City of Calgary - No Budget for our 150th Anniversary...

Disgusting!

In the midst of Canada’s ongoing affordability crisis, which has seen skyrocketing bankruptcy and insolvency rates, businesses closing, and families losing their homes, the City of Calgary has introduced yet another rate hike for 2025.

But, they say, it’s only 3.6%...

As Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow put it in defense of her own 7% hike, "It’s just the cost of a Big Mac a week!"—a comment that came while 25% of Canada's population, including 2 million children, are struggling with food insecurity and missing meals. For Olivia to suggest that people should miss just one more meal a week is, frankly, insulting.

While Calgary’s hike is lower, that’s beside the point.

When City Council debated the budget in November 2024, a proposal for $70 million in tax cuts was put forward, along with an additional $4 million in capital expenditures—yet both were ultimately defeated.

Instead, City Council thought it would be wise to approve $325 million in collaboration with the federal government for electric buses. But here’s the catch: they haven’t even received the initial batch of EV buses from the pilot program, and meanwhile, Edmonton’s similar investment has turned into a costly failure. Their fleet of 60 buses was cut in half by November 2023 due to lack of parts and the bankruptcy of the manufacturer, leaving them without any warranty coverage. To make matters worse, the company contracted to supply Calgary's fleet also went bankrupt before delivering a single bus. Then, there’s Lion Electric, a partner from Quebec, which filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2024.

Clearly, there should be alarm bells ringing about these manufacturers, pilot programs, and the allocation of funds from the city’s budget.

In 2024, Calgary also spent $5 million on a rebranding initiative, replacing the iconic "Stampede City" with the uninspired "Blue Sky City" and a logo that looks like something a child might design. It’s not like every other city has a uniquely colored sky—Calgary’s identity has always been tied to the Stampede.

But the current mayor does not care! For her, it’s all about upholding the radical woke ideology, and forgetting our city’s pride. Remember when the city canceled Canada Day fireworks in 2023, citing racial sensitivity? Or when they renamed Fort Calgary to “The Confluence Historic Site and Parkland”? These are just a few examples of a city leadership that seems more interested in erasing our past than honoring it.

Fast forward to 2025: after failing to deliver tax breaks, failing to curb spending, and increasing city administration by a staggering 2,268 positions in just two years (a 16.8% increase, costing taxpayers over $200 million), Calgary’s leadership has done little to address rising crime, the deterioration of the downtown core, or the growing homelessness crisis. In fact, they’ve added just 50 new police officers. Meanwhile, we continue to throw money into the Greenline project—a project that promises to spend more for less—and our roads remain in disrepair.

The city’s water infrastructure is another story. After water restrictions hit at the end of the summer in 2023, Calgarians were left with little to no water in 2024—even though the city collects nearly a billion dollars per year in service fees meant for maintenance.

It’s a stark contrast to the days before Mayor Nenshi and Mayor Gondek, when garbage was picked up every week, streets were regularly cleared of snow, fields and boulevards were well-maintained, and public safety was a priority—all without new taxes each year or bloated city administration.

But here’s the most glaring issue: despite all this spending, Calgary’s 150th anniversary celebration has been completely overlooked. No funds have been allocated to commemorate this milestone.

The focus of the city has shifted to creating jobs in an unbalanced way while failing to even address public safety concerns through policing. Services are being cut, infrastructure is being neglected, and taxes are on the rise. Meanwhile, our proud heritage is being stripped away.

For some, it may be hard to justify spending money on a celebration in the midst of an affordability crisis. But that’s not the main issue here. The real problem is that the city has been wasting money left and right, and while doing so, we’re watching the true spirit of Calgary disappear.

It’s a shameful state of affairs, and it’s something I plan to address as a municipal councillor for Ward 4 in the upcoming October election.