Your eyes aren’t lying.

Your experience is real.

Experience Matters.

Barrie is changing and Ward 2 is at the heart of it. As new housing, businesses, students and opportunities reshape our city, we need a strong new voice at City Hall. Shanicka Edwards will bridge the Barrie we know and love with the Barrie we are becoming.

Barrie is Rapidly Growing.

Barrie is on track to nearly double in size. The decisions we make today will determine whether that growth strengthens our neighbourhoods or overwhelms them.

  • Downtown Barrie will carry a significant share of that growth.

  • The province’s target for Barrie’s downtown Urban Growth Centre is 150 residents and jobs per hectare by 2031.

  • Ward 2 is at the centre of Barrie’s transformation. Growth must bring better housing, thriving businesses and safer streets while respecting the neighbourhoods that make our community special. Most importantly maintaining the integrity of our oldest streets.

Homelessness remains an urgent community crisis.

More than 700 people are experiencing homelessness in our city. Residents and businesses deserve safe, clean public spaces and vulnerable people need coordinated pathways into treatment, support and housing.

  • As of August 4, 2026, 705 people identified as experiencing homelessness in Barrie.

  • The city reported addressing 209 encampments between September 2025 and August 2026.

  • The statistics show that numbers are increasing.

Thousands of homes are proposed but affordability remains the question.

Building more housing matters, but approval alone are not success. We need homes that working families, seniors, young people and people living with disabilities can actually afford.

  • Thousands of homes are proposed, but affordability remains the question.

  • Barrie reported 29,165 residential units in its development pipeline in 2024, the question is who are these units affordable for?

What Barrie families can actually afford:

• Household earning $53,014 (2nd decile): can afford $895/month

• Household earning $69,360 (3rd decile): can afford $1,182/month

• Provincial 'affordable' 1BR ($1,586): only affordable to households earning $85,595+

• That's the 4th decile and above, most Barrie renters can't afford what the city calls affordable

Four Years. Four Property Tax Increases.

Barrie families are already feeling the pressure of rising groceries, housing costs and household bills. Over the current council’s four-year term, property taxes increased every year by an average of 4.2% annually.

The Facts:

2023: +2.89% or approximately $134 more

2024: +4.82% or approximately $228 more

2025: +4.31% or approximately $215 more

2026: +4.78% or approximately $249 more

Typical annual bill: $4,612 in 2022 → $5,458 in 2026

Tax arrears: Projected to equal 9% of the annual tax levy, well above the City’s 6% benchmark

These numbers point to a growing affordability problem. Residents deserve a councillor who will examine spending carefully, ask difficult questions and protect essential services while respecting the limits of household budgets.

Restoring Confidence in Our Core

A safer, more vibrant downtown begins by showing that every street, storefront and public space matters. My plan applies the practical lessons behind the “Broken Windows” approach: when vandalism, litter, graffiti, poor lighting and damaged property are left unaddressed, they can signal neglect and make residents feel that no one is in control.

I will advocate for faster cleanups and repairs, consistent bylaw enforcement, improved lighting and stronger partnerships with our downtown community. This is not about criminalizing poverty, homelessness or mental illness it’s about pairing compassion and outreach with clear standards for safe, clean and welcoming spaces.

Expand Housing First with Intensive Support

Homelessness is not a crime, but harmful behaviour cannot be ignored. We need to provide real pathways indoors while protecting everyone’s rights to safe and accessible public spaces.

We must move people directly into permanent housing, then provide mental-health care, addiction support, income assistance and case management based on individual needs.

Separate different forms of homelessness

A single response will not work for everyone:

  • Recently homeless households: Rent assistance and rapid rehousing.

  • Chronically homeless people: Permanent supportive housing.

  • People experiencing addictions and acute mental illness: Clinical care and supportive housing.

  • Families and youth: Specialized, safe accommodation and prevention services.

  • People fleeing violence: Confidential, trauma informed housing.

Create one accountable coordinated-access system. Working from a shared by-name list with appropriate privacy protections so that people are prioritized according to risk and do not repeatedly start over with different agencies.

Each person should have:

  • One lead cast manager

  • An assessed housing and health plan

  • Help obtaining identification and benfits

  • A documented housing referral

  • Follow-up after placement

Combine services with enforceable public-space standards.

Once accessible shelter, storage and appropriate alternatives are genuinely available, the city should consistently enforce rules against violence, trafficking, vandalism, obstruction and unsafe encampments.

Bringing Youth Back Downtown

A downtown built for the next generation

A truly revitalized downtown cannot be designed only for developers, tourists or nightlife. It should also be a place where Barrie’s young people feel safe, welcomed and excited to spend their time.

With new university and college activity arriving downtown, Barrie has an opportunity to create space for youth culture, employment, recreation and entrepreneurship. My plan will bring young people back downtown through meaningful opportunities not by simply asking them to visit.

Ones of those ways is by making it safer and easier to get downtown. Parents must feel confident that their children can travel downtown and return home safely. I will advocate for:

  • Better evening and weekend transit connections

  • Improved lighting along youth travel routes

  • Safe pedestrian and cycling connections

  • Visible community ambassadors

  • Clearly identified pickup and drop-off locations

The plan is about more than bringing young people downtown for an afternoon. It is about giving them a genuine place in Barrie’s future.

Investing in the Face of our Downtown

Barrie once offered a Facade and Streetscape Improvement Program to encourage property owners and businesses to invest in the appearance of our version of this program that provides matching grants for storefront restoration, improved lighting, accessible entrances, signage, landscaping and the preservation of historic features. By partnering with property owners instead of leaving them to carry the full cost, we can unlock private investment and fill vacant storefronts.

Restoring pride in downtown Barrie starts be showing that every building, business and block matters.

My modernized plan would look like:

  • A 50% matching of up to $15,000 per storefront

  • Up to $25,000 for corner, heritage or long vacant properties

  • Additional assistance for accessibility and security improvements

  • Priority for locally owned businesses and buildings with active ground floor uses

  • Reimbursement only after approved work is completed and inspected