Public safety has long been a topic of political interest in Calgary, brought to the forefront over the past four post-Covid years on city council.

Each of the mayoral candidates has a different take on how to tackle public safety, with some focused on more boots on the ground and others taking a more nuanced approach to dealing with crime.

We’ve broken down the top mayoral candidates’ views on how to deal with public safety in Calgary for the next four years, including (where possible) an analysis of potential cost or context that’s missing from their proposals. We’ve included links to context around some of the promises or policy plans from each of the top five candidates in the race, and many are interchangeable between candidates.

It’s important to note that each of the candidates may deliver important public safety campaign pledges at different times, though most have created a fulsome public safety package.

Equally important is that there’s little attempt to deliver a potential cost associated with the promises made by each candidate, nor a funding source for how they may pay for them. Generally speaking, if it’s not covered by provincial or federal funding, it’s accommodated through cuts to other areas, increases to property taxes, or one-time funding (and if it requires ongoing funding, it is captured in future property taxes).

Brian Thiessen – Calgary Party

The Calgary Party and its mayoral candidate Brian Thiessen released their public safety toolkit, which outlines three primary directives on public safety, largely geared toward improving safety in downtown public spaces.

It calls for an end to open drug use, loitering in transit areas and unauthorized encampments, and pushes an interesting mix of having a zero-tolerance policy, paired with outreach services to help people. This would be done through strengthened and enforced bylaws.

The toolkit also calls for improved reporting mechanisms (call-in lines) to report 311. (Calgary already has a roughly 95 cellphone penetration where people can also phone 311 or report incidents). There’s no cost attached to this, or how it will be paid for.

They want to see safe pick-up/drop-off spots on Stephen Avenue, better waste management, increased police presence and permanent public washrooms installed. On the latter, public washrooms at LRT stations have been pegged at $400,000 each, plus a cost of $10 to $15 per flush. Recently, a new pickleball court and washroom facility cost $2.2 million for the East Village. The Calgary Party proposal doesn’t account for how these costs will be covered.

The Calgary Party also wants to establish police community hubs near transit areas and the downtown west end to “provide rapid response and community support.” Calgary Transit, in partnership with the Calgary Police Service, have already established new areas in a hub model to improve the rapid response to these areas. There’s no cost nor source of funds attached to this plan.

Finally, the Calgary Party would expand support for the homeless and vulnerable populations. This would include more housing, year-round emergency facilities, decentralized support services (this is already being considered), and an emergency task force for emergency shelters during extreme weather (this has been done). 

They also want to fund and execute the planned co-location of 24/7 mental health and addictions specialists with the CPS in a downtown facility.  A new space was opened up in November 2024 that brought together community safety specialists of all varieties.

Recently, the Calgary Party put forward a plan to push for more targeted photo radar in school and playground zones in Calgary, along with intersections with a history of collisions.  CPS is already allowed to deploy photo radar in playgrounds and school zones, and has recently added three more photo radar intersections after making a business case to the province. The City of Calgary and CPS regularly review problem speed and collision areas for enforcement.

They also want to expand traffic calming around the city, and “scale up proven road safety tools” like doubling the ‘your speed’ driving feedback signs.

Sonya Sharp – Communities First

The big-ticket item in the Communities First public safety plan is the hiring of 500 more police officers. 

“It’s on our to-do list, and Calgarians can be assured that if they give us their vote, we will get this done,” reads a news release quoting mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp.

Their full policy on this reads that instead of raising taxes, they’ll re-prioritize the budget “by identifying savings in non-core areas,” which in layman’s terms means they’ll cut elsewhere to find the money.

It would be a big chunk, too. While Communities First doesn’t indicate a timeline for this addition, it would nevertheless be a substantial budgetary impact.  The typical cost for a new officer is about $100K per year, meaning 500 new officers would cost in the neighbourhood of $50 million, not necessarily including any potential additional capital costs (cars, equipment, facilities). 

If that’s done over one term, city council would have to find $12.5 million in “re-prioritized” budget annually.

What’s more, the Calgary Police Service, through the Calgary Police Commission recently stated that they don’t have the capacity to hire more than the current allotment of officers. Communities First does include a plan to develop a robust hiring and retention program, but former police Chief Mark Neufeld said back in April that it’s a challenge to find people who want a career in policing.

The Communities First Party would also like to introduce a 24/7 downtown police station and more enforcement in the downtown and Beltline, along with a safety plan for transit sites.

Previously, while on council, there was an attempt by Communities First members to push for the shutdown of the supervised consumption site at Sheldon Chumir to help deal with crime and public safety issues in that area. Sharp advocated for a decentralized approach to delivering social services to Calgary’s vulnerable populations.

Jeff Davison – Independent

Former Ward 6 city councillor and 2021 mayoral contender Jeff Davison wants to hire 200 more officers to ensure the CPS policing keeps up with the city’s growth.  See above for the cost, though there’s no specific plan to pay for it. Davison is already touting a four-year tax freeze, making dollars and cents for the upcoming Calgary city council potentially a little harder to come by.

Davison said there needs to be more police presence in hotspots like the Plus-15 system, LRT platforms, Stephen Avenue and the Beltline. He is also advocating for the re-opening of a downtown police station.

