An Urgent Call for a Just Transition Acknowledgments

CREDITS HOW TO REACH US THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR

LEAD AUTHOR Noel Keough

CO-AUTHORS Bob Morrison Sustainable Society Celia Lee Box 52 223 12 Ave. SW CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Calgary, Alberta Adrian Buckley T2R 0G9 Bill Phipps Melissa Ayers E-mail: [email protected] Nevena Ivanovic Website: sustainablecalgary.org Deborah Sword Twitter: @sustainablecalgary Ron Jaicarron

Jason Ribeiro Sustainable Calgary takes full Sajjad Fazel responsibility for the analysis and Sarah Piwowarczyk presentation of the information Milton Ortega in this report. Miho Lowan-Trudeau Hemontika Das Eliot Tretter Andrea Hull Neil McKinnon PAPER SUSTAINABILITY Clark Svrcek Linda Grandinetti This document is printed on Bob Morrison 100% recycled paper. Nic Dykstra Taylor Felt Leticia Chapa Alfred Gomez Byron Miller Ryan Martinson Victoria Fast Srimal Ranasinghe

COPY EDITOR Jo Hildebrand

DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION Fran Motta

SPECIAL THANKS TO Peter Peller, University of Calgary Librarian and Census Specialist SUSTAINABLE CALGARY MISSION: To promote, encourage, and support community-level actions and initiatives that move Calgary toward a sustainable future. In the context of our urban lives, we define as the process of working toward the long-term health and vitality of our and its citizens with regard to ecological, social, cultural, and economic processes.

Live simply so others can simply live.

MAHATMA GANDHI Table of Contents

ABOUT THIS REPORT 5 RESOURCE USE INDICATORS 45 THE STATE OF OUR CITY SUMMARY 6 Ecological Footprint 46 Transportation Spending 47 COMMUNITY INDICATORS 12 Domestic Waste 48 Crime Rate & Rate of Victimization 13 Density 49 Leisure Activity 14 Transit Usage for Work Trips 50 Membership in Community Associations 15 Energy Use 51 Number of & Attendance at Arts Events 16 Sense of Community 17 WELLNESS INDICATORS 52 Volunteerism 18 Access to Preventive & Alternative 53 Child & Youth Wellness 54 ECONOMIC INDICATORS 19 Healthy Birth-Weight Babies 55 Housing Affordability 20 Support for the Most Vulnerable 56 Oil & Gas Reliance Index 21 Self-Rated Health 57 Unemployment Rate 22 Childhood Asthma Hospitalization Rate 58 Hours Required to Meet Basic Needs at Minimum Wage 23 THE PANDEMIC – A CLEAR WARNING AND Food Bank Usage 24 A WAY FORWARD 59 Income Equity: Gap between Rich & Poor 25

EDUCATION INDICATORS 26 Adult Literacy 27 Average Class Size 28 Daycare Worker Salaries 29 Grade 6 Achievement Scores 30 Library Usage 31

GOVERNANCE INDICATORS 32 Representativeness of Electoral System 33 Municipal Campaign Finance 34 Effectiveness of Planning 35 Fiscal Balance 36 Valuing Cultural Diversity 37

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT INDICATORS 38 Air Quality 39 Food Grown Locally 40 Pesticide Use 41 Surface Water Quality 42 Christmas Bird Count 43 Water Consumption 44

4 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT About this Report

OUR PROCESS WHAT IS A SUSTAINABILITY INDICATOR? PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY

While producing this report was an important An indicator helps us understand where we 1. Maintain or enhance ecological integrity. goal, the process of its development are, which way we are going, and how far A sustainable community lives in harmony was equally valuable. Experiences with we are from where we want to be. A good with the natural world. It protects the air, sustainability reporting suggest that the indicator can act as an early warning of an water, soil, flora, fauna, and ecosystems way to attain a set of indicators that is truly emerging problem and helps us recognize that it depends upon for its survival. These meaningful, useful, and representative of what needs to be done to fix it. are the life support systems for all human our city is to involve a broad cross-section communities. of citizens in the indicator-selection process. What distinguishes a sustainability indicator This helps develop new understandings is its ability to illuminate the interconnections 2. Promote social equity. of issues and new insights into potential among systems. Each of the indicator In a sustainable community, each and every solutions. The small businessperson begins descriptions in this report includes a section citizen is afforded access to the benefits and to understand the ecological impacts of called Linkages. A linkage is a direct or opportunities that the community has to offer packaging choices, while the social worker indirect relationship between two or more without social or economic discrimination. sees new linkages among jobs, poverty, and systems, such that changes in one affect the habitat preservation. status of another. 3. Provide the opportunity for meaningful work and livelihood for all citizens. Over 2000 Calgarians participated in the ESTABLISHING TRENDS` A strong, resilient, and dynamic local creation of the first two State of Our City economy is essential for community reports. Our project team coordinated dozens The sustainability trend for each indicator sustainability. A sustainable economy of presentations and workshops across the is located in the upper right-hand corner provides the opportunity for meaningful work city among groups as diverse as Rotary Clubs, of the indicator pages (see trend legend and livelihood for each and every citizen. City Council, the Developmental Disabilities below). When designating the trend, several Resources Centre, and various community criteria were taken into account. Is the 4. Encourage democratic participation of associations. indicator currently at a sustainable level? all citizens. Is the indicator moving toward or away We live in a democracy. The bedrock of In a tremendous volunteer effort, citizens led from sustainability? Is the pace of change a democracy is citizen participation in the way in choosing indicators, researching of the indicator sufficient for it to reach a the functioning, planning, and decision- the data for each indicator, and writing the sustainable level in a reasonable time? The making of society. In a sustainable State of Our City reports. In the final analysis, answers to these questions are necessarily community, participation is both a right and the 40 indicators documented in this report subjective. The indicator project team reviews a responsibility and should be available to were chosen in a democratic process open to each indicator thoroughly and debates what every citizen. all who participated in the project. the information is telling us before reaching agreement on what we believe the trend to be. 5. Maintain ethical relations with our neighbours. After reading the report, you may or may not In our bid to achieve sustainability, we need agree with our assessments. We hope you will to find ways to work cooperatively with support our urgent call for a just transition to our neighbours in our urban village and in sustainability. the global village. Sustainability cannot be TREND LEGEND achieved at the expense of our neighbours – wherever they may be. Trend is sustainable or moving toward sustainability.

There is no discernible trend.

Trend is far from sustainable or moving further away from sustainability.

2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 5 State of Our The Story in 7 Domains Calgarians take pride in our sense of Community. While the indicators in this domain remain relatively healthy, our economic City Summary troubles are putting pressure on community cohesion and participation. Surveys conducted since the year 2000 indicate that a growing number of Calgarians feel a strong sense of community. No More Time to Lose — A Just For decades, a high number of Calgarians have reported being Transition Now! physically active. But we have seen less arts attendance and increasing crime rates over the past 5 years. These 2 reversals of long-term trends are probably related to our faltering economy. In 1998 Sustainable Calgary’s first State of Surveys suggest an upward trend in community association memberships, but renewal of leadership and the maintenance of Our City Report identified 2 critical issues facilities are looming issues. that needed attention – All Economic domain indicators are in unsustainable territory. of resources and socio-economic Negative trends masked in the boom years are now being exposed. inequities in our city. Twenty-two years We have the highest income gap of any large city in . A single parent with 2 children would still be required to work over later, the evidence suggests that the 55 hours a week to make ends meet. Food bank usage is as high as state of these critical domains has only it has ever been. We have seen deteriorating housing affordability over the past 20 years. Having led the country in employment worsened. Calgary has seen a lot of creation for much of the past 20 years, we now have the highest progress in those 22 years and we rates of unemployment of any large city in Canada, and there has been very timid movement toward diversification. remain a city with a very high quality of life, but an assessment of the 40 social, The system has performed well over the past 20 years. Our public library system is world class and heavily used, with ecological, and economic indicators the Central Library attracting global attention for its architecture clearly demonstrates that the lifestyle we and its programs. In our grade schools, we have some of the best international test results compared to Canadian averages and enjoy in Calgary is less sustainable than it to other OECD countries. Our public schools typically achieve was 22 years ago. provincial performance targets. However, we are seeing a rise in class size after several years of decreasing numbers, and we are missing government-mandated targets. One area of concern is the The first 20 years of this millennium are lack of support for daycare, resulting in too few spaces, fees that many families cannot afford, and the chronic issue of poorly paid Calgary’s lost decades with respect to staff. Another is that levels of adult literacy have been stagnant for action on sustainability. In large measure, 20 years: 40% of Albertans are considered functionally illiterate. our failure to meet the sustainability Calgarians are among the healthiest people on the planet. However, challenge can be traced to dysfunctional many of our Wellness indicators are trending in the wrong direction, are stalled, or are moving too slowly toward improvement. While decision-making processes – elaborated fewer children are showing up in emergency rooms with asthma in a set of Governance indicators that we attacks, mainly due to better management of the disease, youth obesity remains a significant health issue. We have more low-weight introduce for the first time in this report. births than anywhere else in Canada, and we compare unfavourably with in this regard. Surveys show that more people consider their own health to be worse than others their age. Although income The window of opportunity for a gradual supports for people with disabilities have improved over the past 10 transition to a sustainable future has years, they are still well below the poverty line. There has been no discernible shift of health care budgets away from treating disease closed. We must now embark on a rapid and toward preventing it. transition or face the real prospect of While there is room for improvement, Calgarians are lucky to significantly compromised quality of life live in a high-quality , with 4 of 6 indicators and livelihoods and a precarious future sustainable or trending toward sustainability. Air quality shows a slightly improving trend and is relatively good. Water quality, as for our children and their city. measured by fecal coliforms downriver of the city, is improving.

6 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT Per capita water consumption is at a 20-year The Lost Decades: An Inability to Turn low. There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of community gardens since 2000. With Policy into Action respect to pesticide usage, we are on a positive “Calgarians are trend in usage per capita and by active ingredient lucky to live The past 20 years have seen an intensity, but application is still quite high. in a high- quality Natural impressive array of city-building policies Resource use indicators are almost universally Environment with 4 of 6 adopted by City Council. in unsustainable territory. Calgary is living well indicators beyond its means. Our ecological footprint sustainable or continues to grow and is the largest of any trending toward Many of these policies have been formulated with substantial citizen sustainability.” Canadian city. If everyone on the planet engagement, and most of them aspire to move Calgary toward a consumed as we do, we would need 4 to sustainable future. The problem is not policy. The problem has been 6 planets' worth of resources. Our energy backing up policy intention with budgets and workplans that allocate consumption per capita has grown significantly resources to make it happen. A review of the 40 sustainability over the past 20 years, and our large and indicators leads to the conclusion that the past 20 years have been growing per capita GHG emissions constitute lost decades – so much promise, with so little to show for it. a crisis. Our overall , while slowly increasing, is far from sustainable and Twenty years ago, imagineCALGARY engaged an unprecedented leaves us almost completely dependent on the 35,000 Calgarians in a conversation about our future – about private automobile and vulnerable to long-term what kind of city we wanted Calgary to be in 100 years. In 2004 maintenance costs. Steady improvement in Mayor Dave Bronconnier announced imagineCALGARY's long- numbers taking transit to work through the first term vision to the world at the Habitat for Humanity conference decade of the millennium has reversed in recent in . Sustainability became the City's core planning years. Transport spending in the City budget is objective. This was followed up with the Plan It Calgary process. tilted in favour of transit, but overall spending For the first time, the Calgary Transportation Plan was integrated by all levels of government still favours road with the statutory Municipal Development Plan (MDP), guided by building. The only good news story here is how the imagineCALGARY 100-year vision. Subsequent City policy was we deal with waste. Total waste to landfill is crafted to operationalize Plan It Calgary – the Growth Management down over 50% since 2001, with waste-diversion Strategy, the Pedestrian Strategy, the Bicycling Strategy, Complete programs delivering results. Streets, the Climate Resilience Strategy, Transit Oriented Development, and most recently the 5A Network Principles Four of 5 Governance indicators are trending (Transportation) and the Great Communities Guidebook. unsustainably. Our democracy is under strain. Those we elect to government and to positions The City’s own report card on the MDP was released in 2018. The of power and influence do not reflect who we report states that the City is not on track to meet its MDP targets. are or what we value. Money plays too big a role Too many people still drive, and too much of our housing stock is in politics. Between 2007 and 2015, campaign still being built and planned on greenfields at the edge of the city, spending by successful candidates in municipal bursting beyond the soon-to-be-completed ring road. In 2019 City elections increased 400%. In 20 years, we Council approved 14 new greenfield communities, even more than have seen no improvement in the numbers of the development industry lobbied for. We know this edge-of-city women, visible minorities, or Aboriginal people land-use, segregated, car-dependent form of development will participating in leadership positions in our city. never pay for itself, yet we continue to build it. Calgarians’ satisfaction with the planning process is lower than it was a year ago but 10% higher Our city continues to grow with no realistic plan to reduce our than the 15-year average. We don’t have enough unsustainable levels of resource consumption. We are building a information available to determine whether our city that makes life more difficult and expensive for socially and city has a sound long-term fiscal balance. economically marginalized citizens and communities.

Our indicators suggest that this state of affairs is fueled by a dysfunctional democratic process, at all levels of government – a process that is growing more and more beholden to the wealthy. Over the past 2 decades, our resource wealth reached its apex. Rather than use that time and wealth to ensure a transition to a new economy in the face of the global climate emergency, we are left with lost decades. We will likely never enjoy the level of wealth we have experienced in the past 20 years. Yet over the next 20 we have to make a rapid transition to a sustainable future or risk a serious erosion of both our quality of life and our prospects for the future of Calgary.

2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 7 Calgary in the Global Village We may have the ingenuity and resolve to meet these challenges, but despite the pride we take in our “get 'er done” attitude, our reactions to In the 1960s, Canadian Marshall date give no assurance that we do indeed have “In 2019 City what it takes. There is no plan for transition from McLuhan coined the term global village. Council approved 14 new greenfield the deteriorating conditions of the Anthropocene As Canadians and as Calgarians, we are communities, to a sustainable future – no credible global plan, even more than no credible national plan, no credible provincial intimately tied to the global village. Our the development industry plan, and no credible city plan. In fact, in our prosperity is defined by the nature of our lobbied for.” province and our city, resistance to transition relationships with our neighbours in that remains a dominant political, cultural, and economic force. global village. Over the past 75 years, during a period in history referred to Yet Calgary is not an island. We face existential threats to our quality of life and the future of as the Anthropocene, the nature of our our city. The fossil fuel on which economic and social relationships have we continue to rely are in danger of becoming stranded, unusable assets as global investment become untenable socially, ecologically, wakes up to the threat of climate change. The and economically. Our impact on the problems of orphaned wells and post-production cleanup threaten to bankrupt our province or planet has grown exponentially, relations leave it an ecological wasteland. We continue to within the global village have become build a high-maintenance city while the prospect of paying for it all recedes. Having lost 2 precious more unequal and unfair, and the climate decades, we must now move toward rapid and biodiversity crises threaten us all. transition. Each of these global trends are reflected locally in the 40 sustainability indicators reported herein.

