Meet Keren Tang

Keren is a community organizer, city builder, and public health advocate. She has represented Ward Karhiio on Edmonton City Council since 2021.  Keren cares deeply about southeast Edmonton. She has developed strong working relationships with Ward Karhiio residents, businesses, community leagues, and organizations to get things done, together.

Keren believes in the power of everyday people. She knows that investing back in our community has real impacts. Keren brought Community-Based Budgeting to Ward Karhiio, putting decision-making power and funding in the hands of local residents. Through this initiative, community leaders, young and old, have created public art projects, installed little libraries and public benches, planted new trees, and launched Mill Woods Dining Week. They have even mapped hundreds of kilometers of bike paths to help Edmontonians navigate our city. 

Keren has worked to strengthen our local economy. In Ward Karhiio, she was instrumental in rejuvenating the Edmonton Research Park, a hub for innovators and entrepreneurs. In the past year, the hub has generated over $400M worth of investment, supporting the development of critical medicines, healthcare technologies, and pharmaceuticals, among other things.

At City Hall, Keren has applied her public health experience to advancing community safety. She has advocated for long-term investments in violence prevention, resulting in a new coordinated violence prevention action plan for Edmonton. Under the new plan, the City, schools, the healthcare system, and the police work together to share knowledge and resources to reduce violent crime. 

Keren improved the City’s transit services, helping add 50,0000 new transit service hours this year. She voted for an additional $5 million to increase Transit Peace Officer presence on the LRT to complement the outreach teams.

Knowing how essential it is that every Edmontonian has a choice when it comes to finding a home, Keren voted in favor of the City's new Zoning Bylaw, which streamlines development activities, to secure Edmonton’s status as Canada’s number one city for home builders. She also voted for $192 million in Federal funding to help deliver 36,000 affordable housing units by 2026.  

She has been a strong voice for accountability and good governance. It is a priority for Keren that Edmontonians feel confident their tax dollars are being used effectively. Keren has worked to reset the relationship between City Council and the Edmonton Police Service, requiring EPS to report annually on measures, impact, and return on investment. 

Before serving as a City Councillor, Keren spent two decades working with residents in places large and small across North America building healthy communities. Keren has made her home in Edmonton with her husband and young daughter because it is a city that prides itself on involving everyday citizens to shape and co-create its present and future.