Michael Janz, Ward papastew

About Michael Janz

Michael Janz believes that together, we can build a better city for all ages, wages, and stages by putting the public interest first and investing in what we know makes our city great for everyone. Michael is not part of a municipal political party and does not accept any financial contributions from developers.

Michael's experience includes:

Trustee, Edmonton Public School Board (2010-2021).
Served as EPSB Board Chair, Vice-Chair and Vice President of the Alberta School Boards Association.
Director of Communications, MENTOR Canada (Big Brothers Big Sisters/Alberta Mentoring Partnership) (2015-2021).
Project Manager, Edmonton Queer History Project (2014-15).
Marketing Director, Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (2009-2012).
Edmonton Public Library Trustee & Alberta Library Trustees Association.
President, University of Alberta Students' Union 2007-2008.
Spent two years on the U of A Board of Governors fighting for affordable public education.
Bachelor’s in History and a Master’s in Education Policy Studies from the University of Alberta.

Read more about Michael's work history here: So...just what do you do for a living?

Michael has the knowledge of who we are, what we need, and how to get there.

Neighbourhoods and communities are the building blocks for a great city. Michael has lived in four separate neighbourhoods in the ward, has been elected three times as a school board trustee overlapping twenty of the neighbourhoods in ward papastew, and has listened and engaged at over 1,000 meetings with parents and residents dealing with issues from pesticides to traffic safety to school closures.

Michael has the experience that matters.

Through serving on municipal and provincial boards and collaborating with previous mayors, councils, regional, provincial, and federal orders of government, Michael knows how to build consensus, get things done, and navigate challenges. With significant turnover at city hall, his experience will ensure your voice is heard. He has a proven record of standing up for the public interest, whether with development projects, government administration, or community issues, he knows how to get things to happen.

Michael is invested in Edmonton for the long term.

Michael is a husband and the father of one current and one future Edmonton Public student, and believes in building a bright, long-term future in Edmonton for all.

Michael has proven himself to be a strong advocate.

Whatever the file or issue that confronts us next, Michael has demonstrated a pragmatic approach and is not afraid to start difficult conversations. He is focused on achieving results given our enormous challenges for our neighbourhoods and communities. Michael knows both the big files and the local issues, big or small, and takes the time to listen, respond, and take action. As we fulfill our commitments in the next city plan, we need to close the gap between where we are and what we need.

Biography

Michael Janz is a progressive politician in Edmonton, Alberta. He is currently serving as an Edmonton City Councillor (2021-ongoing) for Ward papastew. He is widely associated and endorsed by members of the New Democratic Party. (https://urbanaffairs.ca/edmonton-ish/meet-city-council-michael-janz/)

Prior to City Council, he served three terms as an elected Edmonton Public School District Trustee from 2010-2021, serving as Board Chair, Vice Chair, and Vice President of the Alberta School Boards Association. He was elected as the Trustee for Ward F in the 2010 Edmonton Municipal Election, the 2013 Municipal Election, the 2017 Municipal Election.

His employment background includes working in youth mentoring programs with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada as well as Marketing Director of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues.

He has a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Education from the University of Alberta. He previously served as a volunteer for six years on the Edmonton Public Library Board, served two years on the University of Alberta Board of Governors, and was President of the University of Alberta Students’ Union.

He is married to a front-line health care worker (HSAA member) and has two children. He lives in Garneau in Edmonton and is an advocate for the Cooperative Housing Movement.

Past political advocacy:

Educational Advocacy

Public Funds for Private Schools

As public school trustee, Michael helped lead a campaign to pressure the then NDP government to remove public subsidy to private schools in Alberta. This campaign was supported by the ATA, Public Interest Alberta, and many others.

Michael was awarded by the Public School Boards Associations for his efforts.

School Closures

During the 2010 School Board term, Michael supported a moratorium on school closures and advocated for keeping schools open. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-public-board-to-review-school-closures-1.1220840

Civic Activism:

Mayfair Golf Course

Prior to being elected as city councillor, Michael was the spokesperson for the “Friends of Our Park” campaign in opposition to the Mayfair Golf Course lease renewal. The lease for the 156 acre golf course was extended by City Council until the year 2069 for the low price of $4000. (news)

He spoke on the Speaking Municipally Podcast (episode 22) about the Mayfair Golf Course Lease.