In 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that “the next few years are probably the most important in our history.” It is abundantly clear that without action, the heating of our planet will make human life on earth much more difficult. The climate crisis has been created by the rapidly accelerating burning of fossil fuels to provide cheap energy and the manufacture of consumer products far beyond the needs of most Calgarians. Our place of privilege in the global village is a direct result of the bounty of fossil fuels beneath us. We have become wealthy through the fossil fuel economy, and our city is more affluent and stable than most places on the planet. For these reasons, we have a moral obligation not only to contribute to the solution to global warming but to be leaders in dealing with the climate crisis.

Thomas Homer Dixon (author of The Ingenuity Gap), among others, has warned of the diminishing capacity of human societies to successfully deal with multiple emerging crises. The climate emergency is top of mind, but the rate of resource extraction; the volume of material we produce, consume, and throw away; and our food choices all contribute to an equally critical global biodiversity crisis. The inequality that has grown in our city over the past 20 years is mirrored in the global economy. Most Canadians – and even more so, Calgarians – are among the wealthiest 1% in a global economy that has created winners and losers and allowed fewer and fewer people to control more and more wealth, distorting our institutions of governance in the process. In the past 5 years, we have witnessed attacks on our democratic systems that are unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. None of this is sustainable.

8 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT The Way Forward: Leaders, Not 5. We need to resist the temptation to dismantle Laggards the systems that are the foundation of our well-being – health and education. We need to protect and grow our social capital. “Our indicators There is a moral imperative for suggest that Calgarians not only to step up to the over the past 20 6. We need to stop the outward expansion of years we have our city. We need to invest in transit and active experienced transport . We need to build a city plate as members of the global village what ecological and to pull our weight, but to show economist Herman where walking, biking, and public transit are the Daly has referred norm and the private automobile is a tertiary leadership – to become first responders. to as uneconomic mode. growth – growth For too long, we have been counted as that makes us worse off.” 7. We have the seeds of opportunity for the laggards. What do we need to do? transition – young, vibrant, highly educated people and a culture of learning personified 1. We need to acknowledge that while fossil fuels built our city, in the new Central Library. With respect to our future is elsewhere, and we need to direct all of our collective energy, we are on the cusp of a final transition energies to building the new Calgary. once we tap our tremendous renewable energy resources. We have a growing 2. We need to take care of the most vulnerable first. How well we design culture and expertise endowed from do so is a measure of the character of our society. There is no years of prosperity. We need our buildings, reason we cannot provide affordable shelter for all Calgarians. neighbourhoods, transportation, the city, and All citizens who contribute their labour to our economy should the region designed for sustainability – there is expect, at the very least, a livable wage in return. The vulnerable no reason to settle for anything less. among us who need income support should not be condemned to live in poverty. 8. We need to welcome those from all over the world who are willing to contribute. We are a 3. We need to design a steady state economy that is, above all, fair country, province, and city of immigrants. During and just and that allows us to live within our means economically the Syrian refugee crisis, Calgarians answered and, more importantly, ecologically. Our indicators suggest that the call and demonstrated what is our better over the past 20 years, we have experienced what ecological nature. Continuing to welcome new people, new economist Herman Daly has referred to as uneconomic growth – ideas, and new energy from all corners of the growth that makes us worse off. world will make life better for all of us.

4. We can follow the lead of places like Iceland and 9. We need to get our political house in order and commit to redesigning our economy to focus squarely on and restore trust in our systems of governance: well-being and to retool planning for the transition to a healthy, get money out of politics, and reinvent our sustainable, circular, and relocalized economy. democracy with fairness at the core.

2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 9 Trust: The Fragile, Frayed & Priceless reduction in trust in government during and after the 2008 global economic crisis (from Cornerstone of Sustainable Community 2007 to 2015). The report states that “against a background of perceived inequalities in We will not find our way forward if we do “In 2013, only 9% income and opportunities, high unemployment of Canadians had and job insecurity, resistance to globalisation a great deal and concern over global pressures such as not trust one another or the institutions of confidence through which we make decisions. in the media; immigration and climate change, restoring trust only 10%, in is essential.” Trust is a valuable and fragile currency Parliament; and only 6%, in major The one silver lining in all of this is that that bolsters the social and economic corporations.” Canadians express higher levels of trust in health of a community. Trust builds government than do citizens of most OECD social cohesion and capital and is in turn countries. Notably, trust in institutions was especially high among recent immigrants strengthened by social capital. compared to those born in Canada. Women and older Canadians express higher levels of Low levels of trust mean greater economic costs – higher legal confidence than men and younger Canadians. fees, more complicated contracts, slower pace of transactions, Aboriginal people are less confident in risk aversion for investors, and non-compliance with regulations. institutions than are other Canadians. Canadians Low levels of trust translate into low voter turnouts and resistance with higher incomes and higher levels of to change. Low levels of trust lead to alienation and reluctance education express higher levels of confidence. to support social welfare programs. Citizens expect institutions to be reliable, responsive, and efficient. They expect them to act If people perceive that the system is rigged with integrity, openness, transparency, and fairness. If institutions against them, they will oppose it. For the past fail to honour these values, people will withdraw their support, 40 years, many Canadians have experienced and that is bad for everyone. Without trust, information flows and increased marginalization and increased communication are slowed, and compromise and policy reform in inequality, with a very few reaping a greater and areas like fair taxation and climate change is made more difficult. greater share of the economic pie. We are at a critical moment when transformational change According to the most recent Statistics Canada report on public is required to confront the climate crisis. Without confidence in Canadian institutions, 43% of Calgarians report some a political system we can trust, there is no good or a great deal of confidence in the federal Parliament, and only reason for those who have been marginalized 34% confidence in major corporations. The highest levels of trust to support change. Climate change and loss of were reported for the school system (63%) and the police (81%). In biodiversity are existential threats. We cannot fall 2019, when asked whether the City of Calgary practices open deal with them without simultaneously dealing and accessible government, is working to improve citizens' input, with inequality. We cannot deal with inequality and uses that input in decision making, and whether citizens have without fixing our democracy. Trust takes a long meaningful input, roughly 60% to 70% of Calgarians agreed. But time to build but can be destroyed in an instant. between 2017 and 2019, these areas exhibited negative overall trends, with “open and accessible government” experiencing the steepest decline. Those who expressed trust in City Hall fell from 62% in 2017 to 52% in 2019. During the same period, levels of distrust rose from 15% to 23%.

The Statistics Canada data highlight some serious problems when we examine how many people expressed “a great deal of confidence.” In 2013, only 9% of Canadians had a great deal of confidence in the media; only 10%, in Parliament; and only 6%, in major corporations. Of particular concern is the decreasing ability of civil society to hold elected officials accountable for resorting to half-truths and outright fabrications. We have entered a period when some leaders seem to have decided that lying and deception are winning strategies. Therefore, these findings have serious implications for our democracy and our economy. Ownership concentration of social media, combined with technological innovation and polarizations in society, have undermined our trust in institutions and in those who represent them.

The OECD report Trust and Public Policy highlights a noticeable

10 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT The Indicators Community Indicators

CRIME RATE & RATE OF LEISURE ACTIVITY MEMBERSHIP IN COMMUNITY VICTIMIZATION ASSOCIATIONS Both property crime As of 2019, 64% of In 2016, 29% of and person crime rates Albertans report respondents reported have been increasing participating in a membership in since 2016, after 40 sufficient amount of their community years of decline. physical activity for associations, health benefits. comparable to 30% In 2018 the estimated person crime rate per 100,000 people in Calgary was 1,041. The in 2009. This is a positive increase from 2017 estimated property crime rate was 4,493. (57%) and is the highest level of reported There are 151 community associations with physical activity since 2009. Over the membership in the Federation of Calgary past decade, the percentage of physically Communities. active Albertans has remained relatively consistent, fluctuating around an average of about 60%.

NUMBER OF & ATTENDANCE AT SENSE OF COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERISM ARTS EVENTS In 2018 approximately In 2014 an equivalent percentage of In 2013, 50% of Calgarians, Albertans, and Canadians 2.95 million people (67%) reported a very strong or somewhat Albertans volunteered – attended arts events in strong sense of belonging to their local more than the national community. The Calgary Foundation’s 2018 Calgary – equivalent to Vital Signs survey similarly reported that average of 44%. 2.33 visits/capita. roughly two-thirds of Calgarians reported a strong sense of belonging. But Alberta was behind Saskatchewan, the province with the highest rate (56%). This is a drop of 14% from 2017 (2.72 visits/ Albertans volunteered an average of 161 capita). The long-term trend is still positive. hours in 2013, more than the national In 2011 there were 2.05 million attendees average of 154 hours but less than Nova (1.88 visits/capita). Scotia at 181 hours. COMMUNITY 13 2018 2017 Person Property 2015 2013 Statistics Canada police-reported Statistics incidence of intimate partner violence people in in 2017 was 294 per 100,000 17% higher than the average Calgary, for all census metropolitan areas. Of 75% are female. victims in Calgary, 2011 youth sports when you witness it. such decrease domestic violence, of Calgary Centre as the Women’s (womenscentrecalgary.org). in Canada since 2002. The report also estimated that the cost of providing health care and other supports for victims of domestic violence are 6 times the costs of programs to combat domestic violence. Many women endure domestic violence because escaping from the violence often means joining the ranks of the homeless. DEFINITIONS The statistics on crime rates in Calgary were drawn from the Calgary Police 2005– Reports: Annual Statistical Service’s crime includes attempted and 2018. Person committed homicide; street, financial, and commercial robbery; sex offences; assault; kidnapping; extortion; and harassment. Property crime includes break and enter, theft, and fraud. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE in behaviour • Call out unsportsman-like • Support organizations that work to rates of self-reported domestic violence in Alberta had been among the highest 2009 2007

Per 100,000 people 100,000 Per 2005 2003 PERSO A PROPERTY CRIE I CAARY PERSO A PROPERTY 2001 1999 0 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 4,000 8,000 2,000 6,000 and Calgary Stampeder football games, and Calgary Stampeder the 2013 flood, and lower the Stampede, oil prices. A 2012 SPP report found that The way we design our city, communities, The way we design our city, and public spaces can deter crime and Neighbourhood gathering enhance safety. to build community gardens help spots like ties between neighbours while establishing Building a strong sense of community. caring communities where all healthy, citizens can enjoy the benefits of a city and contribute to the life of a city is one of the best ways to prevent crime. The 2017 SPP report showed a correlation between increased domestic violence these crimes, 43% were race and ethnicity these crimes, 43% were race and ethnicity related, 36% were religion related, and 10% were related to sexual orientation. LINKAGES A report of the University of Calgary’s (SPP) suggests that School of Public Policy the 50% increase in break and enters and vehicle theft from 2015 to 2018 in Calgary related to increased unemployment is likely and increased availability and use of drugs (particularly as related to the fentanyl and opioid crisis). feeling safer than they did between 2007 when 22% to 30% reported and 2010, but the last 3 years have feeling unsafe, seen an upward trend from a low of 15% in 2013. police-reported hate crimes Nationally, went up 40% between 2014 and 2018, Of from 1,295 reported crimes to 1,798.

do not feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark. Calgarians are According to the City’s 2019 Citizen According to the City’s 18% of Calgarians Satisfaction Survey, Vancouver, and 60 in Victoria. Calgary’s and 60 in Victoria. Calgary’s Vancouver, index was the highest it had been in 6 years after a historic low of 62 in 2012. rose 17% from 2014 to 2018. In Calgary index rose 21%. In the over the same time, 78 in 2018 the index was at 82 nationally, 72 in Montreal, 68 in Calgary and , After a steady decline between 2005 After violent crime severity and 2014, Canada’s Canada, index, developed by Statistics average for all census metropolitan areas. 75% were female. Of the victims in Calgary, According to Statistics Canada, police- According to Statistics reported incidence of intimate partner violence in 2017 was 294 per 100,000 17% higher than the people in Calgary, period. Sex crimes and assaults also decreased significantly. From 2000 to 2015, crime against persons From 2000 to 2015, crime against persons 41%. The declined by approximately number of youth accused of offences declined by almost 50% over that same and property crime rates in Calgary steadily decreased. Between 1999 and 2014, property crime declined by 60%. TREND From the early 1990s to 2015, both person lead people to stay behind locked doors lead people to stay behind locked and resist stepping out into the community, a walk or to participate in whether to take community life. the immediate victim: parents, children, witnesses, and the friends, co-workers, Fear of crime can community also suffer. through financial loss, physical injury, physical injury, through financial loss, alienation. The emotional trauma, and repercussions of a crime spread beyond IMPORTANCE component of key A sense of safety is a Crime directly a sustainable community. of life of victims decreases the quality Both rates have been increasing since Both rates have been decline. 2016, after 40 years of THE FACTS person crime rate In 2018 the estimated people in Calgary was 1,041. per 100,000 Crime Rate & Rate of Victimization of Rate & Rate Crime 14 COMMUNITY Men andwomen usethepathways those under35years. use thepathwaysforexercise comparedto and olderweresignificantlymore likely to pathway use. Respondents aged55years Age isapredictivefactorforthe typeof recreation (12%),andenjoyingnature (9%). dog walking(17%),commuting(15%), purposes. Othercommonreasonsincluded pathway usersusedthepathsforexercise Intercept Surveyreportedthat43%of system. The2010Pathway Research continue tovaluethecity’s pathway As ameansforexercise, Calgarians behaviours ofAlbertans. to haveastronginfluenceonthehealth accessibility andwork-life balancecontinue status. Thesepatternsindicatethat patterns inanindividual’s physicalactivity personal perceptionproducepredictable household income, educationlevel,and persistent. Factorssuchasage, annual Albertans. However, sometrendsremain general increaseinphysicalactivityforall Activity suggeststhattherehasbeena The 2019AlbertaSurveyonPhysical TREND vibrant communities. foster socialsupportnetworksandcaring, community level,leisureactivitycanhelpto to allotheraspectsoftheirlives.At the often bringpositive, productiveenergy experience rich,activeleisuretime emotional well-being.People who contribute tophysical,mental,and levels, andthepursuitofhobbies Physical activity, thereductionofstress balanced individualsandcommunities. Leisure timehelpstocreatehealthy, IMPORTANCE of about60%. consistent, fluctuatingaroundanaverage active Albertanshasremainedrelatively past decade, thepercentageofphysically physical activitysince2009. Overthe and isthehighestlevelofreported is apositiveincreasefrom2017(57%) physical activityforhealthbenefits.This participating inasufficientamountof As of2019, 64%ofAlbertansreport THE FACTS Leisure Activity well-being formany Albertans.Itis community engagement andinterpersonal health benefits;theyarealsoa sourceof Active lifestylesoffermorethan physical top participatorybarriertophysical activity. consistently beencitedbyAlbertans asa Survey in1980, financialrestrictionshave active. SincethefirstAlberta Recreation Calgarians arenotsufficientlyphysically of themostcommonlycitedreasonswhy Survey, financialandtimerestrictionsare2 According totheAlbertaRecreation related barrierstophysicalactivity. must bemaintainedtoreduceseason- physical activity, pedestrianinfrastructure With seniorsreportingthelowestlevelof 2031, 1in5Albertanswillbeasenior. active lifestyle. Itisestimatedthatby essential toCalgariansmaintainingan and accessibilitytooutdoorspacesare It seems,then,thattheenvironment the mostimportantbenefitsofrecreation. the preservationofnaturetobeone Additionally, 56%ofAlbertansconsider recreational activityamongAlbertans. was reportedtobethemostcommon in outdoorrecreationalactivities.Walking Survey, Calgariansfrequentlyparticipate According tothe2017AlbertaRecreation LINKAGES 21% in2013to25%2016. the numberoffemalecyclists,risingfrom Pedestrian Countindicatedanincreasein cycling. However, the2016Bicycleand while menaremorelikely tousethemfor them forwalkingornatureobservation differently. Women morefrequentlyuse 60% 50% 20% 80% 40% 30% 70% 10% 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 0 1995 1997 1999 TO EPERIECEEAT EEFITS POPUATIO ACTIE EOU 2000 2002 2005 income levelsbeabletoaffordanactive therefore crucialthatAlbertansofall • Joinorstartaweeklydailywalking • Explorethemanypathwaysystems • Take classesatorbecomeamember TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED 2017 AlbertaRecreation Survey. Alberta SurveyonPhysicalActivityandthe in recreationactivitiesisfromthe2019 an averageweek.Statistics onparticipation in strenuous,moderate, andmildactivityin from surveysoftimespentbyindividuals enough toexperiencehealthbenefitsis percentage ofpeoplephysicallyactive the AlbertaCentreforActiveLiving.The Survey onPhysicalActivity–areportof in Calgaryisfromthe2019Alberta Information aboutphysicalactivitylevels DEFINITIONS lifestyle. 2007 group. foot orbybike. and parksinallareasofCalgaryon (ywcalgary.ca). YMCA (ymcacalgary.org) andYWCA of fitnesscentreslike theCalgary 2009 physically active. reasons Calgariansarenotsufficiently are 2ofthemostcommonlycited Survey, financialandtimerestrictions According totheAlbertaRecreation 2011 2013 2015 Alberta Calgary 2017

