News

A Seat at the Table: What we heard and what's next

17 October 2025

Thank you to everyone who participated in A Seat at the Table! Your voices are shaping the future of engagement in Kitchener.

Between April 30 and June 30, 2025, nearly 1,000 residents joined us across 19 events and spaces, sharing their experiences, ideas, and hopes for how the City engages with its community.

Here is a short summary of what we heard from you. If you’re interested, take a look at the full “What We Heard” report.

  • The City values public input
  • Ways to engage are convenient and accessible, both in-person and online
  • You appreciate the City’s various and tailored methods to participate and get informed
  • More follow-up on how your input is used.
  • Earlier and clearer communication about engagement opportunities.
  • Ways for youth to participate need to be more visible and meaningful.
  • Use more creative and inclusive formats, held in familiar community spaces, that are designed to build trust.
  • Help residents understand how the City works and how to get involved.


Residents told us they imagine a Kitchener where:

  • Ideas are listened to and acted upon.
  • Strong community relationships and trust are built.
  • Pride in their city grows.
  • Youth are actively engaged.
  • Everyone is included and respected.
  • Engagement is easy, safe, and inclusive.
  • Decisions are transparent and clearly communicated.

You affirmed the importance of our six draft principles:

  • Accountable and transparent
  • Relationship-building
  • Deliberatively inclusive
  • Respectful
  • Purposeful
  • Evaluate and improve

You also offered thoughtful suggestions to bring these to life in practice. In particular, you said the wording should be revised to better align with how community members would describe and understand them.

​What’s next?

Over the last 18 months, we also consulted with 30 Canadian municipalities and interviewed City staff to understand best practices and internal needs. Based on that review – and your feedback – we are recommending updates to the City’s Community Engagement Policy (2018).

These changes would aim to create a clearer, more consistent approach for staff and support more meaningful, inclusive engagement across all City initiatives. Updates could include:

  • New framework for how staff engage residents, based on industry standards.
  • Public participation spectrum to clarify types of public participation and your role within each.
  • Guiding principles with revised definitions shaped directly by public feedback, so they are more practical and relevant.

We expect the final and revised policy to be approved early in 2026.

To learn more, read the staff report.

Then what?

After that, we plan to develop a new corporate strategy to enhance how the City engages with the community. This will offer steps for putting the updated policy into action based on what we learned from the recent review – and the valuable perspectives and ideas you shared.

To stay informed about this project, subscribe for email updates. Visit the main page, then click the “Follow” button at the top of the page.

Have any questions or comments for the project team? Reach out anytime at AtTheTable@kitchener.ca or call 519-741-2479 (TTY:1-866-969-9994).