Lili Tran

I take actions in my day-to-day life to support climate resilience and environmental responsibility, including:

(i) reducing waste – we collect as much compost as possible; we maximize recycling; we used cloth diapers on our child when she was born; we exchange toys and most of the baby supplies with other parents;

(ii) conserving water and energy – we wash clothes in cold water and use clothesline when the weather allows; we are working on a rainwater collection assembly for our garden;

(iii) supporting sustainable transportation where possible – we take public transit and carpool when possible;

(iv) encouraging others in my community to be mindful of environmental impacts – my spouse and I pick up plastic bottles every time we walk the beaches with our daughter and our dog;

(v) seeking for opportunities to convert to more energy efficient equipment such as heat pumps, HRVs, or passive cooling methods in my work as a project manager.

I believe housing growth and infrastructure must move forward together. Before approving more density, we would work with residents, Indigenous partners, service providers, and other levels of government to understand what each neighbourhood needs—from schools, childcare, and emergency services to water, sewers, parks, roads, transit, and the electrical grid.
We would phase development so these improvements are funded, scheduled, and delivered as new homes are built—not years later. Growth should help pay for growth, using tools such as development charges, community amenity contributions, density bonuses, land-value capture, and funding from senior governments, while keeping housing affordability front and centre.
Our goal is to build complete communities: homes close to jobs, shops, services, green space, and frequent transit, with safe routes for walking and cycling and access to clean energy. We would publish clear timelines, track infrastructure capacity, and adjust the pace of development if services fall behind. In short, every new home should come with a plan for the community around it.

My approaches to retain healthy mature trees will include:

(a) Require early arborist-led design: For new developments, I support requiring an arborist-led tree inventory and retention plan at the beginning of the design process, before building locations, roads, parking, and utilities are finalized. Development layouts should be adjusted wherever practical to protect high-value trees and provide adequate soil volume and root-protection areas.

(b) Adopt a “retain first” approach: We require development and renovation plans to prioritize keeping healthy mature trees before considering removal. We treat healthy mature trees as valuable community infrastructure rather than obstacles to development. In established neighbourhoods, this would include stronger tree-protection bylaws, meaningful replacement and compensation requirements, incentives for property owners to retain and care for mature trees, and adequate enforcement against unnecessary removal or damage.

(c) Design around existing trees: We support flexible planning tools, such as setbacks, reduced parking requirements, and other design adjustments, when they make meaningful tree retention possible.

To establish adequate tree canopy standards, I will first identify neighbourhoods with the lowest tree canopy, the highest exposure to extreme heat, and the greatest need for shade, cooling, stormwater management, and accessible green space.

I will support using canopy mapping, heat-risk mapping, demographic information, and public health data to guide where tree planting and green infrastructure funding should be prioritized. Neighbourhoods with fewer trees, more paved surfaces, limited parks, and higher climate vulnerability should receive a larger share of planting programs, maintenance resources, and long-term urban-forest investment.

I support early adoption of the Zero Carbon Step Code because the homes we build today will shape the health, affordability, and resilience of our community for generations. Acting early can help families enjoy cleaner air, lower energy bills, and more comfortable homes, while reducing the emissions that affect us all.

We will make this transition together. I would set a clear, gradual schedule and work closely with residents, builders, trades, energy advisors, utilities, and housing providers so everyone has time to prepare. Training, straightforward permitting, and targeted incentives—especially for affordable and non-market housing—would help ensure that cleaner construction supports, rather than slows, the delivery of homes people can afford.

The goal is not simply to meet a technical standard; but also it is to build a healthier, more affordable, and climate-ready community. We will track housing costs, permit timelines, electrical capacity, and industry readiness, listen to community feedback, and adjust the details when needed. By planning carefully and working together, we can move toward zero-carbon new homes while making sure no one is left behind.