COMMUNITY 15 community association. community associations from the Federation of Calgary Communities (calgarycommunities.com). The 2009 data are found in the Signposts data are found in the The 2009 the City of Calgary II report published by from a random in 2013 and were derived Calgarians. The 2008 sample of 3,000 by the survey was commissioned Communities as part Federation of Calgary of Project Intelligence. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE of your • Become an active member more about Calgary’s • Learn

2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE survey of 2,800 Calgarians (Community Needs and Preferences Research) conducted for the City of Calgary. transportation, and planning – important contributions to city building and healthy communities. activities help the residents build CA stronger support networks and social contacts. Health Canada notes that people exposed to these social determinants of have health experience less heart disease, lower premature death rates, and are more life. to participate in community likely DEFINITIONS Ipsos from an The 2016 data are taken perceptions that they promote NIMBYism perceptions that they promote NIMBYism and are unrepresentative of the community as a whole. LINKAGES Surveys indicate that many households of sports advantage to take join their CA and recreational opportunities, thereby promoting healthy lifestyles. to give residents the opportunity CAs improve local neighbourhoods through volunteer involvement in environment, and resident associations in newer and resident associations communities. Governments benefit through reduced demand for servicing communities that are funded in part by homeowner and resident associations. Whether this has freed up more funding for community associations is an open question. There is also a concern that an amenity gap has been created between newer communities with homeowner and resident associations and older communities with CAs. they face challenges such evolve, As CAs as effective mobilization of residents and In response to the PI and City reports, to the PI and City reports, In response Communities the Federation of Calgary to increase has focused on programs around non- knowledge and capacity financial management, profit governance, 58 workshops and urban planning, with 2019 alone. people in reaching almost 1,000 funding for Insufficient and unstable has led to recreational amenities in homeowner mandatory membership Membership in Community Associations in Community Membership programs are offered. that people have no time, they aren’t they aren’t that people have no time, interested, the programs offered aren’t of interest, or they do not know what 68% of Calgarians were aware of their community association. The most common reasons given for non-participation were average for organizations of comparable size and mission. A 2016 City of Calgary report found that management, community outreach, and governance is needed, while compensation the employees is generally below for CA old and in need of repair or replacement. As well, training for employees and volunteers programming, financialin areas like PI found that, although CAs play a vital role play a PI found that, although CAs they urgently need in the life of the city, resources. Many association buildings are significantly lower among visible minorities, significantly lower among visible minorities, 18- to 34-year-olds, and households annually. making less than $60,000 every 3 months, a relatively small number of volunteers did most of the work. The survey also found that awareness of and was membership and participation in CAs Project Intelligence (PI) report found that although half of Calgary households activities at least once participated in CA TREND Membership in community associations A 2008 appears to be holding steady. promote participation, social support, neighbourliness, cooperation, shared visions, and trust. to the creation of what we call social capital: they create community cohesion; foster independence and creativity; and and responsibility afforded to community and responsibility afforded in large part because associations (CAs), contribute CAs of their proactive history. Communities. IMPORTANCE of the status Calgary is unique in terms associations, comparable to 30% in 2009. to 30% in 2009. associations, comparable associations with There are 151 community of Calgary membership in the Federation THE FACTS reported In 2016, 29% of respondents membership in their community 16 COMMUNITY from $6.4million to$12.4million. City Councilincreased theCAD budget recognition oftheimportance thearts, up from$3.75 millionin2009. In2018, in $5.14 millionthrough 6grantingprograms, In 2018CAD reportedcontributionsof Greater ForestLawn. its annual4-dayeventinEllistonPark in has regularlyattractedover100,000 to Since itsbeginningsin2003,Globalfest 2018, itssecond-highestattendanceever. World FilmFestival,attracted38,000 in with itsrootsintheArushaCentre’s One the CalgaryInternationalFilmFestival, From aninitialaudienceof8,000 in 2000, approximately 40,000 attendeesin2018. steadily sinceitsfoundingin2007, with of OurCityReport. SledIslandhasgrown come onthescenesincefirst State in thecity. Othermajorfestivalshave 1980, isthemostestablishedmajorfestival The Calgary Folk MusicFestival,foundedin variety offestivaleventsthaneverbefore. More Calgariansareenjoyingawider people (0.45 visits/capita)at14festivals. Development (CAD) registered565,000 By comparison,in2018CalgaryArts the top10festivals(0.38 visits/capita). estimated that411,000 peopleattended In 2010aSustainableCalgarysurvey TREND or volunteer. take part,whetherasparticipant,spectator, arts affordanewoutlooktothosewho expressing meaninginourdailylives.The great valueontheartsforfindingand the arts.Asustainablecommunityplaces derived fromcreatingandparticipatingin than tointangiblessuchastheenjoyment less likely tobelinked tohigherincome being, qualityoflifeandhappinessare Beyond acertainlevelofmaterialwell- IMPORTANCE visits/capita). there were2.05 millionattendees(1.88 The long-termtrendisstillpositive. In2011 drop of14%from2017(2.72 visits/capita). equivalent to2.33visits/capita.Thisisa people attendedartseventsinCalgary– In 2018approximately 2.95million THE FACTS Number of&Attendance atArtsEvents individuals often findthatfestivalsand issue. Lower-income familiesand Equitable accesstotheartsisan ongoing $7.02, andCalgaryat$6.50. at $9.35, Toronto at$8.90, Winnipegat followed byEdmontonat$13.54, Montreal receiving $19.36/capita inartsgrants, CAD datafrom2015showVancouver Canadian citieswithrespecttoartsgrants. Still, Calgarylagsbehindallmajor supported 716full-timeequivalentstaff. 7,125 artistswerehiredandtheartssector grew by18%inthesameperiod.In2018, 18% since2009. Calgary’s population expenditures reached$125million,up diversification. In2018Calgarians’ arts The artscontributetoeconomic contribution valuedatmorethan$12million. supported by23,500volunteersin2018,a bring peopletogether. Theartswere way and86%believethattheartshelp Calgarians engageintheartssome A 2016CAD surveyfoundthat92%of LINKAGES Inglewood in2013. 2017; andtheopeningofFestivalHallin 2011 andtheopeningoftheirbuildingin both in2012;thecreationofcSpace the CulturalLeaders Legacy ArtistAwards, Cultural Capitalandtheestablishmentof 2011; thenamingofCalgaryasCanada’s the establishmentofaPoet Laureate in including thecreationofCAD in2005; have celebratedmanymilestones, Over thepast20years,artsinCalgary 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 2.5 0.5 2.0 0.0 3.5 3.0 1.5 1.0 2009 2010 ARTS EETS ATTEACE PERCAPITA 2011 2012 2013 2014 reach economically. Additionally, aCAD other artsandculturaleventsareoutof • Attend someofthemanyfestivals • Volunteer foryourfavouritearts TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED own surveyofthetop10festivalsincity. 2014, SustainableCalgarycarriedoutits community events,andfestivals.Priorto organizations, professionalevents, on attendanceattheir10cornerstone CAD AccountabilityReports. CAD reports The attendancedataaretaken fromthe DEFINITIONS than 30%oftheirincomeonhousing. $35,000 annuallyand50%spentmore artists reportedincomesoflessthan 2017 foundthathalfofCalgaryprofessional Arts ProfessionalSurveycarriedoutin (calgarycinema.org). com), CinemathequeCalgary (globalfest.ca), SledIsland(sledisland. (calgaryfolkfest.com), GlobalFest in Calgary:CalgaryFolkMusicFestival organization. 2015 2016 economically. and culturaleventsareoutofreach often findthatfestivalsandotherarts Lower-income familiesandindividuals 2017 2018 2019

COMMUNITY 17 2018 2017 2015 A strong sense of community is related to lower mental illness and higher suicide rates, less child abuse, quality of child rearing, physical improvements in neighbourhoods, and greater resiliency reduced crime, among individuals. 2013 Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association Calgary Immigrant Women’s (ciwa-online.com). 2011 groups of people may be excluded from groups of people may be excluded healthy Inclusive, community membership. communities are those in which diverse groups of people feel welcome and connected. DEFINITIONS Sense of community (SOC) can be defined as a sense of belonging to community and having feelings one’s and support fellowship, of reciprocity, among community members. The Statistics Canada General Social Survey asks people to rate their sense of belonging to community as very strong, somewhat strong, somewhat weak, or very weak. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE or offer financial support to the • Volunteer is frequently reported among people with shared identities, marginalized 2009 Rated somewhat strong or very strong Rated 2007 SESE OF EOI TO A OCA COUITY A OCA TO SESE OF EOI 2005 Canada Alberta Calgary *Data not available for 2004 and 2006 2003 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 70% 80% 50% 60% from a strong SOC, it is also important to recognize possible negative ways Since SOC in which SOC may operate. volunteering. Individuals with a higher SOC tend to be happier and less worried, and A to have a greater sense of competence. strong SOC is also related to lower rates less child of mental illness and suicide, child rearing, physical higher-quality abuse, improvements in neighbourhoods, reduced among and greater resiliency crime, have also shown that individuals. Studies SOC can have a significant influence on the relative success of economic development efforts. While all these positive benefits arise SW of the city reported higher levels of sense of belonging than those in the SE or to have a weak those more likely NE. Also, sense of belonging were unemployed (44% of unemployed individuals reported a weak sense of belonging). LINKAGES has many show that a strong SOC Studies benefits for individuals and communities. It is related to greater feelings of safety and security and to increased levels of voting, recycling, helping others, and belonging among Calgarians; however, belonging among Calgarians; however, their survey also indicated differences in sense of belonging among various demographic and spatial divides. Sense of belonging increased with age: 83% of seniors over the age of 65 reported a strong sense of belonging while only 64% of people under 35 reported a strong in the NW and sense of belonging. People

