Reducing Barriers for Businesses: Permit and Licensing Improvements
Local business is the backbone of our city’s economic well-being. To support local entrepreneurs, I’ve been pushing for the City to make it easier to start and run a business in Edmonton. This includes evolving and improving business permit and licensing processes to reduce barriers and encourage investment in our city.
I’ve heard from business owners in Edmonton that have experienced challenges in navigating the permit and licence processes required to open their doors or expand their operations, and I take those concerns seriously.
I wanted to take a moment to first highlight what has been done to improve the system, along with the work that is to still be done in 2026.
What’s been done so far:
- Business licences are now issued when building occupancy is granted.
- Businesses may commence operation prior to inspection by Edmonton Fire Rescue Service. This change has allowed 1,500 businesses annually to operate 12 days sooner.
- Pre-application meetings with City staff are now offered for complex projects, resulting in a smoother and more efficient application process.
- The Self-Serve Application Portal, where people can request inspections and apply for licences and permits, now allows applicants to share access with builders, contractors, and other involved parties, so they can add information directly and efficiently, reducing wait times.
Changes include new resources and updates to online applications:
- A fully digitized Commercial Occupancy Permit.
- Simplified, plain language in permit and licence applications.
- The Commercial Business Handbook resource.
- The Guaranteed Industrial Timelines Program, which ensures that initial permit decisions are made within 40 days for eligible projects.
Additionally, the new Zoning Bylaw has resulted in several positive outcomes:
- Non-residential development applications require fewer requests and approvals for variances, shortening timelines for permits. The number of variances for such permits fell by 50% from 2023 to 2024.
- Eliminating barriers for child care facilities, leading to more than 11,000 new child care spaces green-lit for development in 2024.
We’re seeing the positive results of these changes. In the first half of 2025, satisfaction rates were 82% for permits, 91% for safety code inspections, and 93% for business licensing. And there are more improvements coming down the pipe.
What’s upcoming:
As part of supporting businesses through permitting and licensing, the City launched the “Taking Care of Business” initiative last year.
This initiative was implemented to further improve the permitting and licensing experience by collaborating directly with the businesses that work within it. This collaboration included a data review, directly interviewing and having roundtable discussions with businesses, a further jurisdictional scan, customer survey, and more. This research phase is now complete and the analysis of that data is currently underway.
Solution testing and implementation will take place later this year, stay tuned for updates!
More support for businesses:
Looking for overall support for your business? Business Friendly Edmonton supports businesses of all sizes and stages in Edmonton. BFE identifies grant opportunities and funding sources for businesses, provides webinars and workshops, and connects local businesses with networking events. In 2024, BFE supported 2257 business owners, an 11% increase over the previous year.
Your business matters to me.
It’s critical that businesses can thrive in Edmonton. Ward Anirniq has some of the largest portions of industrial lands in the City that I want to see thriving. These changes are moving us in the right direction. This work is ongoing, and getting it right is key to the future financial health of the city.
Since 2019, service improvements have saved planning and development customers an estimated 170,000 days and $17 million annually. Let’s continue this trajectory, and make sure that Edmonton is known as one of the best places to start and grow a business in Canada.
Erin.
Note: For the fastest, most effective support for all business-related needs, please contact Business Friendly Edmonton [email protected], this is a first-point-of-contact for business owners of all sizes and stages.
