Having talked to so many residents in Ward 4 over the past few years at events, on the phone, and in the heartbreaking emails I receive. It is clear, people are struggling and while Calgary has a high quality of life in comparisons to other cities – it does not excuse any level of government from not reflecting on their policies and if they are making peoples daily cost of living higher and higher. The next election is October 2025.
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Results from The City’s 2024 Spring Survey show that while most Calgarians agree they enjoy a good quality of life, a growing number feel the quality of life in Calgary has decreased over the past three years.
While 71% of Calgarians say that “quality of life is good,” current survey results show a decline from 78% in the spring 2023 survey. Overall perception of quality of life in Calgary reached a high point of 87% in 2014 and more recently 86% in 2018.
Calgarians continue to express higher or on par satisfaction with their quality of life compared to our National Municipal Norm, an average of Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton and Toronto; in 2023 Calgarians rated their quality of life 10% higher than the National Municipal Norm.
Two other main perceptions of Calgary – “a great place to make a life “and “a great place to make a living” also saw declines this spring, a trend consistent with other municipalities in Canada.
While data on these perceptions show relative decreases since fall 2022, Calgarians still maintain a more optimistic outlook on “a great place to make a living” than in previous years; compared to a low of 52% in spring 2020, the spring 2024 survey remains 11% above this previous measure.
“Calgarians are genuinely concerned with increasing costs of living, housing affordability, climate change, population growth, and other pervasive social challenges,” says Krista Ring, Manager, Web, Research & Projects for The City’s Customer Service & Communications business unit. “Council’s investments in priority service areas such as safety are helping to stabilize associated measures.”
Calgarians appear to have mixed views when it comes to balancing taxation and service delivery. Nearly one-half (48%) favour an increase in taxes to maintain or expand service levels. This is on par with fall 2023 (45%) but down from spring 2023 (55%). Within this group, 40% favour increasing taxes at inflation to maintain current service levels, up significantly from fall 2023 (27%) but down from spring 2023 (45%).
Another important measure is Calgarians’ satisfaction with The City’s level and quality of services and programs. With a decreased percentage (63%) of Calgarians saying they are satisfied with the overall level and quality of services and programs offered by The City, it also important to note that satisfaction with individual services remains consistently high.
In total, 32 out of the 50 services and programs asked about in the survey receive high satisfaction ratings from 80% or more Calgarians; 11 of these receive high satisfaction ratings of 90% or more.
“A majority of Calgarians remain generally satisfied with The City, although trust has waned compared to last year,” says Ring. “The social and economic landscape has shifted significantly over the past few years, yet Calgarians are still telling us that the things we do matter and that they appreciate the work and services The City delivers every day.”
Additional surveys conducted this year focus on key areas of interest for Calgarians:
· There is strong optimism around Calgary’s Event Centre, with 85% of Calgarians agreeing the Event Centre will be good for Calgary’s tourism industry and another 82% agreeing it will be good for local businesses.
· A solid majority of Calgarians (92%) also agree the quality of Calgary’s environment (air, water and land) is “very good” or “good.”
· While safety and crime are issues that are top-of-mind for many Calgarians, a large majority (73%) believe Calgary is “safe overall,” on par with findings from fall 2023.
The 2024 Spring Survey Research Results provide insights into Calgarians’ opinions on City services, reputation and quality of life. As part of The City’s bi-annual survey program, it serves as a performance-based report and a reflection of the values and expectations of Calgarians, identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement.
The 2024 Spring Survey of Calgarians was based on a random sample size of 2,501 Calgary residents and is weighted to be representative of Calgary’s population, ensuring equitable distribution of responses according to age, gender, and quadrant.
A sample of this size allows for a statistically representative sample with a margin of error (MOE) of ± 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The survey was conducted using numbers from both cell phones (60%) and landlines (40%) to obtain a random and statistically representative sample of Calgarians.
More details on the 2024 Spring Survey of Calgarians can be found at calgary.ca/citizensatisfaction.