Gay Straight Alliances & Equality rights

Michael was a vocal supporter of creating the first landmark sexual orientation and gender identity policy (SOGI) at Edmonton Public Schools which allowed students the ability to start a gay straight alliance. At the time, it was the first of its kind in the prairies and led to many other school boards looking to create similar policies. These policies did encounter fierce provincial resistance among divided social conservatives and fed into the 2012 incident which saw a candidate removed from Danielle Smith's Wildrose Alliance Party.

He and his colleagues were honored as the Grand Marshall of the Edmonton Pride Festival in 2012. He also was awarded a Queens’ Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for these efforts. Michael later served as a project manager for the Edmonton Queer History Project leading to the 35th anniversary of pride.

As City Councillor Michael was a vocal supporter of Pride Corner, permanently recognizing the corner of Whyte Avenue where queer youth protested against hate speech by a street preacher, later becoming a regular gathering place and Friday night dance party.

Noisy Vehicles and safe streets

In 2022, Michael led the initiative to increase the fine for noisy vehicles from $162 to $1000 and doubling per infraction. He has been vocal in opposition to street racing, dangerous driving, and noisy vehicles.

Active and Public Transportation

Michael was a former Vice-President of the Edmonton Bike Commuters Society (renamed Bike Edmonton) and as city councillor has been a vocal advocate of adding transportation choices. In December 2022 he wrote an op-ed in support of the Edmonton City Council allocation to build bike lanes (Why Bike Lanes Matter). He was an advocate for expanding public transportation and supportive of both Bus Rapid Transit and LRT expansion. As Student Union President, he was the first signatory to the Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) upon implementation in 2008.

Housing Advocacy

During his time at the University of Alberta, Michael was involved in the student housing movement, advocating for more student housing choices. As a new father, he faced eviction from their adult-only condo, and Michael was supportive of a “kids in condo’s campaign” to provide more housing choices to young families.

In 2023, Michael advocated (supported unanimously) for policy changes to allow for architectural changes to allow Point Access Blocks, or single stair buildings in Canada.

In 2022 Michael moved a motion in support of options for progressive taxation, or a “mansion tax”, on homes over $3 Million, wrote an oped in support of a “Mansion Tax”.

In 2021 he brought forward a motion about renters rights and a landlord registry. He also advocated to curtail the use and expansion of short-term rentals/AirBNB.

Michael has supported legalizing more housing and upzoning more areas of the city to curb urban sprawl. He also has been critical of urban sprawl and the suburban development industry and the impacts of sprawl on our property taxes.

Climate Activism:

He is a climate justice advocate in support of carbon reduction measures and served as one of the two representatives from City Council on the Energy Transition Advisory Committee. He has supported action on fugitive methane emissions and cosmetic ban on pesticides and herbicides (EPSB Pesticide ban)

Police Accountability

Michael was a 2009 graduate of the Edmonton Police Citizens Police Academy. He has been an outspoken critic in favor of police accountability and criminal justice reform. In 2024 was a guest on the policing podcast, The Quiet Professional where he shared his reflections on policing at City Hall including his learnings and concerns.

Municipal Underfunding

Michael has been critical of the UCP, and has been critical of Premier Jason Kenney and Premier Danielle Smith, especially for their cutbacks to health and education

https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/michael-janz-alberta-govt-needs-to-pay-its-property-taxes-too

Consumer protection

Michael has been an active consumer protection advocate, serving on the board of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) of Canada, pushing for greater consumer protection in banking, telecommunications, travel, broadband, groceries, and anti-monopoly work.

Awards:

Edify MagazineTop - 40 Under 40 - (2012) https://edifyedmonton.com/2012/michael-janz/

Public School Boards Association of Alberta Award for Public School Leadership - (2021)

Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)

Grand Marshall Edmonton Pride Parade (2012)

Hobbies

Lister Dodgeball League

While at university, Janz was involved in student leadership at Lister Hall for four years, and was the founding Rules Administrator for the Lister Dodgeball League.

Michael Janz