Calgarians’ happiness with city services continues to decline, with less than two-thirds of citizens in the Calgary satisfaction survey happy with the level of service provided by the City of Calgary.

However, there was a jump in optimism around Calgary’s economy in the City of Calgary’s 2024 Fall Research Results, made public on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. It surveyed 2,500 Calgarians between Aug. 8 and Sept. 3, with the margin of error at two per cent, 19 times out of 20. Results were weighted based on 2019 municipal and 2021 federal census data.

Overall, 63 per cent of Calgarians said they were satisfied with the services delivered by the City, down six per cent from last year’s fall survey.

“Calgarians have shared with us what matters most to them about their city and their concerns,” said Chief Administrative Officer David Duckworth, in a prepared news release.

“Through the recent fall survey, Calgarians identified infrastructure, economy, housing, safety and transit as their top civic priorities. We have heard this loud and clear. Our work continues to focus on these priorities as well as address concerns and feedback across all survey results.”

When asked what the most pressing issue is, 35 per cent of Calgarians said infrastructure, traffic and road. There’s a steep drop in what issue comes up next, with economy registering at 18 per cent, and 17 per cent prioritizing poverty and affordable housing.

Water supply and infrastructure and development and zoning came in at 13 and 12 per cent respectively.

The Calgary satisfaction survey saw positive movement in safety, transit and housing, in terms of priority among Calgarians, and they said those were areas where they invested in the past term.

“This movement highlights the impact we have on improving services for Calgarians when we invest and dedicate resources towards a priority,” said Duckworth.

 “When we compare these five priorities with upcoming budget adjustment recommendations and other initiatives, I’m confident City Administration will continue to take action on what matters most to Calgarians.”

Reaction to Calgary satisfaction survey results

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she thought it was important to hear from Calgarians about the priorities they have when it comes to the upcoming Calgary budget.

“Folks right now are incredibly concerned about affordability. The economy is one of their top priorities, together with infrastructure,” Mayor Gondek said.

“So it’s a very clear message to us as a council that we’ve got to work very closely with our economic development agency and ensure that we are sparking the economy in any way possible.”

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp wasn’t surprised by the results of the Calgary satisfaction survey. She said it reflects the current poor sentiment she’s hearing from citizens around service delivery and the upcoming budget. Sharp held a Ward 1 town hall earlier this week to talk with residents about their priorities.

“Citizens feel like they’re not being heard,” Sharp said.

“It’s disappointing as a member of council to see these, but I know that now is an opportunity for some of us to buckle up and make this better moving forward.”

Sharp said that infrastructure and public safety need to be top of mind for councillors this budget season, with an eye on the ever-increasing property tax bills facing Calgarians.

“Calgarians are they’re at their breaking point, their tipping point, and affordability has been the overarching concern for everybody,” she said.

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot said that while many people expected more from Calgary city council, they’ve also dealt with many unforeseen situations – including infrastructure emergencies, high inflation and the massive population growth.

“There was a challenge that was that existed prior to this council taking office and of course, there were some investments made that I don’t think Calgarians were expecting, which further challenged our ability to hold the line on the budget,” he said.

“Because of those kinds of things, not being able to hold the line on the budget, I think is part of the reason why people have lost confidence in their council.”

Quality of life and trust

Two-thirds of the Calgary satisfaction survey respondents did say they enjoy a high quality of life in Calgary. That falls in line with recent survey results of 70 and 63 per cent, including the recent Spring Survey.

One area that also continues to decline is trust. Four in 10 Calgarians said they trust the City of Calgary, which is down five per cent from the last survey.

“Governments are operating in a time when building trust and reputation is more challenging than ever,” said Krista Ring, Manager, Web, Research & Projects, Customer Service & Communications.

“Through both local and national research, we see how eroding social cohesion and misinformation are impacting perceptions of trust across all levels of government.”

Coun. Sharp said that you can look at trust in terms of service delivery but also in following through on promises made.

“Trust is broken every time we say to Calgarians when we set the (tax) rates, ‘oh, we’re only going to increase it 3.2 per cent,’ but then we show up with a budget saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to, actually, it’s going to be 6.7 per cent,” she said.

“We’re losing trust without even speaking. (Citizens) can just see it in the numbers.”

Mayor Gondek said there are a lot of factors that play into trust. It’s something other local government are dealing with, along with provincial and federal governments.

“I think there’s a lot of misinformation that’s out there. I think there’s conflicting information that’s out there,” she said.

“And let’s be honest, there’s a lot of people in really tough times right now. When you’re in a tough time, your reaction is to say, ‘I need my government to do more.'”

The question of value for tax dollars also saw a drop in the recent fall survey results. Forty-three per cent say they receive good service value for their tax dollars, which is a seven per cent drop from prior results.

There’s an equal split among respondents on whether to increase taxes to maintain or expand, while the other group favours cuts to taxes and services.

The City said that while these numbers are trending below the norm in recent years, they still remain above the national benchmark compared to cities like Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, they said.

The Calgary satisfaction survey results will be shared with Calgary city council on Oct. 29.