The Calgary Foundation’s 2018 Vital The Calgary Foundation’s Signs survey indicated a strong sense of strong sense of belonging to their local community. a strong sense of belonging to their local community and 78% of residents of reported a Newfoundland and Labrador For example, in 2018, 69% of Albertans in 2018, For example, reported a strong sense of belonging to while in the same their local community, 70% of British Columbians reported year, ratings with other jurisdictions, however, ratings with other jurisdictions, however, sense of indicates that Albertans’ high. belonging is not exceptionally would show a similar increase. would show a similar increase. A comparison of sense-of-belonging highest SOC among Calgarians since 2003. Data for Alberta and for Canada SOC increased from show that people’s expect that Calgary data 2015 to 2018. We sense of belonging in Calgary and Alberta sense of belonging in Calgary and Alberta is slightly higher than it was in the previous 10 years. The 2014 survey reported the TREND results from the Canadian Recent Community Health Survey indicate that types of interactions often help us feel at home in our neighbourhood and rooted within the larger city. recognize it in neighbourly and friendly waving, chatting, visiting, actions like These lending items, and giving assistance. your community, the ability to meet most of your community, and your needs through your community, a feeling of being emotionally connected We and committed to your community. complex idea, composed of several elements – a feeling of belonging or membership and of having influence in IMPORTANCE sense of Most people understand it is a Yet community (SOC) intuitively. Vital Signs survey similarly reported that Vital Signs survey similarly Calgarians reported a roughly two-thirds of strong sense of belonging. (67%) reported a very strong or somewhat (67%) reported a very to their local strong sense of belonging 2018 Calgary Foundation’s The community. THE FACTS percentage of In 2014 an equivalent and Canadians Calgarians, Albertans, Sense of Community Sense 18 COMMUNITY made tocharitable organizationswas In 2013inAlberta, theaveragedonation contributed byjust10%ofthepopulation. in 2013,53%ofallvolunteerhours were in averagehoursvolunteered.However, when Albertaranked fifthamongprovinces hrs), andreboundingto161hours in2013, falling backto2000levelsin2010(140 (175 hrs),dippingslightlyin2007(172 increasing from2000(139hrs)to2004 volunteer hasfluctuatedsignificantly, The numberofhoursthatAlbertans less thantheprovincialaverageof55%. 50% ofCalgariansvolunteeredin2010– Foundation’s VitalSignsreportedthatonly level arehardertocomeby, buttheCalgary place in2013.Volunteer statisticsatthecity among allprovincesandtiedforfourth has consistentlyranked thirdorfourth dropped forthefirsttimein13years.Alberta to 55%in2010. In2013thispercentage and 2010, jumpingfrom39%in2000 showed asteadyincreasebetween2000 The percentageofAlbertanswhovolunteer TREND new skills. to make newfriends,network,andgain their community. Itisalsoanexcellent way on makingacontributiontocauseor individuals asenseofsatisfactionbased On apersonallevel,volunteerismoffers it, andthecaretheyaffordit. community, theresponsibilitytheyfeelfor of people’s senseofbelongingtotheir crisis. Volunteering isagoodindicator and intheresponsetoSyrian refugee during thepost-floodcleanupin2013 years, ithasbeenparticularlyapparent defining characteristicofCalgary. Inrecent The spiritofvolunteerismhasbeena IMPORTANCE Scotia at181hours. average of154hoursbutlessthanNova hours in2013,morethanthenational Albertans volunteeredanaverageof161 reported thehighestratesinCanada(56%). 44% butlessthanSaskatchewan,which – morethanthenationalaverageof In 2013,50%ofAlbertansvolunteered THE FACTS Volunteerism rise tofillthegaps. Eldercareisaperfect and socialservices, volunteerlevelsmay withdraw fundingforeducation, health, On acautionarynote, asgovernments satisfaction. including mortality, mentalhealth,andlife volunteering improveshealthoutcomes, billion in2017andcitesresearchthat dollar valueofvolunteeringatnearly$56 Board ofCanadastudyestimatedthe (1 millionjobsinCanada).AConference full-time jobstotheAlbertaeconomy equivalent of$5.6 billionand140,000 In 2013volunteerscontributedthe who volunteer. enriched bythecontributionofparents and foodbanks.Ourschoolsystemisalso on volunteers,asdomanylibraryprograms bird counts.Mostcityfestivalsrelyheavily habitat protectionprogramsandtheannual sustainability ofourcommunity, suchas activities thatcontributetotheecological Volunteerism isoftenthecatalystfor LINKAGES to charities. to accountformostofthemoneydonated those whovolunteermorehoursalsotend Labrador (87%).Research confirmsthat and wasbehindonlyNewfoundland that year, AlbertatiedwithSaskatchewan in 2013,thehighestratehistorically. In aged 15yearsandolder, 85%donated Canadian averageof$531.OfallAlbertans country andsignificantlymorethanthe donation amountwasthehighestin $863, upfrom$586in2004.The2013 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 60% 0 2000 39% AERTA OUTEER RATES

55% 2010 Research onPublicPolicy estimatedthat example. A2015studybytheInstitutefor • CheckouttheVolunteer Centreof • SupporttheInstituteforResearch on TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED data in2020. their household.Canadawillrelease2018 neighbours, andfamilymembersoutsideof when peoplecasuallyassistfriends, volunteerism occursmorespontaneously, a volunteerorcharitableactivity. Informal as intentional,organizedparticipationin and older. Formalvolunteerismisdefined volunteerism amongCanadians15years indicator measurestherateofformal Canada GeneralSocialSurvey).This Volunteering andParticipation (Statistics and 2013NationalSurveyofGiving, the 1997, 2000, 2004,2007, 2010, Provincial andnationaldatacomefrom DEFINITIONS family members. 11 to20hoursperweekofcaregivingfor 20% ofwomenand15%menprovide community. for opportunitiestovolunteerinyour Calgary, orPropellus(propellus.org) content/uploads/2015/12/study-no58.pdf). caregiver support(https://irpp.org/wp- Public Policy’s recommendationsfor (1 millioninCanada). full-time jobstotheAlbertaeconomy equivalent of$5.6 billionand 140,000 In 2013volunteerscontributedthe 50% 2013 Economic Indicators

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY OIL & GAS RELIANCE INDEX UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

According to the 2016 census, In 2018 Calgary’s oil In 2019 Calgary had the approximately 22.2% (103,290) of all Calgary households spent 30% or more and gas reliance (OGR) highest unemployment of their gross income on housing. The index stood at 34.9. rate of Canada’s 6 City of Calgary reported that 19% (88,000 households) of households earning less largest . Approximately 5.4% of Calgary’s workforce, than $60,000 annually are currently in about 47,000 people, were directly need of affordable housing. The 2018 In 2019 Calgary’s unemployment rate was employed in the primary sector industries Point-in-Time (PiT) Homeless Count found 7.2% compared with a national rate of of forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, 2,911 people experiencing homelessness 5.6%. This is almost a complete reversal and oil and gas. Primary sector industries in Calgary. from 2011, when nationwide unemployment and utilities contributed about $36 billion sat at 7.5% and Calgary’s unemployment (28.4%) of Calgary’s GDP in 2018. In rate was 5.8%. Alberta, the value of oil and gas exports in 2018 was $84 billion – 71% of all merchandise exports.

HOURS REQUIRED TO MEET FOOD BANK USAGE INCOME EQUITY: GAP BETWEEN BASIC NEEDS AT MINIMUM WAGE RICH & POOR To meet basic needs at minimum wage In 2018 the Calgary In 2017 the ratio of in Calgary in 2018, a single parent with 2 children had to work 55.35 hours/week Food Bank Society Alberta’s top 20% of at the minimum wage of $15.00/hour. (CFB) distributed earners to the bottom This has improved considerably since 2004 (111 hours/week at a minimum wage 9.4 million lbs. of 20% was 26 to 1. of $5.90/hour). A living wage in 2018 food through 83,401 was $20.76. That was down from 32 to 1 in 2016 but hampers, providing up from 25 to 1 in 2015. To be considered food for 192,391 in the top 1% of earners in Canada, you require an income greater than Calgarians. $235,000. 20 ECONOMY adopted anew policy thatwillcontribute units by2024.In May2019, CityCouncil 26,000 additionalaffordablehousing the nationalaverage, Calgarywill need units is6%.InCalgary, itis3.6%. To meet average supplyofnon-market housing In Canada’s othermajor cities,the limited. in Canada,andthesupplyamongmost market rentalratesareamongthehighest least $53,000 peryear. Calgary’s low-end affordable, ahouseholdmustbeearningat in 2016was$1,308.Forthisunittobe monthly rentfora2-bedroomdwelling 1991 and4%since2006.Theaverage properties. Thisisanincreaseof6%since and 36%areunabletoaffordtheirrental renting, 10.2% areinsubsidizedhousing Of thosehouseholdsinCalgarythatare Calgary homeownersoverspentonhousing. Comparatively, in1997only7.5% ofall households wereoverspendingonhousing. mortgage. Ofthesehomeowners,16.5%of Calgary householdsownhomeswitha According to2016censusdata,66%of and ithasdeclinedsignificantlysince1997. considerably worsethanitwasin2006 improved from2010to2016,itisstill Although housingaffordabilityinCalgary TREND stability, andsecurity. health, financialflexibility, independence, It contributestobettermentalandphysical housing iswovenintoallpartsofourlives. household. Suitableandaffordable and mostunavoidableexpenseofany a humanright.Housingisthehighest The UnitedNationsconsidershousing IMPORTANCE in Calgary. 2,911 peopleexperiencinghomelessness Point-in-Time (PiT)HomelessCountfound need ofaffordablehousing.The2018 than $60,000 annuallyarecurrentlyin households) ofhouseholdsearningless City ofCalgaryreportedthat19%(88,000 of theirgrossincomeonhousing.The Calgary householdsspent30%ormore approximately 22.2%(103,290)ofall According tothe2016census, THE FACTS Housing Affordability According tothe CanadaMortgageand DEFINITIONS secondary education,anddental visits. essentials like nutritiousfood,post- housing, theytendtocutbackon When familiesareoverspending on and highergreenhousegasemissions. congestion, lessleisuretimewithfamilies, City sprawlcontributestomoretraffic homes). 848 homes)and$80,000 (125%or2,228 homes), followedbythe$50,000 (1570%or $60,000 incomebracket (1800%or1,677 greatest increaseinchoiceoccurredatthe buyer, basedonJune2011MLSdata.The would havebeenavailabletoahome- 26% and1800%morehomesforsale and putthesavingsintohousing,between purchase ofacar, orasecondthirdcar, found thatifahouseholdcouldavoidthe Affordable Living:Housing+ Transportation The 2016SustainableCalgaryreport attributable tohighertransportationcosts. results inhighercostsofliving,mostly the “drive’tilyouqualify”approachoften facto affordabilitystrategyinCalgary. But Building outintogreenfieldsisthede LINKAGES substance use. job lossand25%duetoaddictionor Another 16%becamehomelessdueto were unabletopaytheirrentormortgage. became homelessdidsobecausethey population. InAlberta,15%ofthosewho they represented20%ofthehomeless population identifiesasIndigenous, showed thatwhileonly3%ofthegeneral by 19%.The2018PiTHomelessCount Homelessness, homelessnesshasdropped 2008 ofCalgary’s 10Year PlantoEnd years. Sincetheimplementationin Calgary hadrisenby650%over10 count showedthathomelessnessin experiencing homelessness.The2008 1992 foundthat447individualswere Calgary’s firsteverhomelesscountin affordable housingevery2years. 10 Cityparcelstodevelopersofnon-profit Calgary. Thepolicyallowsthesaleofupto to buildingmorenon-market housingin 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT when ahouseholdspendslessthan30% Housing Corporation,housingisaffordable • Explorethepossibilityofco-ophousingin • Learn moreabouthomelessnessin • AdvocateforaNationalHousingStrategy TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED Housing andHomelessness). Count Technical Report (7Citieson 2018 AlbertaPoint-in-Time Homeless Housing Strategy 2016–2025,andthe census data,CalgaryCorporateAffordable indicator camefromStatistics Canada on April11inCalgary. Informationforthis one night.The2018PiTcounttookplace of peopleexperiencinghomelessnesson counts provideasnapshotofthenumber 30% ofitsgrossincomeonshelter. ThePiT Median Incomeandspendsmorethan it earnslessthan65%oftheCalgaryArea household needsaffordablehousingwhen shelter. AccordingtotheCity’s definition,a of theirbefore-taxincomeonadequate (sacha-coop.ca). Co-operative HousingAssociation Alberta attheSouthern Foundation (calgaryhomeless.com). Calgary fromtheHomeless housing co-opsandlandtrusts. to fundnon-market alternativeslike SPEI OOUSIICAARY 453,626 Households Non-market

spending housing Met by market

Over ECONOMY 21 2018 2016 2014 2012

2010 2008 (belocal.org). Finance and Enterprise). These three values are reflected as percentages, which are then added together and divided by 3. An index of 100 would be total reliance. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE • Support local business at Be Local insurance and movement toward a a progressive taxation system. Moreover, more sustainable economic development strategy should focus on activating the community economic development drivers sustainability and on the cluster of key challenges facing Calgary. 2005 Citizens’ Sustainable Calgary’s recommended refocusing Agenda Report on economic development opportunities in affordable housing, energy conservation and renewable energy sources, waste management, human-powered transportation, immigrant workforce expansion, green building design, and transit- and community-oriented development. DEFINITIONS The OGR index is derived by determining contribution the oil and gas industry’s economy: to three areas of Calgary’s employment (the Conference Board of GDP Canada Metropolitan Outlook Report), (the Conference Board of Canada), and net exports (Government of Alberta, Alberta provide resilience during the bust, including changes to unemployment 2006 2004 2002 2000 1990 CAARYS OI A AS REIACE IE OI A AS CAARYS 1998 1996 1994 1992

1987 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 5 0 15 10 35 40 30 25 20 Clearly, not enough reforms were Clearly, to during the boom time undertaken 0.93 and 0.86, respectively. and 0.86, 0.93 LINKAGES to our Economic diversification is linked Many Calgarians have sense of community. experienced the impact of the boom-and- bust cycles in oil and gas. Although Calgary has the largest number of millionaires per capita of any Canadian city and Canada’s in recent most productive workforce, years, the city has experienced increased unemployment, declining job growth, falling home prices, higher emigration, and slower . There were only 57 business bankruptcies There were only 57 business bankruptcies in Calgary in 2018, three fewer than in 2017 but the second-highest number since 2014. The Conference Board of Canada has an economic diversification index for Canadian cities, scaled, in terms of from 0 to increasing economic diversity, this index was 0.77; 1. In 2009 Calgary’s From a reached a nadir in 2012 of 0.74. it dropped slightly in 2017, high of 0.83 The same index rated in 2018 to 0.81. at 0.83, Saskatoon, and Toronto Vancouver, 2012 was 5%. Since 2016, the rate has it was remained above 25%. In late 2019, among in January 2020, Moreover, 27.2%. cities, Calgary was second 7 major Canada’s from the bottom in terms of number of new housing starts and fourth in total value of building permits, and outperformed only Edmonton in MLS benchmark composite housing price growth.

