelessness and affordable housing

Asked how the city’s Housing for All strategy was working, both candidates said it has been effective so far.

Ogden praised council for addressing housing, despite it not being a municipal responsibility. He said bridge housing was an important first step but emphasized more investment is needed.

“I think you can always do more,” he said. “I can speak I think to most councilors, we all go to bed [thinking] of this at night.”

To ensure a fair citywide distribution of supportive and affordable housing, Ogden said he would focus on spreading services more evenly and encouraging interaction among residents to avoid creating “ghettos.”

Reardon acknowledged criticism of the size of transitional housing units but defended the city’s approach.

“We’ve been told that, you know, small, little eight by eight [units] that we’ve provided or closets, I’ve heard all kinds of things,” she said. “But nobody is dying of frostbite on those.”

She said the city’s goal is to move people out of tents, assist them with documentation and transition them into affordable housing. Reardon added the city cannot afford to build housing on its own and must continue advocating for provincial and federal funding.

She said the city can support affordable housing by providing infrastructure such as water and sewage services, working with the province to analyze service needs, and partnering with developers.

Ogden said he supports a phased approach to housing projects and identifying partners to expand affordable housing options.

Harris said his plan also involves tapping into provincial housing funds and adopting a housing-first model that prioritizes stable, long-term housing alongside wraparound supports.

“If I have an apartment, or I have an structure, it becomes transitional, that I can get into there, I can get my education, I can get whatever vocational skills I need to get myself back up,” he said.

Industrial tax

Both candidates said further advocacy is needed to return industrial tax revenues to the city.

Ogden said his top priority would be using the revenue to lower property tax rates to match Moncton and Fredericton. He said Saint John must present a unified message and make the issue central during the next provincial election.

“If you want to play games in St. John, if you want to play baseball with us, we want our tax dollars,” he said. “That’s what you have to fight for, and that’s what I’m willing to do as Mayor of Saint John.”

Reardon said she plans to wait for the outcome of the province’s tax reform process before pushing further. She said the city has spent the last five years building awareness among other municipalities about Saint John’s tax burden.

She said industrial tax revenue could help offset impacts from heavy industry such as dirt, dust, noise, traffic and road damage.

“Nobody wants heavy industry, but if there was a gain for the community, then I think it would change the narrative on heavy industry from being something that communities don’t want to being something communities would want,” she said.

Harris said he would work with council and Service New Brunswick to develop a tax formula acceptable to both the city and the province.

He said keeping the industrial tax locally would result in the loss of unconditional provincial grants for infrastructure maintenance.

“It’s a catch 22,” he said. “It’s the same amount of money coming back and forth, it’s just how we claim as tax.”

Public safety

Reardon said public safety efforts should start with hearing residents’ concerns. She said the police commission has been tasked with defining “adequate policing” and creating a flexible mandate for the force.

Council is also exploring ways to increase public and council input in that process, she said.

“Things have changed, because the situation has been fluid,” she said. “When I first elected in 2021 it was ‘defund the police’, so here we are in 2026 [and] it’s ‘we need more public safety’, so we need to respond to that.”

Ogden said significant reform of the police commission is needed, noting council recently agreed changes were necessary after $31 million was spent without what he described as sufficient accountability.

He said he would prioritize mental health and addiction services, along with stronger enforcement and prevention measures. Ogden said police reform would be a top priority if elected mayor.

Harris said public safety would also be a top priority under his leadership. He said he would seek to reform the police department and re-establish a council-led police commission.

“The city itself isn’t the employer of the police, it’s the commission, and that needs to change,” he said.

Harris said he would also direct more resources to emergency services, including the Saint John Fire Department.

Proposed Lorneville data centre

The proposed Beacon AI data centre was also discussed during the forum.

Both Ogden and Reardon said they are awaiting the results of the environmental review before taking a position.

Harris said he would oppose the project and work with council to halt further permits. He said he would also review zoning bylaws with the aim of banning high-impact industrial projects.

Immigration and accessibility were also discussed during the forum, within other issues.

A recording of the event is available on the HDC’s YouTube page. Advance polling began May 2, with a second day scheduled for May 4.

Province-wide municipal elections are set to take place on May 11.