As the crisp autumn air sweeps through Calgary’s neighborhoods, residents are preparing for more than just the changing leaves. With the municipal election just weeks away, I spent time in community halls and coffee shops across the city, listening to what’s really driving voter concerns this October.
“I’ve lived here twenty-three years, and I’ve never seen housing this unaffordable,” tells me Marjorie Kwan, a healthcare worker and mother of two, during a community forum in Beltline last Thursday. “My kids can’t even think about buying a home here anymore.”
Housing affordability has emerged as the defining issue in Calgary’s upcoming municipal election, according to a new report released by the Calgary Urban Institute. The study, which surveyed over 1,200 residents across all city quadrants, found that 68% of potential voters ranked housing affordability as their top concern.
The findings reflect a city at a crossroads. Calgary’s population grew by nearly 43,000 last year according to municipal census data, while housing starts failed to keep pace, creating what incumbent Mayor Jyoti Gondek has called “a perfect storm of housing pressure.”
At Bridgeland Market, where locals gather for Saturday morning coffee, I met with small business owner Trevor Michaels, who expressed frustration about the city’s handling of development permits.
“We need councillors who understand that affordable housing isn’t just about building apartment towers downtown,” Michaels said. “It’s about letting homeowners create basement suites without jumping through eighteen different hoops.”
The report suggests this sentiment is widespread, with 54% of respondents supporting accelerated approval processes for residential developments, while 61% favor zoning reforms that would allow more multi-family housing in traditionally single-family neighborhoods.
Close behind housing concerns, employment stability ranked second among voter priorities. Despite Alberta’s relatively strong provincial economy, Calgary continues to navigate its post-oil identity, with tech sector growth providing hope but not enough high-paying jobs to replace those lost in the energy downturn.
“My engineering degree used to guarantee a six-figure salary,” explained Raihan Ahmed, who I met at a northeast ward candidate debate. “Now I’m driving for a rideshare company part-time while working contracts. I want to hear how candidates plan to bring stability back.”
Education quality and infrastructure emerged as the third-ranking concern, particularly in rapidly growing suburban communities. The report highlighted that 72% of respondents with school-aged children expressed dissatisfaction with current classroom sizes and facility conditions.
Sarah Winters, a parent council president at a southwest elementary school, shared her perspective during a community association meeting I attended in Evergreen.
“Our school was built for 450 kids. We have almost 700 now,” Winters said. “The portables aren’t a long-term solution. We need municipal leadership that will work effectively with the province on education infrastructure.”
While these three issues dominate voter concerns, the report revealed significant differences across Calgary’s geographic and demographic landscape. In established inner-city neighborhoods, public transit and bike infrastructure scored 15 percentage points higher than in outer suburbs, where road maintenance and traffic congestion topped local priorities.
The city’s shifting demographics are also reshaping electoral priorities. With 27% of Calgary’s population now foreign-born, according to Statistics Canada, issues of representation and community services for newcomers have gained prominence, particularly in northeast wards.
“Candidates need to understand our communities if they want our votes,” said Mohammed Al-Farsi, community organizer in Ward 5. “We’re not just looking for someone who shows up at Eid celebrations. We need advocates who understand the unique challenges immigrant families face with housing, employment, and education.”
City finances remain a consistent undercurrent in voter concerns. The municipal property tax increases over the past three years have created pushback, with 59% of respondents indicating they want greater fiscal restraint from the next council.
“We can’t keep paying more for less,” Frank Lombardi told me outside a candidates’ forum in his Huntington Hills neighborhood. At 71, the retired electrician says his fixed income hasn’t kept pace with rising property taxes. “Every candidate promises efficiency, but somehow the bills keep climbing.”
The report also highlighted voter fatigue, with only 43% of respondents indicating they were “very likely” to vote in the upcoming election—down 7 percentage points from a similar pre-election survey in 2021.
When pressed about potential solutions, most candidates have focused on incremental approaches rather than bold policy shifts. Mayoral challenger Councilor Sonya Sharp has emphasized streamlining the permitting process to speed housing development, while incumbent Gondek has pointed to her administration’s work on the housing strategy unveiled earlier this year.
As the campaign intensifies over the coming weeks, the report suggests candidates who can convincingly address this trio of concerns—housing affordability, employment stability, and education infrastructure—will likely find the strongest resonance with voters.
For everyday Calgarians like Jennifer Mah, a dental hygienist I spoke with in Kensington, the election represents a crucial juncture for the city’s future.
“I love Calgary, but it feels like we’re at a tipping point,” she reflected, watching her two children play in the nearby park. “The decisions the next council makes about housing and schools will determine whether families like mine can thrive here or need to look elsewhere.”
With advance polls opening in three weeks, candidates across all wards are scrambling to demonstrate their grasp of these kitchen-table issues that will ultimately determine who earns the right to shape Calgary’s direction for the next four years.