The office vacancy rate in is Canada’s administrative centre for oil and and administrative centre for oil is Canada’s gas and has the second-largest number of corporate headquarters in Canada. 32.4, but it has averaged 34.8 since 2010. 32.4, but it has averaged 34.8 since 2010. The average of the past 10 years is just below the 1990s average of 35.4. Calgary The 2018 OGR index is above the long- The index is down term average of 34.1. From from a historic high of 38.8 in 1987. the index averaged just 2000 to 2009, was $47.52, the second-highest average was $47.52, among all industries. were engaged in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, and the average hourly wage in those combined sectors recent boom times have furthered locked recent boom times have furthered locked dependency on oil and gas. in Calgary’s businesses In 2018 only 1.9% of Calgary’s factors are not negatively correlated. The sharp decrease in oil prices in 2014 did not decrease the OGR index. In fact, the Unsurprisingly, the OGR index is positively Unsurprisingly, correlated with oil prices, and the sharp rise in oil prices through 2007 and 2008 these 2 increased the index. However, TREND to economy remains tethered Calgary’s the fortunes of the oil and gas industry. making becomes heavily influenced by the making becomes heavily influenced by the dominant economic player. is better able to withstand economic prices. downturns and fluctuating market not on a single industry is also Reliance since decision- healthy for democracy, IMPORTANCE A diverse economy that does not rely on or sector employer, a single resource, exports in 2018 was $84 billion – 71% of all exports in 2018 was $84 merchandise exports. mining, quarrying, and oil and gas. Primary mining, quarrying, and utilities contributed sector industries and GDP of Calgary’s about $36 billion (28.4%) value of oil and gas in 2018. In Alberta, the 5.4% of Calgary’s workforce, about 47,000 47,000 about workforce, 5.4% of Calgary’s were directly employed in the people, fishing, forestry, of industries sector primary THE FACTS oil and gas reliance In 2018 Calgary’s Approximately 34.9. (OGR) index stood at Oil & Gas Reliance Index Gas Reliance Oil & 22 ECONOMY Development and theInformationand For example, Calgary Economic sustainable economicfuturefor Calgary. provides adirectpathwaytomore Continued economicdiversification sluggish atbest. transition toapost–fossilfueleconomy is that remainunfilled.Momentumtoward data scientists,coders,andprogrammers created approximately 2,000 jobsfor city’s emergingtechnologysectorhas On theotherhand,expansionof will likely neverreturntohistoricallevels. the climateemergency, jobsinthatsector automation andthegatheringthreatof to dominatetheeconomy, butwith The oilandgassectorcontinues in 2018. vacancy rate, whichpeaked at27.8% in arapidlyincreasingdowntownoffice with thechangingnatureofwork,resulted energy sectoralonein2015.This,along that Albertashednearly20,000 jobsinthe 2015/16 Albertarecession.Itisestimated a peakof9.4% in2016attheheightof unemployment averaged6.4%,reaching stood at8.2%.From2011to2019, Calgary’s improvement from2018,whentherate The 2019unemploymentrateisan TREND employment challenges. critically importanttoaddressingsystemic bold environmentalandclimatepolicy, is economy, alongwiththeintegrationof The continueddiversificationoftheCalgary participate inthelifeoftheircommunity. necessities oflifeandtheresourcesto meaningful andthatprovidesforthe to theircommunitywithworkthatis should havetheopportunitytocontribute In asustainablecommunity, allpeople IMPORTANCE rate was5.8%. sat at7.5% andCalgary’s unemployment from 2011,whennationwideunemployment 5.6%. Thisisalmostacompletereversal was 7.2% comparedwithanationalrateof cities. In2019Calgary’s unemploymentrate unemployment rateofCanada’s 6largest In 2019Calgaryhadthehighest THE FACTS Unemployment Rate

Calgary isthemost unequallargecity 20,000 jobs. transit. Stage 1oftheGreenLinewillcreate effective creatorsofjobsisbuilding mass Dollar fordollar, oneofthemostcost- car tohaveaccessawiderrange ofjobs. own –andoftencannotafford to own–a help peoplewhodonotdriveor convenient, affordable, andefficientcan gaining employment.Publictransitthatis of transportationcanpreventpeoplefrom Sometimes, structuralbarrierssuchaslack can finditverydifficulttosecurenewjobs. displacement, andonceunemployed,they literacy skillsarevulnerabletolayoffand Workers withlittleeducationorpoor strongly linked tounemploymentrates. Levels ofeducationandliteracyare can suffer. unemployed citizensandtheirfamilies unemployment, andthebasichealthof can becomeoverloadedintimesofhigh as affordablehousingandfoodbanks these programsincreases.Servicessuch unemployed citizens,whiledemandfor are availabletosupportprogramsfor people earningwages,fewertaxdollars drain acityofitsprosperity. Withfewer High levelsofunemploymentcan LINKAGES the neweconomy. gain theskillstheyneedtoparticipatein unemployed oilandgassectorworkers recently launchedanonlinetooltohelp Communications Technology Council 10% 12% 6% 2% 8% 4% 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 1987

1989 1991 1993 1995 CAARYS UEPOYET RATE 1997 1999

2001 2003 in 2019hadthehighestunemployment in Canadatermsofincomegap, and • Supportorganizationsthatadvocate TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED Statistics Canada. Census MetropolitanAreaandarefrom cited inthisindicatorarefortheCalgary or activelylookingforwork.Thefigures who areemployed(part-timeandfull-time) force includesindividualsaged15andover force whoarewithoutwork.Thelabour proportion ofthepopulationinlabour The unemploymentratemeasuresthe DEFINITIONS comes withit. and theoutsizedecologicalfootprintthat continue torelyonagrowingeconomy the wealthmorefairlywithouthavingto we cancreatemorejobsanddistribute country. Fromasustainabilitypointofview, generates morewealththananycityinthe rate. At thesametime, oureconomystill 2005 Income Calgary(basicincomecalgary.ca). for abasicincomeall,suchasBasic 2007 2009 challenges. to addresssystemicemployment climate policy, iscriticallyimportant integration ofboldenvironmentaland Calgary economy, alongwiththe The continueddiversificationofthe 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 ECONOMY 23 2018 2016 2014 2012 2010 2008 asking them to support universal pharmacare and universal dental care. in Calgary through organizations Vibrant Communities Calgary like and through the (vibrantcalgary.com) use of local currency (calgarydollars.ca). family on food, shelter, and clothing. family on food, shelter, These calculations assume an average work week of 40 hours and 2 weeks of with all 13 statutory vacation annually, The LICO is used for this holidays taken. assessment as it has been calculated so long-term trends can be since 1959, established. It is also the measure used by the City of Calgary to determine if people qualify for subsidies. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE or call your MP and premier, • Write • Advocate for poverty reduction which families are expected to spend 20 percentage points more than the average 2006 2004 2002 2000 For a single parent with 2 children in Calgary For a single parent with 2 children 1998 1996 1994

EEY OURS REUIRE TO EET ASIC EES AT IIU AE EES AT EET ASIC TO OURS REUIRE EEY 1992 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 40 80 60 120 100 Statistics Canada for various household Statistics people. sizes in cities of over 500,000 LICO is defined as the income threshold at generations, since parents who work long hours are less able to support the learning and development of their children. Efforts are ongoing for a national Locally, Guaranteed Annual Income. Enough for All, a community-driven aims to cut poverty-reduction strategy, poverty in half by 2023. DEFINITIONS This indicator is derived by dividing minimum hourly wage into the Alberta’s before-tax LICO incomes established by household expenditure after housing; an occasional trip to leisure activities like Banff or a night out; or dental care. can leave individuals working hours Long and households precariously close to homelessness and leave little time physical fitness, community, for family, lifelong learning, volunteer activities, or participation in local governance. in families where parents Moreover, are working long hours for low wages, the cycle of poverty is reinforced over LINKAGES The additional time required to make ends meet results in less time spent on other aspects of life that impact personal and societal well-being. Furthermore, these numbers only represent a portion of the costs of managing a household; they do not include in particular, transportation costs, the second-largest

long way from the minimum wage (real) rates of the 1970s. parent with 2 children would have had to work 42 hours/week. While the trend has been positive for 15 years, we are still a households been able to work anything close to a regular work week at minimum In 1978 a single wage and reach the LICO. averaged 108/week. In the 2000s, the average was 101 hours, and from 2010 to 2018, the average was 73.4 hours. Not since the 1970s have low-income work required to reach the LICO is lower than it has been at any time since 1992. In the 1990s, the hours of work required with 2 children were still working 55.35 hours/week to reach the low-income cutoff (LICO). The current number of hours of 18 working less than 28 hours/week was rolled back to $13.00/hour. single parents In 2018, at $15.00/hour, required to meet basic needs fell from 85 the in 2011 to 55.35 in 2018. In July 2019, minimum wage rate for students under Between 2011 and 2018, Alberta saw a year-over-year increase in the minimum from $8.80/hour to $15.00/hour. wage, During the same time period, hours indexed for overall cost increases. indexed TREND poverty without significant government subsidies is to ensure that the minimum wage reflects the living wage and is employment can increase self-sufficiency, employment can increase self-sufficiency, decrease reliance on social programs, and, in the long term, reduce costs to society. The single most impactful way to reduce of the community should have the opportunity to do meaningful work for a Adequately remunerated reasonable wage. IMPORTANCE element of a Equity is an important Every member sustainable community. (111 hours/week at a minimum wage of (111 hours/week at a minimum wage in 2018 was $5.90/hour). A living $20.76. 2 children had to work 55.35 hours/week 2 children had to work This of $15.00/hour. at the minimum wage since 2004 has improved considerably THE FACTS needs at minimum wage in meet basic To parent with Calgary in 2018, a single

Needs at Minimum Wage at Minimum Needs Hours Required to Meet Basic Basic to Meet Required Hours 24 ECONOMY $4.4 million. volunteer hours in2018–avalueofover The CFBbenefitedfromover140,000 LINKAGES 12% wereemployed. percent ofuserswerepensioners andover as theirmainsourceofincome. Nine users reportedprovincialdisabilitysupport single-parent households.Over17%of were singlepersonsand18.3% using foodbanks.In2019, 48%of users Canadian populationbut34.1% ofthose 2019, childrenrepresented19.4% ofthe of childreninourpopulation.InMarch food banksiswellabovethepercentage Canada, thepercentageofchildrenusing were virtuallythesameasin2010. In same levelas2018.Usagelevelsin2019 usage stabilizedin2019, withvisitsatthe Nationally, HungerCountreportedthat related incomesupport. assistance, and16%wereondisability- Approximately 30%ofuserswereonsocial children, and16%weresingleparents. were individuals.Thirty-ninepercent bank usersinCalgary2018,while43% 2018. Familiesrepresented57%offood in 2014anddecreasedtoabout30% wage earnerrosefrom33%in2011to38% whose householdshaveatleastone 2008 recession.Thenumberofclients 2008 and2012,largelyasaresultofthe using theCFBincreasedby52%between compared to2017. Thenumberofclients was a4%increaseinhampersdistributed in demandforover5years.In2018there By 2018theCFBhadnotseenareduction TREND become afixtureinourtownsandcities. food distributioncrisis.Overtime, theyhave phenomenon, dedicatedtoresolvinga food bankswereconsideredatemporary to morevulnerablecitizens.Historically, we arefulfillingoursocietalresponsibility Food bankusageindicatestowhatextent IMPORTANCE 192,391 Calgarians. through 83,401hampers,providingfoodfor (CFB) distributed9.4 millionlbs.offood In 2018theCalgaryFoodBankSociety THE FACTS Food BankUsage the generalpopulation. Between2016and report mentalhealth issuescomparedto bank usersareover5timesmore likely to little inthewayofsocialassistance. Food coming tofoodbanks:singlesreceive very parent andsingle-personhouseholds There hasbeenahugeincrease insingle- because socialassistanceisnot sufficient. report thattheycometofoodbanks across thecountry, almosthalfofrecipients The 2019HungerCountreportedthat vegetables (50%). dairy, cereal(115%),fruit(55%),and all foodcategories–meat(130%),seafood, outpaced after-taxmedianincome(20%)in since 1986,foodpriceinflationhasfar Dalhousie Universityin2019, showsthat jointly bytheUniversityofGuelphand Canada’s FoodPriceReport, produced hunger andfoodinsecurity. Guaranteed AnnualIncomecanalleviate School ofPublicPolicy suggeststhata utilities, orrent.AreportbytheCalgary difficult choicesbetweenpayingforfood, force peopleonlowincomestomake Similarly, lackofaffordablehousingcan and totravelfromworkreliably. of manylow-incomecitizenstofindwork public transitcanseverelylimittheability Lack ofaccessible, affordable, andsafe administration. in retail,healthcare, construction,and disproportionately amongpeopleworking employed, foodinsecurityisexperienced University ofCalgary, amongthosewhoare According toDr. Lynn McIntyreofthe 200,000 100,000 150,000 50,000 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 0 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 APER RECIPIETS Calgary FoodBank 2003 2005 accessing foodbanks.Since2010, there 2019, therewasa30%increaseinseniors • Supportorganizationslike theCalgary • HelptheCanadianAssociationofFood TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED HungerCount AnnualReports. report arefromCFBAnnualReports and who make multiplevisits.Datainthis measured inthisindicatorincludespeople food since1993.Thenumberofrecipients and hasbeentrackingitsdistributionof providing thisemergencyservicein1982 of financialtrouble. TheCFBstarted food from9depotstoCalgariansintimes The CFBisacrisisfacilitythatprovides DEFINITIONS to buyfood. and thisisputtingpressureontheirability of userswholiveinmarket rentalhousing, has beena10%increaseinthepercentage through donationsorvolunteering. Leftovers Foundation(rescuefood.ca) Food Bank(calgaryfoodbank.com) and benefit, andbasicincomeforall. for singles,animprovedCanadahousing for universalchildcare, increasedsupport Banks (foodbankscanada.ca) advocate 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2018 ECONOMY 25

2010s The cost of income-related differences in heart disease among Canadians is estimated at $4 billion annually. 2000's tax policies through organizations Fairness Canadians for Tax like (taxfairness.ca). differences in heart disease among Canadians is estimated at $4 billion annually. DEFINITIONS Data for the ratio of top 20% to bottom 20% of earners come from Statistics Canada and are based on average market income by economic family type (Table 206-0031). 11-10-0192-01, formerly CANSIM This indicator is based on information from Canada, the Canadian Labour Statistics Network, and Skills Research Market and the Conference Board of Canada. Income includes the following sources: employment, employment insurance, other government and social assistance, transfers. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE • Advocate for fair and progressive be 6,366 fewer deaths from heart disease be 6,366 fewer deaths from heart disease The cost of income-related annually. 1990's Top 20% to bottom 20% 20% to bottom Top reports 1980's ICOE AP RATIO I AERTA RATIO ICOE AP highlights 1970's The Economist The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Why The Spirit Level: 5 0 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 15 10 25 20 Inequality Is Bad for Our Hearts, reports that if all Canadians were as heart healthy as the wealthiest Canadians, there would teenage pregnancy, and violence are all teenage pregnancy, worse in more unequal societies. Even advisors to the International Monetary Fund called inequality “the most serious A January globally. challenge we face” 2011 article in 3 top reasons why inequality matters – its negative impact on personal well- being, the limits it imposes on equality and the effects of higher of opportunity, concentrations of political power. University, A 2001 report from York increased from $7.3 million to $10.4 million. million to $10.4 increased from $7.3 In 2016 the average CEO income was more than 200 times that of the average Canadian. LINKAGES The book Societies Almost Always Do Better on groundbreaking research on 23 of the wealthiest countries in the world. The research shows that physical and mental outcomes, education health, drug abuse, trust, social mobility, imprisonment, obesity, between 2012 and 2016, the net worth of the wealthiest 87 families in Canada rose 37%. As a result, those 87 families have the same wealth as the lowest-earning 12 million Canadians. report Climbing According to the CCPA’s Up and Kicking Down, from 2008 to 2016, top 100 CEOs the income of Canada’s

