Jacob Loo Dawang

NEW BLOG POST Edmonton permitted 27% fewer homes through Q3 2026 than in record-setting 2025. But look under the hood: 5–8 unit rowhomes are now the largest category of new homes in the city. Read my Q3 building permit report 🧵 #yeg #yegcc #yimby #housing www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/q3...

Very keen to hear Mickey Amery explain how the hiring of his cousin Sam Mraiche's nephews would square with this DEI policy, and for Danielle Smith to explain what experience Michaela Frey, who stepped aside to give her a seat in Brooks, had to be hired in the premier's office as a policy advisor.

Wow. My heart goes out to Toronto YIMBYs. Truly cursed council.

Your favourite bike lane will be removed - will you fight back? buff.ly/L5fL5Iy Join us on Friday, for Critical Mass. 6pm at Churchill Square. We'll discuss the upcoming legislation and what can be done to resist. #yegbike

The UCP might make Edmonton pay up to $170M to rip out its own bike lanes. I've heard reports that the UCP has been asking for costs of full network removals. City numbers put that at $150-170M This is the same gov't that just spent $130M on a glorified opinion poll.

I’m going to talk candidly for a bit about mayor-incumbent @ptfry.bsky.social’s comment regarding “YIMBY vs NIMBY” being a waste of time. I disagree with this take, and largely because he doesn’t know what it was like before YIMBYs came along - Fry was first elected in 2018.

Don't worry folks, they're not anti infill, they're just for responsible infill

Whenever someone says we “don’t need any more shoebox condos, we need real housing for families”, ask them about the needs of single people who’d like their own place but are forced by the housing shortage to live with roommates.

Some of these are really nice! Coming from Toronto, it's crazy how "luxury" finishes, space, and appliances can actually be delivered for a low price.

One bungalow in Prince Charles becomes an 8 homes, including 3 bedroom units with over 1,300 sqft, AC, near a park. All for the sum of $1,800. #yeg #yegcc #housing #infill #yimby

This will be Danielle Smith's cheat-to-win election. The far right separatists she courted are turning on her. Smith will do anything to not end up discarded like every other conservative premier. That includes cheating. Her gerrymandered maps will be tabled by Nov 2.

Addendum: this is the provincial policy statement

The order in council for Edmonton to roll back its zoning bylaw is out. Basically says that Edmonton must roll back to similar regulations as before 2024 and adopt parking minimums as before 2020.

Did you know that over 60% of infill rowhomes are near transit? More walkable neighbourhoods where you don't have to drive to do everything. That's what Danielle Smith is trying to roll back. Tell her no 👇 www.growtogetheryeg.com/email-council

If you follow me you know what I think about infill and zoning and the province's actions in that respect. I'll just say this for now: basically all of these designs are cool-looking and I'd be happy to have them in my neighbourhood.

One small bungalow turns into eight large homes for families. All for under $2,000. If you want more of these housing options, tell Danielle Smith to keep her hands off Edmonton's zoning 👇 www.growtogetheryeg.com/email-council

Housing affordability is still a huge problem in Canada. We're never going to address it until we acknowledge our own role in creating and sustaining it -- and start building more in the places where people already live. #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/19/o...

Two thousand years ago, the Romans were able to build cities that used underground pipes to supply water and deal with sewage. Sadly, we lost this ancient art and that's why we can't allow sixplexes in my backyard because it would overwhelm the infrastructure.

This exactly. For >15yrs tower projects were routinely opposed in #yegcc with "we want gentle density"... "brownstones"... "4-storeys"... #yegcc figured out how to do exactly this & the result is neighbours hiding from restrictive covenant harassment campaigns & massive provincial overreach.

Please go fill out the parking survey. Parking is one off the biggest obstacles to implementing good urban policies. #yegbike

Testing out the new fancy bluesky previews (ht @grids.reillywood.com). In the midst of last week's news, take a look at how much the 2024 zoning bylaw has got us. And then take a look at how we were doing in 2019 because that's our future under Danielle Smith. jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/q3...

Next time bring some trucks and say you're protesting for freedom and then the cops won't do anything for two weeks.

