Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block has been so busy since her election victory in November that she really only has one New Year’s resolution: make time for herself.

Block likes to walk her dog or do some yoga when she has a spare moment. She didn’t get to do much of either during the mayoral campaign, but is determined to carve out more down time in 2025.

“Some of my best problem solving happens when I’m walking,” Block said in a year-end interview with CBC News.

“I can’t tell you how many times there’s been a really spicy, sticky issue at city hall and I would just walk and walk and walk. And at some point the answer just flows in as opposed to using the part of your brain where it’s super analytical. So I want to spend more time on Meewasin [Trail] and have a little more family time in 2025.”

Mayor Cynthia Block chairs a budget debate at a meeting of Saskatoon City Council on Dec. 2, 2024. (Trevor Bothorel/CBC News)

It’s been a busy first two months for Block and the new city council. Shortly after the post-election swearing-in of the new councillors, they debated and passed next year’s budget, and approved an encampment and emergency shelter plan.

Block spent two terms as Ward 6 councillor before running for mayor. Her victory over former Saskatchewan Party MLA Gordon Wyant and three other candidates made her the first woman to serve as Saskatoon’s mayor. The former broadcast journalist also ran for the Liberal Party in the 2015 federal election.

First elected in 2016, Block’s tenure as a councillor coincided with the two terms of former mayor Charlie Clark. She said she learned a few things by observing her predecessor.

“I’ve been a student of the mayor’s office for eight years watching Charlie Clark conduct himself — the way he managed files and interacted with his chief of staff and how she was very instrumental in how work got done,” Block said.

Mayor’s priorities

Block said she’ll reveal more details about her proposed task force on homelessness in the new year. The idea was mentioned frequently during the campaign as homelessness and shelters dominated the election discourse.

She said she wants private citizens, business owners and community groups to sit on the task force to tackle the rise in homelessness and unaffordable housing.

“I think that the acceleration of the homelessness crisis is such that policymakers and service providers simply cannot keep pace,” Block said.

“Cities are struggling following the pandemic with an epidemic of homelessness. And we need to get in front of it. And I don’t believe we can do that without having our community with us.”

Saskatoon mayor Cynthia Block stands next to homelessness advocate David Fineday at a rally that was held outside Saskatoon city hall on Wednesday. (Halyna Mihalik/CBC)

Just don’t call it the mayor’s task force anymore. Block wants city councillors involved too.

“Very quickly after the campaign began, I started to think, if I’m noticing that this is the most urgent matter of our time, I’ll bet you everyone else that’s going to be on council is thinking the same way,” Block said.

“They’re hearing the same things from residents and businesses, and so I wanted to leave that open for it to be maybe something that we do as a council, not just out of the mayor’s office.”

Block will also preside over the opening of the Bus Rapid Transit system — now called Link — during her term. The massive overhaul of the city’s transit system includes a plan to increase residential density along Link corridors.

“We will have more buses, people will have more confidence in this new system and I think more people will choose public transportation because it’s going to be easy, reliable and less expensive,” Block said.

“We have started to move forward to add density along those bus rapid transit corridors in a way that neighbourhoods feel good about because we’re going to hopefully be able to incentivize right along those transit routes for mixed development and make it a more livable, walkable community.”

Asked how Saskatoon will change by the end of her term in 2028, Block kept an optimistic outlook.

“All people are safely housed. People can move around their neighbourhoods, or their kids can go to the park and feel good about that,” Block said.

“People are filled with hope and optimism because we’ve surpassed the struggles of the post-pandemic era and crazy inflation and affordability. Trust has been rebuilt between citizens and their elected leaders. I think that’s pretty foundational to how we move forward.”