Since the climate emergency declaration on the heels of Calgary’s 2021 municipal election, an $87 billion cost claim has been the rallying cry of opposition to the city’s climate strategy.
Only, as reported multiple times before, there isn’t a specific $87 billion, Calgary property taxpayer funded climate plan.
Still, according to the 2025 LiveWire Calgary 2025 candidate survey, nine of 62 respondents believe there’s a plan to milk $87 billion in climate-related funding from Calgary taxpayers.
The question we asked was this: “Do you believe the City of Calgary has a climate plan that will cost $87 billion in city taxpayer dollars to implement?”
The City of Calgary climate and environment budget item calls for $38 million in operating dollars and $11 million in capital budget for 2026. ($11 million in one-time expenditures is included in operating.)
Overall, the City of Calgary has said that, across all departments, nearly $215 million in capital dollars could be spent on climate-related items in 2026.
Continued spending at a similar rate would take the City of Calgary 348 years to reach $87 billion in taxpayer-funded climate-related items.
The City of Calgary has conceded in the past that its messaging around the program was ill-conceived. Mayor Jyoti Gondek asked city admin in January why people think that there is an $87 billion plan.
“That number was used in the presentation when we were presenting the strategy to give an idea of the magnitude of the problem, of the crisis, of the challenge every city has come up with, a cost of moving to 2050 through the energy transition, and it’s driven by the market. It’s driven by changes,” Carolyn Bowen, director of climate and environment with the City of Calgary, said last January during a conversation on this issue.
“This number does keep coming up, but it is not an $87 billion plan.”
$87 billion plan respondents
The following nine candidates responded ‘yes’ to the climate plan question included on the LWC 2025 candidate survey. (In order of date of response.)
Larry Heather
Sarah Elder
Jeff Davison
Chima Akuchie
Sonya Sharp
Dan McLean
Sunjiv Raval
Grant Prior
Tony Dinh
In a media release dated Oct. 11, mayoral candidate Jeff Davison referenced the ‘$87 billion climate emergency’ in discussion of his Parks and Pathways Promise.
“City Hall declared an $87 billion ‘climate emergency’ while 40 percent of our roads are in such disrepair they need to be ripped up and redone, our parks are being neglected and overrun, and pathway clearing has been cut,” said Davison.
Later, he promised to repeal “the $87 billion climate emergency and focus on practical, local actions we can actually control.”
Earlier this year, a group of Communities First councillors attempted a repeal of the City of Calgary’s climate emergency declaration. That motion was defeated 4-10.
In the original motion, there’s no mention of an $87 billion climate plan. It does, however, include City of Calgary budget amounts.
While mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp and Ward 13 candidate Dan McLean indicated ‘yes’ on the survey, none of the other Communities First candidates, including incumbents Terry Wong and Andre Chabot, responded yes.
The A Better Calgary Party has also issued statements calling for the repeal of the climate emergency, referencing the $87 billion.
“Repeal the $87 Billion ‘Climate Emergency’ Agenda – End costly virtue-signaling policies that punish taxpayers while doing nothing meaningful for the environment,” read their statement to supporters sent Sept. 24.
While ABC candidates may consider a repeal of the climate emergency, Cathy Jacobs, Keener Hachey, Mike Jamieson, and Anthony Ascue all responded ‘no’ to the $87 billion climate question.
