Calgary Minute: Issue 355

Calgary Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Calgary politics

📅 This Week In Calgary: 📅

• In Calgary’s 2025 mayoral race, candidates collectively spent over $2 million on their campaigns. Sonya Sharp, the runner-up, raised and spent the most, with over $546,000 in donations and a small surplus. Jeromy Farkas, the winner, raised about $394,000 and spent a similar amount, highlighting grassroots support through small donations. Incumbent Jyoti Gondek finished third, raising roughly $347,000 in new donations plus $42,000 carried over from previous campaigns. Lower-profile candidates included Sarah Elder and Grant Prior, who raised and spent only a few thousand dollars, while Jaeger Gustafson and Larry Heather reported no campaign revenues or expenses. 
  
  
• Ward 4 Councillor DJ Kelly is pushing to reinstate the annual Municipal Fiscal Gap report, which details shortfalls in provincial funding for programs and services that fall under shared responsibility. The report, produced in 2023 and 2024, revealed gaps of $311 million and nearly $437 million, respectively, by combining increased costs, unfunded responsibilities, and changes to cost-sharing arrangements. The report was not produced in 2025, as similar information was included in the 2026 budget package, but Kelly says that version lacked sufficient detail. He argues that a restored report would help Council better understand areas where the City bears a disproportionate share of costs, providing a stronger foundation for advocacy with the provincial government. Kelly’s motion to reinstate the report passed a technical review and will be debated at Council’s March 31st meeting.
  
  
• Mayor Jeromy Farkas is pushing for greater transparency in executive compensation by aligning City reporting with private-sector practices. A Notice of Motion asks Administration to review how the 10 most valuable Calgary-based companies disclose executive salaries and develop a similar framework for the City, including base pay, short- and long-term incentives, pensions, and total compensation. Farkas emphasized that providing detailed information would strengthen public trust and allow taxpayers to evaluate alignment between compensation and performance. The proposal includes consultation with unions, legal review of privacy and contractual issues, and consideration of risk mitigation. Currently, the City publishes a general annual compensation list with salary ranges and pension information, but it lacks detailed figures or thresholds. Farkas said a more accessible, detailed disclosure for top-paid employees would mirror best practices in the private sector and is distinct from Ward 14 Councillor Landon Johnston’s previous motion, which aimed to disclose salaries of all City staff earning $140,000 or more. The motion will be debated at Council’s March 31st meeting.
  
  
• Calgary needs an additional $609.5 million over the next two years to fund critical water infrastructure upgrades, including the replacement of the Bearspaw South Feeder Main and the new North Calgary Water Servicing project. Council will be asked to amend the City’s borrowing bylaw, increasing its maximum borrowing capacity by $515.2 million to cover the accelerated work after two recent catastrophic feeder main failures. The projects also include new water metering infrastructure, capital delivery costs, and operating budget adjustments of $21.3 million for staffing, inspections, asset management, and emergency preparedness. Construction on the Bearspaw replacement began in January and is expected to finish later this year, with total costs for the project pegged at $439 million and the North Calgary Water Servicing project at $533 million. Funding will come from self-supported debt repaid through future water rates, though rates will not increase this year; by 2027, typical residential bills could rise about $17 per month. City officials say that the upgrades are essential to prevent future failures and to set up Calgary’s water system for long-term reliability. 
  
  
• Mayor Jeromy Farkas is considering holding a plebiscite to ask residents whether they believe the city is receiving a “fair deal” from the Alberta government, particularly in light of recent property tax increases. Farkas raised the idea during a special Council meeting reviewing the provincial budget, asking Administration about costs and timelines for a standalone vote, which could be similar to Calgary’s 2018 plebiscite on a potential Winter Olympics bid. Administration estimated a standalone vote would cost around $12 million and take six months to organize, though the question could also be added to the 2029 municipal election ballot. Farkas has criticized the Province for over-taxing Calgarians without providing new services, and he highlighted that many residents mistakenly believe the City receives the majority of property tax revenue. Some Councillors, including Ward 13’s Dan McLean, support consulting Calgarians directly, while others, like Ward 6’s John Pantazopoulos and Ward 14’s Landon Johnston, questioned the cost and described the meeting as largely symbolic.

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