Calgary residents are bracing for sticker shock at tax time, and city council is scrambling to find ways to ease the burden—even if it means cutting back on some of the services and institutions Calgarians hold dear.
The city's draft 2027-2030 budget, released this week, proposes a 15-per-cent hike to municipal property taxes. For a typical residential home, that translates to an extra $37 per month hitting homeowners' wallets. The tax increase is being driven by the city's urgent need to shore up aging infrastructure, a crisis thrown into sharp relief by two catastrophic water main breaks in recent years.
But the hit to wallets has sparked a search for savings, and Ward 13 Councillor Dan McLean has put a proposal on the table that could affect some of Calgary's most cherished community organizations.
A 10-Per-Cent Squeeze on Civic Partners
McLean has suggested implementing a blanket 10-per-cent cut across all of Calgary's "civic partners"—a network of organizations that receive substantial city funding and provide essential services and cultural programming. The list includes the Calgary Public Library system, the Calgary Zoo, Parks Foundation Calgary, Telus Spark, Tourism Calgary, Calgary Economic Development, and Silvera for Seniors.
"Nobody's happy with a 15-per-cent tax hike," McLean said. "Every year these groups come asking for more money. Maybe this is the year we all tighten our belts together."
While McLean emphasized he values what these organizations do, his tone suggested difficult trade-offs are coming. "I don't know how many people use libraries to check out books anymore," he said, "but maybe we can pump the brakes on expanding the system. We all love the arts, but perhaps Calgary Arts Development can do more with less this year."
The Civic Partners Fight Back
The proposed 2027-2030 budget already calls for $6 million in additional civic partner funding next year, with a planned $49-million increase across the four-year cycle. That money is earmarked to cover inflation, strengthen programming, and fund major projects like new library branches and the Werklund Centre.
Some partners are already facing cuts in the current draft. Platform Calgary, which supports the city's tech entrepreneurship ecosystem, is looking at a roughly 20-per-cent slash to its operating grant next year—though the funding is scheduled to be restored in years two through four.
"A cut like that will force us to make hard decisions," said Platform Calgary CEO Jen Lussier. "We'll have to evaluate whether we can keep our doors open as much as we do now, and what programming and services we can afford to offer. These organizations aren't just nice-to-haves—they bring talent and investment to Calgary."
Public debate over the budget is expected to intensify as council weighs the competing demands of aging infrastructure and community services. For many Calgarians, the question is whether a tax hike can be avoided without gutting the cultural and recreational programming that makes the city livable.
Original reporting by CBC Calgary's Michael Silverman.