Tim Tierney

The non-ribbon-cutting stuff, the underground stuff, that's where we're all simpatico across the entire country.

Ottawa City Councilor Tim Tierney heads the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, a group looking to Ottawa for money to put into roads, bridges, transit, water, and waste systems, projects the FCM says takes money which local taxpayers don't have.

We simply can't go back to our property taxpayers and ask them to pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

And the FCM says the investment will come back to Ottawa, arguing for every dollar spent on municipal infrastructure, $1.05 is added to the GDP, and more than $2 in overall economic activity.

It's offensive to have his name on a street in the city of Ottawa, the nation's capital, and it's time to remove that name.

That's City Councilor Riley Brockington, who filed a notice of motion to change the name of the street dedicated to the now US president.

The neighborhood was built more than 20 years ago when Donald Trump was a mere New York real estate mogul.

Brockington says its name needs to change given what he sees as Donald Trump's ongoing attempts to hurt Canada.

He says as long as the people who live on Trump Avenue are consulted.

My preference would be that there's nothing named after Donald Trump in Ottawa, and so if this, uh, uh, brings to an end the naming of a, of a street in our community after, uh, the US president, uh, then I'm fine with that.

Another Ottawa City Councilor, Tim Tierney, recently told CNN some of the replacement names under consideration include Obama Avenue, Gulf of Mexico Avenue, and even Rosie O'Donnell Avenue in honor of the comedian and longtime Trump antagonist.

A similar motion by Councilor Brockington narrowly failed to pass in 2021.

And then there was one of him hovering over Prime Minister Mark Carney, both in hockey gear with the text, get up, governor.

With us now is Ottawa City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Tim Tierney.

Thank you so much for being with us.

The Prime Minister Mark Carney says there are no talks currently scheduled between the U.S. and Canada.

Frank's fantastic.

And then I've known Tim Tierney, who's an Ottawa councillor and the president of the FCM, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

And Tim and I go way back.

It is great.

So I just want to start by asking what the government will do to compel these signatories to follow the principles and specifically with water and electricity use and you know really just is this more than just a promise to be good?

Yeah so this is really important.

As you know the key principle is to build responsibly but as Tim Tierney, the president of the FCM and Mayor Scarpini said, municipalities have to make decisions about infrastructure projects all the time.

And the decisions lie for the municipalities.

It makes sense.

Ottawa City Councillor Tim Tierney told CNN that suggestions for the new name have included, are you ready to replace Trump Avenue with Obama Avenue? Ontario Avenue.

Lake Ontario Avenue would be funny.

Canada Avenue.

So important.

You were this close to saying the thing that I thought you were going to say that Tim Tierney, the president of FCM always says is municipalities need a seat at the table.

How important is it for municipalities from a Manitoba perspective to have a seat at the provincial table and the federal table when these big projects are being discussed? Because you have the local knowledge on the ground knowledge that could help the decision makers make the important decisions that could help build that team Canada approach that you talked about.

It's everything.

Municipal leaders are watching employers, industries, and local economies, knowing that when trade is disrupted, the impact can quickly reach main streets and municipal budgets.

Federation of Canadian Municipalities President Tim Tierney says this is a moment for Team Canada, with municipalities ready to work alongside Ottawa, the provinces and territories to support affected communities.

But what does that support look like on the ground? And what are mayors and reeves asking the federal government to do as this trade dispute enters a new and potentially more consequential phase? Now, in today's edition of Municipal Affairs, we are sitting down with FCM President Tim Tierney about what municipalities need from Ottawa and his message to local elected officials navigating what this escalating trade war could mean for their communities.

My name is Christopher Brown, and this is Municipal Affairs.

What happens when Alberta's municipal leaders look back one year after the 2025 municipal elections? Well, this October, the Cross-Border Network invites you to two very special live conversations exploring the state of Alberta's municipalities.

And for those who are aware, just Rebecca Bly was the former Federation of Canadian Municipalities president.

Her term ended up in June where she passed the torch to Tim Tierney of Ottawa, who's also running an upcoming election.

But I've had Rebecca on the show a few times.

We're going to be sitting down hopefully in the next few weeks to also continue to chat about her campaign.