Deadly Cold Snap Grips Calgary as City Opens Emergency Warming Centres
Temperatures plunge to −40°C with windchill, prompting fears for the city’s growing unhoused population.
An extreme cold snap has sent temperatures in Calgary plunging to −40°C with windchill, prompting the city to open emergency warming centres and intensifying concerns about the safety of the growing number of people living on the streets.
Emergency Response
The City of Calgary activated its Extreme Weather Response protocol on Sunday evening, opening five additional warming centres across the city with a combined capacity of 400 people. Transit shelters have been unlocked overnight, and Calgary Transit is running free shuttle buses to warming centres.
“When it’s this cold, exposure can kill within hours,” said Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Susan Henry. “We are doing everything we can to get people inside.”
Outreach Efforts
Teams from the Alpha House Society, the Calgary Drop-In Centre, and WestNet Humanitarian Services (WHS) are conducting around-the-clock outreach, visiting encampments and known gathering spots to offer transportation to warm spaces.
WHS has deployed its mobile response unit, equipped with heated space, warm clothing, hot meals, and charging stations for phones, to encampment sites in the Beltline and East Village.
“We’re not leaving anyone behind,” said WHS volunteer coordinator James Park. “Every person we bring inside is a life saved.”
Systemic Failure
Advocates say the emergency highlights the failure to adequately invest in affordable and supportive housing. With over 3,400 people experiencing homelessness in Calgary, the shelter system is already over capacity in normal weather.
“Warming centres are not a solution — they’re a Band-Aid on a gaping wound,” said Calgary Homeless Foundation CEO Patricia Jones. “The real emergency is that we don’t have enough housing.”
The cold snap is expected to persist through midweek, with temperatures moderating by Thursday as a Chinook system approaches.