According to Born to Win, by the Canadian Alternatives (CCPA), Centre for Policy those in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal Vancouver, those in Toronto, and 3 times that of Edmonton. interest income, etc.) and after-tax income. etc.) and after-tax income. interest income, home the 1% in Calgary take Moreover, more than double the share of income than income, Calgary is the most unequal city Calgary is the income, When it comes to the 1%, in the country. Calgary is the most unequal city in both income (employment income, market higher than the national average for the and while Vancouver period 1982 to 2017, For after-tax follow closely behind. Toronto According to the report Income Inequality Canada, Calgary’s in Canada, by CPA after-tax inequality in 2017 was 4 times by 2.5%, while income for the top 1%, 0.1%, by 2.5%, while income for the top 1%, 0.1%, 27.2%, and grew by 8.5%, 17.2%, and .01% respectively. Statistics Canada reported that from 2016 Canada reported that from Statistics average income in Canada grew to 2017, average ratio of 30 to 1. Since 2009, the average ratio of 30 to 1. Since 2009, ratio of top to bottom income earners has improved to 26 to 1 but is still 25% greater than it was in the late 1970s. inequality grew again, with the average ratio for the decade being 36 to 1. The with an 2000s saw decreasing inequality, in wealth distribution in Canada. The inequality of income worsened through the 1980s, averaging 28 to 1. In the 1990s, TREND From the Great Depression until the mid- 1970s, there was a steady improvement their consent or support for change, and their consent or support for change, a crisis of legitimacy of government and institutions of all kinds builds. as those with wealth influence the political as those with wealth As people watch process in their favour. they begin to withdraw inequality grow, require an income greater than $235,000. than $235,000. require an income greater IMPORTANCE democracy weakens Inequality eventually That was down from 32 to 1 in 2016 but That was down from be considered To up from 25 to 1 in 2015. in Canada, you in the top 1% of earners THE FACTS top 20% of In 2017 the ratio of Alberta’s 20% was 26 to 1. earners to the bottom Income Equity: Gap between Rich & Poor Rich between Gap Equity: Income Education Indicators

ADULT LITERACY AVERAGE CLASS SIZE DAYCARE WORKER SALARIES

In 2012, 55% of Albertans 16 to 65 In 2018/19, the average class sizes for the In 2018, with the years of age scored at literacy level 3 Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and or higher (minimally functional), a drop Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) minimum wage at of 6 percentage points since 2003. Only were 24.4 and 23.5 students, respectively, $15.00/hour, daycare 15.8% of Albertans functioned at a high larger than the Alberta average of 22.6. level of literacy. Though this is the highest These averages are generally in line staff in Alberta worked rate among all provinces, it is significantly with Alberta Commission on Learning’s for an average starting lower than (22.6%). Nationally, 52% guideline of 23. Neither board met the of Canadians aged 16 to 65 function at target class size requirements for the wage of $15.86/hour, an literacy level 3 or higher, placing Canada important K-3 grade level. overall average wage of tenth among OECD countries. $16.87/hour, and a top wage of $18.42/hour.

GRADE 6 ACHIEVEMENT SCORES LIBRARY USAGE

On the 2018/19 Provincial Achievement In 2017 Calgarians Tests for grade 6 language arts, 87.8% of students enrolled in Calgary Board visited the 21 branches of Education (CBE) schools achieved of the Calgary an acceptable standard as identified by Alberta Learning. This was an increase Public Library (CPL) from the previous year’s 86.1%, which had approximately 6.8 been the highest rate in 10 years. million times.

This represents a 34% increase over 3 years: in 2014 there were 5.1 million visits. EDUCATION 27

2003 2012 NU NT YT BC SK MB (wordfest.com) or offer your services or offer (wordfest.com) as a volunteer. literacy and learning, such as the Further Education Society of Alberta (furthered.ca). ON • Support organizations that promote the rate of the general population. People the rate of the general population. People with low literacy levels experience more to hospitalizations and are more likely misinterpret medical instructions. DEFINITIONS This indicator is based on the 2013 Program for the International Assessment the 1996 of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), International and Adult Literacy Survey, and the 2003 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. individuals function at a level 1 literacy, At grade 5 to 7 level and may have difficulty understanding medicine dose information. Those at level 2, equivalent to grade 7 may have difficulty mastering new to 9, level 3, an individual can do job skills. At simple research and integrate information, and at level 4, an individual integrates and contrasts information well. An individual at level 5 can integrate complex information and perform multiple numerical operations. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE events Calgary WordFest • Attend Those in the criminal justice system experience literacy problems at 3 times QC NB NS PE NL ALBERTA’S ADULT LITERACY RATE FUNCTIONAL RATE LITERACY ADULT ALBERTA’S A Average percent of population at level 3 literacy or above among adults 16-65 percent of population at level 3 literacy or above Average CAN 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 0 10% 70% 40% 30% 80% 20% 50% 60% accessible transportation are some of the barriers that prevent people from enrolling in literacy programs. In Canada, an individual at literacy levels to be 1 or 2 is almost 3 times more likely unemployed than an individual at level 3 or Between 22% and 50% of people higher. with low-level literacy skills live in poor households compared to 8% with high literacy levels. than 10% of Canadians who could Less benefit from literacy upgrading programs actually enroll. According to the ABC Canada Literacy Foundation, financial and lack of lack of childcare, instability, poor health, to believe that they have little poor health, to believe that they have little impact on political processes, and to not participate in organizations or volunteer activities. In most countries, they are also to trust others. less likely Foundation report A 2018 Canada West suggests that raising the average literacy and numeracy skill level of the workforce could increase GDP by $54 billion per year and productivity by 5%, and that the biggest impact is gained by investing in the lowest literacy levels. only Canadian province with more people only Canadian province with more people than the OECD average in the highest numerical, levels of proficiency in prose, and computer literacy. LINKAGES In all countries, individuals with lower than proficiency in literacy are more likely those with better literacy skills to report

average, but we also had more people in but we also average, Alberta was the the lower levels of literacy. In 2012 Canada had more people in the higher levels of literacy than the OECD 60% of recent immigrants to Canada have inadequate literacy skills, compared to 44% of people born in Canada. According to the Conference Board of Canada, Aboriginal Canadians have a 60% rate of inadequate literacy compared to the Canadian average of 48%. Similarly, 48% in 2012. In each survey, literacy tends 48% in 2012. In each survey, to decrease with age. strictly comparable, according to Statistics to Statistics according strictly comparable, Canada, the adjusted inadequate literacy (levels 1/2) rate rose from 42% in 2003 to a B grade for high-level literacy skills and a a B grade for high-level literacy skills and a C grade for inadequate literacy scores. Though the 2003 and 2013 results are not to 15.2% and those at level 2 or below to 44.8%. In 2012 the increased from 39.5% Conference Board of Canada gave Alberta since 1996. The 2013 results suggest a further deterioration between 2003 and 2012. The percentage of Albertans at level 1 literacy or lower increased from 13.6% adult literacy surveys across Canada. The 2003 ALLS survey suggests some deterioration in adult literacy in Alberta TREND there have been only 4 major Since 1989, new competencies and skills. A society’s new competencies and skills. A society’s ability to tackle the complex sustainability challenges we face today is directly related to the literacy of its citizens. IMPORTANCE Literacy supports lifelong and independent learning by helping people to acquire literacy level 3 or higher, placing Canada literacy level 3 or higher, tenth among OECD countries. level of literacy. Though this is the highest Though level of literacy. it is significantly rate among all provinces, 52% Nationally, lower than Japan (22.6%). to 65 function at of Canadians aged 16 higher (minimally functional), a drop of higher (minimally functional), 2003. Only 6 percentage points since at a high 15.8% of Albertans functioned THE FACTS 16 to 65 In 2012, 55% of Albertans literacy level 3 or years of age scored at Adult Literacy Adult 28 EDUCATION The CBEhasgenerallyallocatedresources some graderanges. again, andtheynowexceed thetargetsfor have resultedinclasssizesrisingonce 2009/10. Sincethattime, teacher layoffs class sizefrom27.2 in2003/4to21.5 funding successfullyreducedtheaverage hiring andmaintainingteachers.The a totalof$3.44billionwentdirectlyto guideline by2006/7. From2004to2018, Commission onLearning (ACOL) classsize intent thatjurisdictionsmeettheAlberta with ClassSizeInitiativefunding,the Alberta Educationprovidedjurisdictions Beginning inthe2004/5schoolyear, TREND improving theoverallqualityofeducation. morale andlowerstresslevels,thereby including smallerclasssizes,canalsoraise environments forteachersandstudents, and skilledcitizensoftomorrow. Positive contributing, committed,compassionate, education equipsyouthtobecome and economicsustainability. Astrong community canbuildecological,social, Education isthefoundationuponwhicha IMPORTANCE important K-3 gradelevel. target classsizerequirementsforthe guideline of23.Neitherboardmetthe with AlbertaCommissiononLearning’s These averagesaregenerallyinline larger thantheAlbertaaverageof22.6. were 24.4and23.5students,respectively, Calgary CatholicSchoolDistrict(CCSD) Calgary BoardofEducation(CBE)and In 2018/19, theaverageclasssizesfor THE FACTS Average ClassSize Class SizesinCalgaryandAlberta Grade 10-12 Grade 7-9 Grade 4-6 K- Grade3 School Year 2018/19

23.5 20.4 CBE 25.7 27.9 CCSD 26.9 22.6 23.8 21.5

Alberta

22.8 23.5 23.5 20.4 extracurricular activities.Obligating as theyassistwithfundraisingand volunteers becomeevenmorecritical our schoolsystem.Withbudgetcutbacks, Volunteers havealways beenapartof than capacity. established communitiesoperateatless in newcommunities,whileschools contributes totheneedformoreschools to children’s education.Sprawlalso away moneythatcouldotherwisego any otherjurisdictioninCanada,draining students arebusedinCalgarythan phenomenon ofschoolsprawl.More This indicatorisalsolinked tothe classes inlatergrades. retained evenifstudentsexperiencelarger through smallclasssizesinK-3 seemtobe low-income students.Thegainsmade for educationoutcomesminorityand class sizeseemstobeparticularlyeffective lifestyle asyouthsbecomeadults.Small in socializationthatcontributestoahealthy individual attentioncanplayacriticalrole Smaller classsizesandincreased most onceyougetbelow15students. Research suggeststhatclasssizematters LINKAGES program. the inceptionofclass-sizereduction ever attaineditstargetsforK-12 since in 2018/19. Indeed,neitherboardhas is significantlyhigherthanthetarget most criticalageforsmallclasssizes, 12. Nevertheless,K-3, consideredthe lower thanthoseofCBEingrades7to the CCSD, butCCSD’s enrolmentsare to keep itsclasssizesinK-6 lowerthan Guide ACOL 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 25 23 27 17

in aclassroom.AlbertaLearning publishes students tofull-timeequivalentteachers Class sizeisdefinedastheratioof DEFINITIONS time thantheOECDaverage. respected andhave20%lessclassroom educational attainment,teachersarehighly difficult. InFinland,acountrywithhigh size andworkloadmake teachingmore the professionishighstressandthatclass the teacher. Thereisampleevidencethat But thereisanothervariableinclasssize– make endsmeet. may alreadybeworkinglonghoursto lower-income communities,whereparents however, workstothedisadvantageof parents toprovidemoretimeandmoney, • Supportnon-profiteducationalprograms • Volunteer yourtimeandskillsto TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED counselors andlibrarians. not teachinclassrooms—principals, are educationalprofessionalswhodo not includedinthesecalculations,nor studies. Specialneedsclasssizesare language arts,math,science, andsocial the datato4coresubjectclasses: classes, theAlbertaLearning reportlimits that studentsmayspendtimeinseveral the CBEandCCSDforK-12. Given class sizesbasedondatacollectedfrom (womenscentrecalgary.org). and theWomen’s CentreofCalgary Bridge FoundationforYouth (cbfy.ca) for youth,suchasthoseoftheCalgary Catholic SchoolDistrict(cssd.ab.ca). of Education(cbe.ab.ca) ortheCalgary councils, whetherwiththeCalgaryBoard local schoolandgetactivewithparent EDUCATION 29

2018 $16.87 $18.42 $15.86 $15.00 2017 $16.81 $19.33 $14.62 $13.60 2015 minister asking them to take action on action minister asking them to take a comprehensive national childcare strategy that addresses the needs of working and stay-at-home parents. that advocate Care (timeforchildcare.ca), affordable for the availability of quality, childcare for every family who wants it. $19.20 $16.82 $10.20 36th of 39 countries) compared to 1.7% 36th of 39 countries) compared to 1.7% and 1.2% in in Iceland, 1.42% in Sweden, the UK. DEFINITIONS Daycare staff wage information was obtained through the Government of Hourly and Salary Survey. Wage Alberta’s wage figures assume full-time employment and apply to all early childhood educators, preschool teachers, including daycare staff, and supervisors. The reference to women’s income is based on the median income of women 25 to 34 years of age in the referenced city. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE and prime premier, your MLA, MP, • Write for Child Time • Support organizations, like $1,046; on average, this was 26% of a this on average, $1,046; In contrast, women income. woman’s of 5% in Montreal used approximately It is care. their incomes for preschool Alberta has a important to note that policy compared 15-week maternity leave provinces and to 17 weeks for all other territories. demonstrate that the consistently Studies stage is the early childhood education development stage most important child educationally and that investment in early childhood education ultimately produces the highest rates of economic return. a 2009 OECD study found that Canada Yet of GDP on early spent less than 0.4% childhood education and care (ranking $22.54 2011 $9.4 $13.39 $18.69 $15.32 2009 $17.51 $8.80 $14.48 $12.49 2005 $17.51 $8.80 $14.48 $12.49 2001 $8.39 $5.90 $12.10 $10.58 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 1999 $7.35 $8.50 $9.85 $5.65 national average was 10%. In Quebec, it was under 2%. A 2014 study by the Canadian Centre for Alternatives found that preschooler Policy fees in Calgary ranged from $769 to Inadequate and expensive childcare has economic consequences. In 2019, Canada, about according to Statistics 54% of Alberta children aged 5 years or under were in some kind of early learning or childcare arrangement. In terms of the proportion of families with difficulty finding Alberta was superceded affordable care, only by BC, at 13.5% and 16%, respectively. In Quebec, only 6.5% reported difficulty. Fifteen percent of Albertans (the highest in the country) reported not using childcare because the cost was too high. The for retail, and $22.58 for transportation for retail, and $22.58 and warehousing. Since 1992, registered childcare spaces in Alberta have increased 69,603 Of those, to 110,000. from 51,000 are for children aged 5 years or under. In 2015/16, Alberta allocated $2,422 for The Canadian each regulated child space. average was $3,405. Only 3 provinces allocated less – BC, Nova Scotia, and PEI. Manitoba and Saskatchewan both allocated over $4,000. LINKAGES to early childhood education is not education is to early childhood standards reflected in either education or in their for early childhood educators 2008, only Manitoba compensation. As of for early required a 4-year degree childhood educators. compare very Childcare wages do not other jobs in favourably to wages for the average 2009 For example, Calgary. construction, $17.35 wage was $28.29 for 1996 $8.01 $6.75 $9.25 $5.00 , Gordon Dryden Starting Wage Starting Wage Average Wage Top Minimum Wage Daycare Worker Daycare Worker Salary (Alberta)

