"Building a Community for Everyone" has to mean something at every stage of a life in Vernon. This page is about the working years: finding a job, finding a home, and being able to afford both.
Too many people who love Vernon have had to ask whether they can stay. A city can't fix everything, but it can do its own part well.
A Job
- Lasting jobs come from local businesses that stay, grow and hire. The City's part is reliable roads, water and services, planned through our five-year rolling capital plan, and faster, simpler building permits.
- Employers tell us finding workers is their top challenge. With Community Futures, our Rural Community Immigration Pilot has fast-tracked permanent residency for more than 500 skilled workers, and more than 80% have stayed in our region.
- I want us to work with local colleges and universities so people here can train for the jobs an electrified future will bring.
A home
- We need every kind of home: houses with suites, triplexes, apartments, non-market and co-op housing, close to shops, services and bus stops.
- We have helped deliver 1,700 market, and 600 non-market homes since 2018. More projects are ready to go when funding becomes available.
Costs you can plan around
- We keep growth inside our urban containment boundary. Sprawl would have meant at least a 7% tax increase, paid forever.
- More sidewalks, transit and multi-use paths mean a job in Vernon doesn't have to require a second car.
A doctor
- Health care is a provincial responsibility, but we still have a role. Through our Economic Development Committee, we linked doctor recruiters with housing providers, and homes were built to give newly graduated doctors a guaranteed place to live during their two-year residency here.
And a reason to stay
- Trails, beaches, Polson Park, the new Active Living Centre and the coming Cultural Centre are a big part of why skilled people choose Vernon, and why they put down roots.
A life here should be within reach for a nurse, a welder, a shop owner and a new graduate alike. That is what a community for everyone looks like.
Watch
- Backing Our Local Retailers
- More Homes, More on the Way
- Smart Growth, Not Sprawl
- Homes Close to Transit
Keep reading
Voting day is Saturday, October 17. When and where to vote