Preliminary City of Calgary budget numbers show that, on average, Calgary homeowners will see a 5.4 per cent property tax increase for 2026.

Calgary city councillors got a preview of the 2026 budget adjustments during a Sept. 17 Strategic Meeting of Council, showing an overall operating budget of $4.6 billion, and $3.6 billion in capital spending.

Non-residential properties are projected to see an average 1.3 per cent property tax increase this year. Blended, the overall property tax increase will be at the 3.6 per cent limit set by council in its last four-year budget.

Calgarians will also see an anticipated utility rate (water, wastewater and stormwater) increase, on average of 3.8 per cent, or $4.32. The city said water utility rate increases reflect the cost of meeting regulatory requirements and supporting infrastructure needs.

“We know Calgarians are feeling the pressure of today’s economy,” said Les Tochor, Chief Financial Officer for the City of Calgary, in a prepared media release.

“By staying true to the original four-year plan and taking a disciplined approach to financial management, we’re ensuring essential services are maintained while using limited resources effectively to meet the needs of a growing population, without adding extra strain on taxpayers.”

The preliminary budget does account for the additional one per cent property tax shift from non-residential to residential, as set out by council. In doing so, it keeps the forecasted tax rate ratio at 4.48:1, a half point below the legislated maximum of 5:1.

The property tax share ratio, adjusted over the past several years, now puts 56 per cent of the property tax responsibility on homeowners, and 44 per cent on businesses.

Overall, this year’s projected property tax increase will add $88 million to the City of Calgary’s budget from existing properties, and $44 million coming from new growth.

Four core areas of spending

The City of Calgary said that there would be roughly $260 million in additional spending in four core areas: Housing, public safety, transit and infrastructure. Overall, there will be more than $318 million in additional financial capacity doled out to various areas.

This will largely be funded through a projected 2025 positive year-end variance, cash in the fiscal stability reserve, growth in property tax, corporate contingencies, the Enmax dividend and investment income.

The City has set aside $78 million for affordable housing, and continued funding for downtown office-to-residential conversions. It will include $59 million in transit funding to increase service frequency, fare affordability and maintenance and safety updates.

There will also be $68 million for infrastructure investments, and that includes the $24 million in pavement improvement across Calgary.

Among the additional transit investments will be $25 million set aside to cover the widening gap between the cost of delivering the Low Income Transit Pass and what the province covers for the program, according to city administration.

The Calgary police budget includes 21 officers already approved for 2026. They have a total net budget of $613 million.

“We know Calgarians are feeling today’s economic challenges, which is why we are focused on investing in what matters most to Calgarians,” said David Duckworth, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Calgary.

“This budget balances affordability with the demands of a growing city, allowing us to continue to deliver high-quality programs and services that meet the needs of our community.”

Beginning this week, Calgarians can provide their input on the 2026 budget. More information can be found at the city’s website.

CFO Tochor said that very little is expected to change in the documents between now and when it’s discussed by a new Calgary city council in November.

“It will be updated to reflect results from the fall survey of Calgarians, more refined tax impacts and any additional council direction we receive,” Tochor told councillors.

Councillors initial reaction

What makes this version of the budget different from the previous three for this council is that they’ll be passing along the guts of this document to the next set of elected representatives.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who is running for re-election, said that she hopes that the new council can see how much work went into this document. She also hopes that Calgarians can see where their tax dollars are going.

“I do hope that Calgarians take a look at this and understand that the investments we are making are primarily in the things that they feel are most important,” she said.

“Infrastructure, as an example, 50 per cent of the capital increase is going towards strengthening infrastructure in our city. That includes roads, it includes waterways, it includes parks, pavement, facilities, all of those things.”

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot had some issues with how the financial capacity was calculated, and that it was already being earmarked for spending in the upcoming budget, but was otherwise satisfied with the initial document.

“It is a good document, insofar as letting the new council know what expenditures are we’ve incurred, what we will be incurring, the projections, as far as what administration is recommending, as far as investments based on a citizen satisfaction report, it does help to set the stage for the new council,” he said.

Later, at a media conference, mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp, who didn’t speak to the media outside council chambers after the preliminary budget was delivered, pitched the return of the former Priorities and Finance committee that she said was axed under the watch of other mayoral contenders, including Gondek, Jeromy Farkas and Jeff Davison.

(That committee was replaced in 2021 with the Executive Committee and supplemented with Strategic Meetings of Council.)

Sharp said the role of the new committee would be to scrutinize departmental and business unit budgets in detail and in public, and assess the effectiveness of spending against established goals.

“Councillors struggle to find clear spending details in those documents, let alone taxpayers. That needs to change. We need to make it clear where money is being overspent on non-priority items and where essential services are falling short,” she said, via news release.

“Calgarians deserve a budget process that is transparent, straightforward, and open for real public participation – and Standing Policy Committees are the forum where that accountability can happen.”