The importance that researchers attach fallen steadily since then, largely due to regular increases in minimum wage rates. of daycare workers peaked relative to peaked of daycare workers minimum wage around 2005, and the percentage above minimum wage has times the minimum wage. In 2018 senior times the minimum wage. only in Alberta made daycare workers falling 25% above the minimum wage, Wages about 10% short of a living wage. minimum wage. In 2011 a starting worker In 2011 a starting worker minimum wage. made about 42% above minimum wage, earned just over 2 while a senior worker TREND made In 1996 a starting daycare worker 35% above the minimum wage and a made about 85% above senior worker which in turn can create instability in daycare programs. educational programs. Daycare workers’ educational programs. Daycare workers’ low wages and strenuous working conditions lead to high turnover rates, the first 4 years of life, while another 30% the first 4 years of life, early is developed by age 8. However, childhood programs receive proportionally lower government funding than other Way the World Learns the World Way state that 50% of a and Jeannette Vos during ability to learn is developed child’s and on the overall path that is laid down and on the overall path their 1999 book, for future learning. In Change the To Revolution: The Learning IMPORTANCE childhood has a Education during early child development tremendous effect on average starting wage of $15.86/hour, an of $15.86/hour, average starting wage and a of $16.87/hour, overall average wage top wage of $18.42/hour. THE FACTS wage at $15.00/ In 2018, with the minimum for an Alberta worked daycare staff in hour, Daycare Worker Salaries Worker Daycare 30 EDUCATION of 21,000 Canadian 15-year-oldsfrom 65 countries(34 fromtheOECD).Atotal focused onmathematicsandincluded every 3yearssince2000. The2012PISA (PISA). PISA testshavebeenadministered for InternationalStudent Assessment marker istheOECD-sponsoredProgram Another relevanteducationalachievement arts andFrenchlanguagearts. were reachedinallbutEnglishlanguage in allbutmathematics,whileSOEtargets diploma exams,AS targetswerereached in eachofthepast2years.Ingrade12 reached inallbutFrenchlanguagearts AS target,thoughtheSOEtargetswere in languageartsdidtheCBEreach as thoseforgrade6.In2018/19, only Grade 9resultshavenotbeenaspositive except mathematics. fairly comfortablyinallsubjectareas reached itsgrade6SOEandAS targets In eachofthepast2years,CBE 10 years. target hasbeenreachedineachofthelast on record.Theacceptablestandard(AS) years haveyieldedthebest3-yearaverage has beenexceeded everyyear. Thepast3 excellence (SOE)target(15%ofstudents) provincial targets.Thestandardof scores havegenerallybeenabove Since 2007, Calgary’s grade6achievement TREND can learnadditionalskills. contribute effectivelytopublicdebate, and in society, havegreaterindependence, can they aregenerallybetterabletofunction people developnumeracyandliteracyskills, rates, andhigherratesofincarceration.As lower senseofself-esteem,higherdropout Lower-performing studentstendtohavea IMPORTANCE been thehighestratein10years. from thepreviousyear’s 86.1%, whichhad Alberta Learning. Thiswasanincrease an acceptablestandardasidentifiedby of Education(CBE)schoolsachieved of studentsenrolledinCalgaryBoard Tests forgrade6languagearts,87.8% On the2018/19ProvincialAchievement THE FACTS Grade 6AchievementScores low levelsofliteracy maynotreceivethe and writing,children fromfamilieswith with whichchildrenapproachreading influence ontheenthusiasmand interest challenges. Sinceparentshave a strong may haveparentswhoalso literacy Children whostruggletoreadand write literate membersofthepopulation. higher amongmoreeducatedand building andparticipationtendstobe Volunteerism thatsupports community LINKAGES achievers. In Quebec,only11%ofstudentswerelow of lowachievers(belowlevel2)at15%. also hadhigherthanthenationalaverage achievers (level5ormore),butAlberta Quebec. Onein6Albertanswerehigh gaps inCanadawerefoundAlbertaand highest onequity, butthelargestequity above averageinCanada.BCscored Equity inscoresamongstudentswas a hostofAsiancountries. European country(Finland)butworsethan at thetopinCanada,onparwith In readingandscience, Albertaperformed several Asiancountries. American country, outperformedonlyby scored higherthananyEuropeanorNorth and onparwithBC.Quebecstudents were equivalenttotheCanadianaverage Netherlands andFinland.Albertascores average andranked tenth,onparwiththe tested. CanadascoredabovetheOECD 900 schoolsacross10provinceswere Excellence Acceptable Standard Target 100% (15%) 50% 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT (85%) 0 2006-07 STUETS ACIEI ECEET AACCEPTAE SCORES 2007-08 2008-09 Grade6Language Arts(English),Calgary 2009-10 2010-11 Excellent 2012-13 to developstrongliteracyskills.Parents encouragement andsupporttheyrequire • Supportyourlocalpubliclibraryand • Provideagoodexampletochildrenby • Read toyourchildrenfromaveryearly TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED performance. performance and15%achievingexcellent 85% ofstudentsachievingacceptable schools. Theprovincialtargetsare students inCalgary’s publicandseparate Tests inLanguage Artsforgrade6 Alberta Learning’s ProvincialAchievement This indicatorisbasedontheresultsof DEFINITIONS with lowlevelsofliteracy. often dropoutofhighschoolorgraduate lower gradelevels,childreninthissituation support atschool.After strugglingthrough that theirchildrenarereceivingsufficient information, confidence, orskillstoensure with literacychallengesmayalsolackthe Acceptable community. help buildacultureofreadinginyour reading widelyyourself. age. Encouragethemtoreadandwrite. 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 EDUCATION 31

2017 2016 2015 Visits to a library location 2014 branch (calgarylibrary.ca/your-library/ volunteer/). or neighbourhood (littlefreelibrary.org) find a Little Free Library near you (tiny.cc/yyclittlefreelibraries). 0 • Volunteer at your local public library • Volunteer • Build a Little Free Library for your economic woes of the last decade, Calgary economic woes of the last decade, has maintained one of the highest levels of migration to Canadian cities. The CPL has developed a comprehensive suite of options for newcomers, expanding beyond ESL conversation classes and writing clubs to partnering with immigrant-serving agencies to offer settlement services in community libraries. In an effort to help protect, preserve, the and promote Indigenous culture, new Central Library has incorporated Indigenous artwork and installations throughout the building, including in the Civic Concourse, Wall, the Welcome and the Guidance Circle, the Elders’ Centre. Resource Indigenous Languages DEFINITIONS The data for this indicator come from CPL (in person uses include visits records. Total and online), borrowing, and courses/ programs. The CPL has not reported data for recent years. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE the world, making the city a magnet to newcomers settling in Canada. Despite the 4M 8M 2M 6M 2009 2008 2007 CAARY PUIC IRARY USE PUIC IRARY CAARY 2006 2005 Number of times used 2003 1999

1994 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 0 10M 30M 40M 20M Since 2015, Calgary has been ranked Since 2015, Calgary has been ranked among the top 5 most livable cities in literacy skills and digital resources to learning experience. enhance a child’s One of the most popular services is the Centres, of which there are Early Learning each individually currently 12 in the city, designed to provide a space for children to learn through activities that support early success Canada’s For example, literacy. in the new economy depends in part on individuals acquiring digital skills such as programs, coding, and two of the CPL’s offer Coding Buddies and Code Club, children the opportunity to learn the basics of coding in a fun environment. and public plaza. The library was designed and public plaza. The library was designed to meet the requirements for LEED all wood gold certification: for example, used is certified as being sourced from responsibly managed forests. sustainable, services and offerings respond The CPL’s to its diverse population and their needs. Calgary is a young city with a median age of 36.4 years and a growing number of families with young children. For these families, the CPL provides educational programming to promote age-relevant participants in its programs. Community organizations have used meeting rooms hours, and patrons for more than 1,600 wifi sessions have accessed 325,000 for research, job searches, and personal purposes. LINKAGES The new Central Library is both a library Central Library 2

annual circulation of more than 15 million items and has hosted more than 170,000 for the years since 2009. Since 2013, the CPL has maintained an CPL increased by 22%. From 1994 to 2009, CPL increased by 22%. From 1994 to 2009, total uses of the library grew from 13.8 to 35.5 million. No total use data are available number of visitors than all city festivals and sporting events combined. Between 2014 population although Calgary’s and 2017, grew by only 5%, the per capita use of the 450,000 books. 450,000 The CPL continues to have a higher Named one of the most stunning contemporary libraries in the world by the BBC, it holds a collection of more than TREND ft The new 240,000 people opened in 2018. Over 50,000 alone. visited during the first weekend development or for exploring employment development or for exploring employment opportunities. economic self-sufficiency and can facilitate economic self-sufficiency and can facilitate the acquisition of skills needed in the current technological global economy. Many people use libraries for career individuals in their quest for a sense of belonging. Library programs and resources can serve as the foundation of From a community-building perspective, From a community-building perspective, libraries serve as focal points for become ill-informed about the actions of their representatives and are unable to engage meaningfully in the democratic process. have become even more relevant in this era of misinformation. Without universal access to information, citizens may public library is to enhance opportunities public library is to enhance for participation of underserved Public libraries in civic life. IMPORTANCE and Libraries advance democracy role for the A key community development. approximately 6.8 million times compared 6.8 million times compared approximately million visits in 2014, a 34% increase to 5.1 over 3 years. THE FACTS THE FACTS the 21 branches In 2017 Calgarians visited Library (CPL) of the Calgary Public Library Usage Library Governance Indicators

REPRESENTATIVENESS OF ELECTORAL MUNICIPAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE EFFECTIVENESS OF PLANNING SYSTEM In the 2019 federal election, 27% of the Of 14 councillors In 2019, 79% of seats won by the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) in Alberta were “unearned” elected in Calgary Calgarians reported in comparison to the proportion of votes in November 2017, being satisfied or very received. The CPC received 69.2% of the vote and won 97.1% (33 of 34) of the seats. 13 were the highest satisfied with the City’s The NDP managed to win 1 seat; in campaign spenders in land-use planning. a proportional system, they would have won 4. The Liberals, with 13.7% of votes, their respective ward. would have won 5 seats rather than being shut out. The average amount spent by winners was $184,000, much more than the amounts spent on campaigns by provincial MLAs or federal MPs. While it is generally acknowledged that the vast majority of campaign funding came from the building FISCAL BALANCE and development industry, actual data VALUING CULTURAL DIVERSITY on municipal campaign finance were From 2015 to 2019, the balance between incomplete and difficult to gather and In 2018, of the 218 positions surveyed within the City of Calgary’s budget and validate, and often relied on the whim of a selection of Calgary’s most influential sustainability results differed across a each candidate. boards, councils, elected bodies, and media, variety of indicators. For physical activity, 34% were held by women, 12.4% by visible waste management, and library usage, minorities, and 1.4% by Aboriginal people. positive results are being achieved These groups make up 50%, 36%, and and stable funding appears to have 2.9%, respectively, of Calgary’s population. contributed to improved sustainability. For transportation, water management, planning effectiveness, and poverty, progress toward sustainability is not evident; these sectors are characterized by budgets that have either seen a decrease as a percentage of the overall budget or not been effective. GOVERNANCE 33 2019 2015 Unearned seats It is difficult to establish a mandate for change in a system that people consider unfair and unrepresentative. 2011 2008 representation works (www.fairvote. org/how_proportional_representation_ elections_work). measure – unearned seat average. This is measure – unearned seat average. a measure of how many seats a party was awarded through our first-past-the-post electoral system compared to the seats it would have held if seats were proportional to popular vote – that is, if our system were based on proportional representation. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE proportional more about how • Learn DEFINITIONS we have coined a new For this indicator, Votes for winning party Votes 2006 2004 UEARE SEATS AERAE UEARE SEATS 2000 Seats for winning party Federal elections (Alberta results) — winning party unearned seats average Federal elections (Alberta 1997 0 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 40% 80% 20% 60% 100% boutique policy-making: a party can cater to small segments of the population as a strategy for gaining an electoral majority. Sense of community can be strengthened when all citizens have confidence that concerns, and values all points of view, are represented in debates and in the decision-making process. The first-past-the-post system provides more opportunity for those with political or economic power to game the system. It provides them with a larger say in to increasing leading governance, and income, inequality of influence, This system encourages opportunity. seats in a proportional system, the Alberta would have won 9 seats, and theParty Liberals would have held on to their 1 seat. LINKAGES For our societies to move toward significant change will sustainability, be required. In a democratic system, an agenda for change has to gain It is difficult to support of the majority. establish a mandate for change in a system that people consider unfair and unrepresentative. Nationwide, in the 2019 Federal election,Nationwide, in a proportional system, there would have been 45 less seats for the Liberals, 5 less for the Conservatives, 30 more for the NDP (more than double their current total), and 22 for the Greens (instead of just 3). In the 2019 provincial election, 24% of the United total of 63 seats were Conservative Party’s unearned. won 3 moreThe NDP would have

over all elections since 1993. elections saw 1 party gain a majority of votes cast. As a result, we have seen a dismal average voter turnout rate of 52.8% of between 24% and 45% in that time. of between 24% and 45% in that time. Every election since 1967 has resulted in a majority government, but only 8 of 15 spread between percentage of seats won and percentage of popular vote has been about 30% and as high as 40%. This translates into unearned seat averages In Alberta’s provincial elections, since the In Alberta’s the average Social Credit victory in 1967, it was a record 36%, and in all elections between 2004 and 2015, the percentage of unearned seats was at least 30%. voters casting a vote for them. In the past 8 elections, at least 25% of the CPC seats were unearned. In 2006 6 elections. So in fact the CPC has been awarded 90% to 100% of the seats on the basis of between 35% and 45% of eligible support from only 65% to 70% of voters. Examining this discrepancy with an eye to Only 52% voter turnout is also instructive. to 62% of Albertans voted in the previous TREND In Alberta, the CPC routinely wins 90% to 100% of the seats in federal elections, with represent us will in fact mirror the popular will expressed at the voting booth. transparent institutions of governance. One transparent institutions of governance. of the pillars of our system of governance is the electoral process. In a representative we expect that the people who democracy, IMPORTANCE One of the hallmarks of a sustainable and community is well-functioning, fair, would have won 5 seats rather than being would have won 5 seats shut out. the vote and won 97.1% (33 of 34) of the (33 of 34) of the the vote and won 97.1% to win 1 seat; in a seats. The NDP managed they would have proportional system, of votes, 13.7% won 4. The Liberals, with Canada (CPC) in Alberta were “unearned” Canada (CPC) in Alberta proportion of votes in comparison to the of 69.2% received. The CPC received FACTS 27% of the In the 2019 federal election, of Party seats won by the Conservative Representativeness of Electoral System of Electoral Representativeness 34 GOVERNANCE Many ofthesechanges mirrored rules governing third-partyadvertising. events. TheupdatedLAEAalso setsout anonymous donationsfromfundraising eliminating aloopholethatallowed period totheyearofelection, and all candidates,restrictingthedonation personal donationlimitsto$4,000 across from corporationsandunions,reducing changes includeforbiddingdonations Authorities ElectionAct(LAEA).Notable significant changestoAlberta’s Local 2018, theprovincialgovernmentpassed quarter ofthe2017spending.InDecember candidates in2007was$45,250, justone- The averagespendingforwinning TREND or mayortoactwithoutundueinfluence. faith thatCalgarianshaveintheircouncillor fund itselectoralsuccessweakens the Council worksspecificallyforgroupsthat the interestofcitizens.Aperceptionthat that CityCouncilconsidersandactsin Calgary’s towork,residentsmustbelieve For arepresentativedemocracylike campaign effectively. even morereliantupondonationsto of apartysystemmakes thecandidate funding tosupportallofthis.Theabsence platform, advertising,organization,andthe requires thedevelopmentofacampaign candidate runsindependently, which contested bypoliticalparties.Each Alberta’s municipalelectionsarenot Unlike provincialorfederalelections, IMPORTANCE each candidate. validate, andoftenreliedonthewhimof were incompleteanddifficulttogather actual dataonmunicipalcampaignfinance the buildinganddevelopmentindustry, majority ofcampaignfundingcamefrom is generallyacknowledgedthatthevast provincial MLAsorfederalMPs.Whileit the amountsspentoncampaignsby winners was$184,000, muchmorethan ward. Theaverageamountspentby campaign spendersintheirrespective November 2017, 13werethehighest Of 14councillorselectedinCalgary Funding formunicipalelectionsmatters. THE FACTS Municipal CampaignFinance