Contrary to claims circulating online, Friday’s council meeting on infill is, and has always been, open to the public. I invite all Edmontonians to join us in person at City Hall, or watch Council live here: www.edmonton.ca/city_governm...

We’re extremely saddened and concerned by the recent deaths on our roads. We’re urging elected officials to prioritize safety on our streets - please call, email or visit your elected officials to share your concern for safety as well.

Edmonton City Council is being forced to break the law. Danielle Smith wants a public hearing, and she also wants to dictate how council votes at that hearing. But council must enter public hearings with an open mind. Once again, the UCP just has not thought anything through

"When democracy starts to smell more like autocracy, when the concept of local governance is unmasked as an illusion, then maybe it becomes time to turn out the lights at city hall, lock the doors, and hand over the keys to the premier." Oof. Tough, but fair. Love it here. I hate it here.

From @keithgerein.bsky.social: "It takes some gall for Smith and her heavily rural cabinet to disregard all that and declare they know the issue better than Edmontonians after a few weeks of listening to the NIMBY crowd that lost the last election." edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Population growth drives up land values, by making a location more desirable. This value should be captured by the public to pay for the costs of growth, but instead it's a windfall gain for single-family homeowners.

Yeah, how about we don't do this. Just give up. Good strategy. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Hey #alberta, maybe don’t listen to the “character” complainers?? Maybe this is why #yeg re-elected progressive councillors and put the boot to the “lock in the 50s” groups? Just because they’re loud doesn’t mean they represent the majority!

I have never seen such a hate for democracy from people who came in third in elections. According to them, democracy is when the winners who got majorities or near majority mandates do what the losers tell them to do because that's "listening".

Correct 🌶️🌶️🌶️ take on housing. Concrete example: if we think rooming houses and micro suites are not adequate housing, the humane response is not to outlaw them but to strive to create conditions where nobody chooses to live in them.

our ward overwhelmingly re-elected Ashley in our last municipal election. She's whip smart, incredibly conciliatory and pro-infill. Danielle is taking away our democratic voice with this legislation and she's gonna do something insane like put a data centre next to Borden park now probably.

With all the news last week, take two minutes to tell Danielle Smith hands off Edmonton, and tell council to NOT comply and repeal the zoning bylaw Use our tool for a starter message 👇 www.growtogetheryeg.com/email-council

Local autonomy is a vital check on centralized political power. The province may have the legal authority to overrule municipalities, but legal power is not a democratic mandate. My initial thoughts on the Province’s recent directive ordering the City to reverse course on our land use bylaw.

They'll never downzone our bunny density!

I'd encourage everyone to watch the full Real Talk episode... The Mayors of Alberta's two largest cities are (nicely) calling the Premier a LIAR! She does the same with HC, spouts a bunch of nonsense with confidence, even though what she says has no basis in fact or truth...

"Mature neighbourhoods as a whole have 67,000 fewer people living there than in 1971." "72 per cent of new row homes are within walking distance of the LRT or a frequent bus line." "new three-bedroom row homes in desirable neighbourhoods going for as little as $1,700"

"Who cares about an election? No one does." That's what an organizer behind Edmonton's anti-infill push believes. No wonder they pushed the Premier to throw out local democracy. Despite what Jesse Watson thinks, mandates come from elections, not his preferences.

Should Danielle Smith be able to order your local council to vote to approve rezoning for a massive AI data centre? And threaten to fire your democratically elected mayor if they vote against it? This latest provincial overreach isn't about density. It's about your legal right to a fair hearing.

Is your province requiring its municipalities to better comply with Charter Mobility Rights by allowing more people to move there? That's good. Keep going, BC. Is your province further restricting municipalities from better complying with Charter Mobility Rights? That's bad. Stop it, AB.

Smith sees the municipal elections in the same light as provincial ones: at the same announcement, she said she hoped that the referenda would give her a mandate to pursue the direction she wants to go for the province. We have a mechanism for that, a general election. She should resign and call one

NIMBYs when you ask them why housing should go on arterial roads instead of in their neighbourhood

Her claims are also false. If she spent one minute googling, she would find that the Edmonton got $0 for the zoning bylaw renewal because it was complete prior to the Housing Accelerator Fund. Goes to show how much the UCP thought about this.