The Calgary Police Service (CPS) is looking for hundreds of millions in additional operating and capital cash by 2030 to catch up with the city’s population growth.

The CPS laid out its upcoming budget request for the 2027-2030 cycle, and in it is a request for an additional $132.2 million in that time (+19 per cent), and $191 million in capital cash (up 73 per cent).

Calgary city council will get the proposed budget documents in the coming days, with deliberations on the next four-year cycle slated for Nov. 23 and could last a couple of weeks.

Within the CPS budget is an ask for net 309 new officers, bringing the contingent of sworn members to 2,613. It also has planned for the addition of 214 net new civilian employees to support the sworn members.

On the capital budget side, CPS said that the bulk of their four-year ask is centred on upgrades to the vehicle fleet, with that accounting for more than a third of the capital request. Along with that is a $56 million boost to facilities for upgrades and modernization – no new buildings will be added.

“During the current budget cycle, we have seen unprecedented population growth, but that growth has not been met with the necessary resources for police,” said Calgary police Chief Katie McLellan.

“Even though our members work very hard every day, we are still seeing concerning trends in crime.”

According to city documents, the Calgary police 2023 to 2026 operating budget went up by an average of $27 million annually, or by roughly 4.5 per cent each year.

Still, Chief McClellan said there could be significant impact to policing if this proposed budget, noting that without more officers, workload on existing staff will grow, increasing the potential for injury, burnout and leave or accommodation. A report in fall 2025 showed that nearly one in five Calgary police personnel were on leave or accommodation.

McLellan said that they actually need double what they’re asking for.

“I don’t want to paint a bleak picture in my closing, but if this budget proposal is not fully funded, there will be major impacts to Calgary’s safety and perception of safety,” she said.

“Officer response will be limited further than what it currently is, which will worsen public safety outcomes.”

According to the overall numbers, by 2030, the Calgary police operating budget would be $816.7 million (up from $684.5 million) and capital would be at $191.9 million, up from $110.58 million.

No downtown Calgary police station request put forward

Though it’s been discussed for some time, no immediate-term funding was put forward for a potential downtown Calgary police station.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas and many council colleagues have expressed interest in a downtown police station, calling for a feasibility report on a potential station that was supposed to come this fall.

Chief McLellan said that they already have a police station downtown – it’s just on the outskirts. Plus, she said police officers don’t sit and deploy out of buildings.

“We’re expected to engage with the community, and so bricks and mortar is definitely a piece of it. If there’s someone somewhere who has that additional money for us, of course, we’re more than supportive, and we will be there happily,” she said.

“But when we’re asked to prioritize and ask what we need in order to keep citizens safe, it was just a bit lower on the priority list.”

Mayor Farkas acknowledged that a downtown station wasn’t included in the police budget request, though he said that they may not necessarily be aware of pockets of money available for such a project.

“There are pots of money that exist in various reserves in the City of Calgary books that commission doesn’t have line of sight or access to that can be deployed to be able to help meet the capital challenge,” he said during the Mayor and Me podcast.

The Calgary Police Service doesn’t have land available to build a station, but the City of Calgary has land. They don’t have line of sight in terms of that inventory. Again, it’s a trust-building exercise, and it’s seeking greater collaboration.”

The mayor expressed support for the overall Calgary police budget request; he said it would be money well spent.

“I believe that generally what the police are asking for is reasonable. It’s prudent,” he said.  

“As the city of Calgary has exploded in size, and some years (welcomed) 100,000 brand new residents, we’ve seen the number of police officers tasked to respond to social challenges as well as crime and safety. We’ve seen the same number of police officers sort of hold steady and flat. So, I believe it’s an important time for us as a council to come together to support public safety and essential infrastructure, that’s going to require some level of spending or a tax increase.”

The CPS budget request will come as part of the 2027 to 2030 budget deliberations in late November.