Similar to the Calgary Party, Davison is also after modernization of municipal bylaws that would ban open drug use, aggressive panhandling, spitting, weapons displays and unauthorized encampments.

The City of Calgary has already beefed up its bylaws, particularly around the display of weapons and sprays and loitering and proof of age on Calgary Transit.

Davison also wants to see revised pedestrian, scooter and cycling regulations along Stephen Avenue to reduce potential conflict.

A Davison news release also says that there are 200 serious, repeat offenders of Calgary’s homeless population and he wants to focus efforts on ending a cycle of violence with that group. He also wants to work with the province on supporting people with mental illness and addiction “off the street and out of harm’s way.”

There’s also mention of upgraded cleaning, access to public washrooms, and 24/7 crisis coverage for those experiencing addiction or mental distress.

“This City Council has had four years to do this, but proved they would rather waste time picking ideological battles,” Davison said in a news release.

Davison is also calling for advocacy on bail and justice reform that ends the so-called catch-and-release of repeat violent offenders.

Finally, he’d like a Downtown Safety Task Force that includes business and community leaders, with work from the group “heard, and implemented, by the next City Council.” The previous Downtown Safety Leadership Table had representation from multiple stakeholders and came forward with 28 recommendations.

On Sept. 10, Calgary’s former mayor had indicated that the prior city council fully funded all of the outcomes of the previous safety table recommendations.

Jyoti Gondek – Independent

Incumbent mayor Jyoti Gondek also has a three-themed approach to public safety should she win another term in office.  It’s focused on making the downtown safer, keeping neighbourhoods safe, and making streets safer. It’s overall a broader plan that also looks at fire stations and, like some of the others, road safety.

Of course, Gondek’s plan touts some of what was accomplished in the prior term, including the reopening of a downtown police hub, more patrols and the Safer Calgary initiative to bring police and outreach workers together.

This time around, Gondek, like others, wants bylaw changes to eliminate open-air drug use. She’s also advocating for the use of community court to help provide a pathway to treatment, housing or recovery for individuals dealing with addiction. Her plan also includes a way to deal with open drug use around the Sheldon Chumir SCS to address crime concern in the Beltline.

Gondek’s plan also continues to advocate for funding for the CPS, Calgary Transit and community outreach teams, combining the public safety and compassionate care, Gondek said. She also wants to increase the public visibility of these teams, targeting high-traffic areas, coordinating with community events and working with businesses.

It also calls for a dedicated non-emergency response line for Calgarians to call or text when witnesses see people in distress in public settings. There are other crisis intervention lines, including 211, and in violent emergencies, 911. Calgary Transit stations and trains also have emergency call buttons available for use. There’s no estimated cost, nor a potential funding plan for this.

The public safety plan also calls for more fire halls, particularly in newer neighbourhoods. As noted in the City of Calgary’s recent preliminary 2026 budget, the Calgary Fire Department’s budget has increased 37 per cent over the past three years.  Fire halls, even temporary ones, aren’t inexpensive, nor are the fire engines and personnel to man them. No estimated cost or funding source has been indicated.

On the fire response front, Gondek said she would continue to advocate for provincial support in dealing with medical first response from firefighters, which accounts for the majority of their annual calls.

Finally, Gondek is calling for more road safety improvements like raised crosswalks, curb bump-outs, and retrofitting high-collision intersections with safety improvements. That includes using AI for predictive modelling to take proactive measures.

She would also support the Calgary police’s call for more automated enforcement.

Jeromy Farkas – Independent

The public safety plan from former Ward 11 councillor and second-place finisher in the 2021 mayoral race has 25 commitments to build a city that people “feel safe living and working in.”

Among them are a downtown police station, cracking down on 100 top violent repeat offenders, improving transit safety, and addressing root causes of mental health, addiction and housing.  Farkas also wants to support the growth of community and youth programs and support front-line first responders.

Embedded in this is the establishment of a Transit Advocate to ensure that recommendations and needs outlined by groups like Calgary Transit Riders and the accessible community are implemented. He’d also like to ensure public spaces are inclusive and welcoming for all groups, and establish partnerships with businesses and community groups to improve safety through environmental design.

Farkas would also like to see increased video coverage in high-risk locations (cost and funding source not included), and he too would like to see public washrooms more accessible.

As part of the public safety strategy, Farkas would like to see funding for mental health and additional support for programs like the Alpha House HELP teams. Farkas, like the others, would like to see an emphasis on housing first to provide stability for vulnerable Calgarians and would work with the province to help better fund social services and support for mental health and addiction strategies.

Farkas would want to create multi-year capital grant streams for community organizations and renew the Calgary Mental Health and Addictions Strategy so groups can plan ahead and staff community initiatives. No set amount of funding was indicated, and no additional funding source was indicated.

Collaboration with the federal and provincial government for funding frontline services, particularly youth violence prevention, are included in Farkas’s public safety plan, along with full support for the 28 recommendations in the Downtown Safety Leadership Table report.

The Farkas public safety plan also includes working with city council, admin and emergency services to establish a benchmark for staffing based on population. He’d also like to see a safety task force to identify workplace risks and potential improvements.

Farkas also supports the creation of a Calgary Fire Commission, and wants the province to pay for the medical calls to which firefighters respond.