Speaking at Council: How-to

On September 2, 2026, the City of Edmonton Executive Committee will be deciding whether or not to adopt the 2027 Update - Climate Implementation Priorities. We are in support of this and furthermore, we want the full $257 million needed to actually implement it to be funded in the upcoming 2027-2030 budget that will be deliberated in November.

How to sign up:

Step 1: Go to this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjK1JQOPRWVORUVKsSbRn3yLN5E9vcVLu3nifMO4N1ZfmgFg/viewform 

Step 2: Pick “Executive Committee” as the type of meeting

Step 3: Put the date of the meeting as September (08) 2, 2026

Step 4: Agenda number and title is: 7.2 2027 Update - Climate Implementation Priorities 

Step 5: Choose in-person or remote - if you pick remote, you will get a Google Meet link, and if you choose in-person, you go to city hall! Pick whichever works for you

Step 6: Put in your name and contact information. The rest of the questions are optional, so you can leave them blank.

Step 7: Submit! You will get an email with further instructions

Step 8: Speak! On the day of, you will NOT know exactly when you are speaking. But if you want to receive a text when you are 2 speakers away from being up, then please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/L32gHJkv8eCMBGJY6  and one of our volunteers will text you a reminder!We recommend you prepare your device set up ahead of time to be ready when called. Check the website here: https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/council-committee-meetings to find the “Summary of Agenda Changes” sheet that will have the list of speakers. Find your name so you know if you are right away, or later. Check the video livestream throughout the day to keep track. When it is near you/your group, sign on to the Google Meet and wait for your turn, and then speak! Remember, they are your representatives and they answer to you, so take your time. They want to hear from you.

Step 9: Celebrate! Drink some water and eat a snack (maybe a little treat) – you just became an active participant in shaping the future of your city :)

How to write a speech:

Write whatever you want! It must be less than 5 minutes long. Even if you just say a few sentences, it is enough and important that you showed up!

A template to get you started:

Hello councillors, my name is insert name and I am a insert relevant descriptors i.e. youth, Edmonton resident, student, climate activist, business owner, etc.. I am here today to ask you to adopt the 2027 Update - Climate Implementation Priorities to the City’s climate change adaptation and mitigation plan. Furthermore, it is important to me that this full plan is funded when it comes to council, so I encourage one of you to submit a motion asking administration to tie the Climate Implementation Plan to a timeline, and to submit a climate funding package that fully funds the Climate implementation Plan

Climate change is important to me because insert why it is important to you and your personal story with climate change. Passing this update will help the city take meaningful action on climate change.

It is especially important that these updates be funded. Right now, there is no associated Climate Budget Package, so there is no guarantee that this plan will actually be implemented even if it is passed now. It is critical that this plan be completely funded to ensure accountability and make sure we can live in a climate resilient city.

I want to live in an Edmonton that is insert what you want, i.e. vibrant, affordable, resilient, safe from climate change, built well, bikeable, etc.. Adopting and funding this plan will help us do this. Thank you for your time.