'It gets busier and busier every year and it's fantastic': Kensington ready to keep on growing
CBC
The signs of growth are easy to spot in Kensington. There's a new business park, restaurants are bustling, and few buildings are empty.
Mayor Rowan Caseley says the boom the town has seen over the last 15 years shows no signs of stopping. The population went from around 1,300 people back in 2009 to a projected 2,400 by the end of this year, and will likely reach 3,000 by 2030.
"We've had phenomenal growth in residential developments. We've issued development permits just in the last two months for 78 housing units," the mayor said in an interview.
As more people move to Kensington, they add to the need for services as well as housing, of course.
"We have an idea of what we need to do, where we have to move forward, and all we need is money," Caseley said.
In June, the town was part of a provincial announcement to spur development in rural areas of P.E.I., through a new Municipal Infrastructure Fund.
Caseley said the town recently had a study done to evaluate how its infrastructure, water supply, and waste water disposal system will stand up to the higher population.
"We're probably good for the next five years," he said. "We do have to take a look at over the next five years to be able to handle the increased growth beyond there."
In Kensington's business park, Island Structural Systems Inc. makes wooden roof trusses, floor joists and other types of structures for the construction industry. Its owner, Matthew Bowness, said it took about a year of planning and six months of construction to get his shop open this year.
"It's been busy. It's great. The need is definitely there and the need is going to continue for the years to come, which will help make this business even more successful," he said.
Bowness said finding workers wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be, given the experience of other Island construction companies over the past few years. He has 21 local employees and expects to keep them all occupied.
"There's building going on everywhere, which is a big help to keep us busy and get us going," Bowness said.
A few minutes away from the business park is Island Stone Pub. Server Jesse Jenson has worked there since it opened in 2015.
Sona Lakhoyan Olivier has been excluded from Quebec’s Liberal caucus for the duration of an investigation led by the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner, the party announced Thursday.
The head of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association hopes a city plan to crack down on vacant properties leads to a transformation in his community.
Saskatchewan's justice minister is rejecting the latest legislative proposal from the NDP Opposition, one that the NDP says is a necessary check on government power.
The provincial government is proposing sweeping changes to citizen-led referendum questions that could put a stop to an active court case about whether it’s constitutional to ask Albertans if they agree with separating from Canada.
A proposal for a hydrogen-powered passenger rail connecting Calgary and Banff has been submitted to the federal government in the hopes of having it fast-tracked.
The P.E.I. Green Party is calling on government to release the fall fiscal update. The checkup on the province's finances is typically released sometime in October.
A main road in Inuvik, N.W.T., is closed and water is shut off for part of the town after a utilidor leak.
Immigration Minister Lena Diab sparred with her Conservative critic at a tense House of Commons committee meeting Thursday as the two disagreed on everything from immigration levels and deporting non-citizen criminals to what kind of salad they prefer.
A report by the City of Calgary presented to councillors says blanket rezoning has so far required only "minimal" upgrades to infrastructure.
Changes are coming to residential recycling in Toronto starting in the new year, two councillors announced on Thursday.
Before a bitumen pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s northwest coast can be built, there's another box that needs to be checked: a massive investment in carbon capture and storage in central Alberta.
Jeremy Tunraluk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), is on leave from his position after he was charged with assault.
The head of Canada's Leaders' Debates Commission says the independent body should stop organizing post-debate news conferences and will make changes to how it decides what leaders to invite after this spring's leadership debate was surrounded by controversy.