monitoring ofthird-party advertising. become especially challenginginthe left largelytomunicipalities.This could more efforttofollow, butcomplianceis rules aredeeperandbroader, requiring the LAEAisnotdescribed.The updated The enforcementofcompliance with database ofalldonorsandtheirdonations. a public,searchable, comprehensive provincial elections,theprovincemaintains limits oneachcandidate. Incontrast,for burden ofcomplianceintermsdonor contributions. Thisalsoputssomeofthe is noeasywaytotrackdonorsandtheir for localelections,whichmeansthere database ofalldonorsandtheirdonations The updatedLAEAdoesnotmandatea his mainrivalraised$916,000. 2017 MayorNenshiraised$650,000 and spending hasapproached$1million.In 4 civicelectioncycles,mayoral-candidate improve theirchancestowin.Overthepast continue tofundraiseandspendinorder spending, whichencouragescandidatesto There arestillnolimitsoncampaign amounts beforecitizensvote. disclose thenamesoftheirdonorsand There isnorequirementthatcandidates continues tobewellaftertheelectiondate. deadline forreportingactualdonations legislation didnotcover. Significantly, the there wereareasthattheupdated While manyofthesechangesarewelcome, passed in2015. legislation governingprovincialelections 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT $200,000 0 AERAE CAPAI SPEIPERIICOUCIOR $45,250 2007 Trusted, open,fairelectionsarecritical LINKAGES • ContactyourMLAandthepremier, asking TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED candidates –aredrivenbytheLAEA. – downtotheactualdisclosureformsfor contains. Thepoliciesandrequirements run electionsbasedontheguidelinesit governments, like theCityofCalgary, the provincethroughLAEA.Local Campaign financerulesaresetby DEFINITIONS shapes ourtrustinelectedofficials. informs decisionsonwhotosupportand has fundedcandidatesandbyhowmuch citizenry. Apublicunderstandingofwho elected representativesandanengaged component ofbuildingtrustbetween city. Campaignfinancerulesareacritical the highestorderofgovernanceforour to ourfunctioningdemocracyandare to setcampaignspendinglimits. to candidatesinmunicipalelectionsand disclosure ofdonorsandtheirdonations them toamendtheLAEAensurepublic $184,000 2017 GOVERNANCE 35 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 A government that plans effectively to inspire the is also more likely trust of citizens, which can improve government effectiveness in the long run by encouraging dialogue, collaboration, and consensus around projects. key 2014 2013 Federation of Calgary Communities (calgarycommunities.com/our-events). marginalized or vulnerable, effective marginalized or vulnerable, planning can contribute to sense of got It says to citizens “We’ve community. your back.” DEFINITIONS from the Data for this indicator were taken annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey, City’s administered via telephone since 2005. in the 2019 survey were Respondents equally divided between male and female. Only 20% of respondents were from the Forty-nine percent NE quadrant of the city. held university degrees, and 23% lived in households making more than $150,000. percent had lived 40 or Twenty-five The survey asked more years in Calgary. respondents to specify whether they were somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with how the City was doing with respect to 35 different City services and programs. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE • Check out the events offered by the the better. At a time when levels of stress At the better. are high and many people are feeling 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Survey respondents answering satisfied or very satisfied Survey respondents answering SATISFACTION WITH CITY LAND USE PLANNING WITH SATISFACTION 2007 2006 2005 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 40% 80% 20% 60% 100% to equity, since people living in inequitable to equity, change to trust that societies are less likely will be fair and will change their lives for operating city and the efficiencies that go with thoughtful coordination. A government that is effective in planning is also more which to inspire the trust of citizens, likely can improve government effectiveness in the long run by encouraging dialogue, collaboration, and consensus around key projects. to This indicator is also linked If people representative governance. do not feel represented by elected to governments, they are more likely It relates oppose or be weary of change. decreases in level of trust, level of satisfaction with administration and council, and perception of transparency and opportunities for citizen input. LINKAGES keeping key to Effective planning is up with the demands of a growing and evolving city and is a critical part of any economic development plan, since it helps labour pool by attract talent to Calgary’s maintaining a high standard of quality a more smoothly It can produce of life. at least 90% of respondents but having a satisfaction ranking of less than 85%. planning fell within the primary Land-use along with weakness zone in 2019, transportation planning, tax assessment, affordable housing, and growth management. the 2019 report also found Of note,

It identifies “primary weakness” areas It identifies “primary weakness” as those services deemed important by The 2019 survey reports on citizens’ The 2019 survey reports on citizens’ ranking of the importance of a service as well as their satisfaction with that service. and on-street bikeways (down 7%, at only (down 7%, and on-street bikeways 60% satisfaction). garbage collection (90%). Satisfaction was significantly lower in 2019 than the year before for property tax assessment (down 13%), downtown revitalization (down 9%), most satisfied in 2019 included the fire department (98%), drinking water quality (97%), parks (93%), and residential high of 71% in 2011. Services with which Calgarians were when the satisfaction level was steady at about 84%. The level of satisfaction was significantly lower from 2006 to 2011, when it ranged from a low of 54% in 2009 to a Satisfaction Survey showed a 5% decrease Satisfaction Survey showed a 5% decrease in level of satisfaction with land-use planning compared to 2014 to 2018, effective and seen as effective. TREND 2019 Quality of Life and Citizen The City’s perceptions of land-use planning, while sometimes problematic, do offer important planning must be both insights. Land-use burden that our lifestyles have on the planet. Objective assessments of land-use Citizen planning are complex and rare. It can help us improve the quality of life through the promotion of sustainable mobility and more active daily lives, while at the same time decreasing the Hall. It can provide safe and accessible green space and interaction with nature, which is known to improve well-being. available to people, as well as their ability available to people, to be – work, to get to where they need or City doctor, recreation, grocery store, Land-use planning is a vital component planning is Land-use experience of their city and of people’s land-use planning neighbourhood. Good of opportunities can improve the diversity land-use planning. IMPORTANCE THE FACTS being 79% of Calgarians reported In 2019, with the City’s satisfied or very satisfied Effectiveness of Planning of Effectiveness 36 GOVERNANCE increase intheCity budget. per year, slightlybelow theaverageannual budget hasincreasedanaverage of4% highest ithasbeensince2012. The police Calgary’s violent crimeseverityindexisthe persons havebeenincreasingsince 2016. Both propertycrimesand against average annualincreaseintheCitybudget. averaged 3%peryear, slightlybelowthe and Cityspendingonthelibrarysystem Library usageishighandincreasing, average annualincreaseintheCitybudget. increased 4%peryear, slightlybelowthe5% and Recreation budgethas,onaverage, physically active, whiletheCity’s Parks Two-thirds ofAlbertansreportbeing average annualincreaseinCityfunding. recycling, aneffortreflectedinthe10% effort bytheCitytodivertwaste by 4%since2015.Thisreflectsamajor The amountofwastetolandfillsdropped TREND necessary financialresourcesareavailable. and promisesareinsufficientunlessthe for asustainablefiscalfuture.” Plans and dothingsdifferently. We mustplan abandon short-termpoliticalthinking economist Trevor Tombe writes,“We must In equal tothechallengesfacingsociety. essential thatgovernmentfinancesbe ecological well-beingintothefuture, itis To achievesustainabilityandsocial IMPORTANCE not beeneffective. as apercentageoftheoverallbudgetor budgets thathaveeitherseenadecrease evident; thesesectorsarecharacterizedby progress towardsustainabilityisnot planning effectiveness,andpoverty, For transportation,watermanagement, contributed toimprovedsustainability. and stablefundingappearstohave positive resultsarebeingachieved waste management,andlibraryusage, variety ofindicators.Forphysicalactivity, sustainability resultsdifferedacrossa the CityofCalgary’s budgetand From 2015to2019, thebalancebetween THE FACTS Fiscal Balance Alberta’s Long-Term FiscalFuture , Sustainability is vitally linked to how Sustainability isvitally linked tohow LINKAGES road infrastructure. Municipal DevelopmentPlantarget for the Cityisnolongerontrackto reachits dwarfs theCity’s transitbudgetandmeans completion oftheStoney Trail ringroad edge totransit.However, thecostofpartial between transitandroads,withaslight continues tobesplitapproximately 50/50 The City’s transportationspending the period2019to2022. will costtheCityanextra$73millionover the MunicipalDevelopmentPlanandthat residential communitiesthatarecontraryto bottom line:in2019, theCityapproved new Planning decisionshavehurttheCity’s the Citybudget. well belowtheaverageannualincreasein has increased,onaverage, 1%peryear, for communityandsocialdevelopment bank usecontinuestogrow. Cityfunding highest amongthelargestcities.Food Calgary’s unemploymentrateisthe most unequalmajorcityinthecountry. For after-taxincome, Calgaryisthe 25% widerthanitwasinthe1970s. Canada-wide, theincomegapremains wage tostayabovethepovertyline. must work55hoursperweekatminimum A singleparentwith2childreninCalgary the Citybudget. pace withtheaverageannualincreasein City fundingforwaterserviceshasnotkept development beingtheprimaryconcerns. legal constraints,climatechange, andland water consumptionisnotsustainable, with reduced percapitawateruse, Calgary’s land useandstormwaterrunoff. Despite impacted byhumanuse, particularly Water qualitycontinuestobenegatively other largeCanadiancities. housing, wellbelowthe6%averagefor of Calgary’s housingstockisnon-market the City’s socialhousingbudget,only3.6% Despite an8%averageannualincreasein $60,000 areinneedofaffordablehousing. on housing,and19%withincomebelow spend morethan30%oftheirincome Twenty-two percentofCalgaryhouseholds 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT are fiscallyunsustainable. and, asaconsequence, theCityofCalgary Trevor Tombe arguesthatourprovince the SchoolofPublicPolicy, economist In a2019FiscalPolicy Trends reportfrom and usewillresultinaclimatecatastrophe. commodity whosecontinuedexploitation completely dependentonrevenuesfroma Our cityandprovincearealmost and subsidiesprovidedtomunicipalities. equalization programandthevariousgrants through initiativessuchasthefederal and federal–howtheysharerevenues all levelsofgovernment–local,provincial, assessment ofthefiscalbalanceacross revenues. Itisdependentonanintegrated governments raiseanddeploytheir • Supportorganizationsthatadvocate TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED based ontheMunicipalPriceIndex. from 2005to2018comparedinflation report andCityofCalgaryexpenditures data fromahostofotherindicatorsinthis the moneyspentonanissue. Itincorporates between progresstowardsustainabilityand Fiscal balanceisaqualitativecomparison DEFINITIONS health andeducation. the planet,andmaintainvitalserviceslike of resourceextractionandpollutionon personal consumption,reducetheburden have toseriouslyconsiderhowwelower anywhere ontheplanet,Calgarians ecological footprintgreaterthanalmost private versuspublicspending.Withan Fiscal balancemustalsoconsider without ordelivermoreefficiently. determining whatserviceswecando must beraised)whileatthesametime more tothecommongood(i.e., taxes even basicservices,wemustcontribute according toalmosteverymetric.To keep We arethelowest-taxed provinceandcity (calgarycommongood.org). Calgary AlliancefortheCommon Good and Climate Hub(calgaryclimatehub.ca) compassionate city, suchasCalgary movement towardajustand GOVERNANCE 37 1 1 3 2 0 2018 0 0 0 0 0 2010 1 2 0 0 0 % ABORIGINAL 2001 4 21 12 10 10 2018 enhance the voices and inclusion of all Calgarians, such as Action Dignity (formerly Calgary Ethno-Cultural Council: Centre and the Women’s actiondignity.ca) of Calgary (womenscentrecalgary.ca). included the corporate boards of directors included the corporate boards of directors of 5 of the top private sector employers with head offices in Calgary and the boards of directors of 5 of the largest non-profit sector agencies. Elected officials in the survey included the 2010 Calgary Public and Separate School Board members, provincial city councillors and mayor, MLAs, and federal MPs. The media survey included the supper-hour news anchors for each local television station, radio morning show anchors for the top 5 rated radio stations, and membership on the editorial 2 leading dailies. boards of Calgary’s Demographic information was derived from the 2016 Canadian Census. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE • Support local non-profits that work to traditional Aboriginal forms of justice.traditional Aboriginal has demonstrated in Sweden Research in cities carriesthat even snow clearance of these reasons,a gender bias. For all overrepresentedwomen find themselves Aboriginals are far in the ranks of the poor, be incarcerated, and visible to more likely to face intentionalminorities are more likely a job search. or unintentional bias in DEFINITIONS herein were The survey data reported gathered by Sustainable Calgary. Equity Act defines Employment Canada’s visible minorities as “people other than Aboriginals who are non-Caucasian in race and Aboriginals as “persons or non-white,” The survey who are Indians, Inuit, or Métis.” 8 9 0 12 16 2010 7 3 6 0 14 % VISIBLE MINORITY 2001 34 23 36 39 39 2018 31 19 34 36 28 2010 % WOMEN 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 10 33 34 46 40 2001 Sweden (47%), and Costa Rica (46%).Sweden The bias in certain health research conducted only on male subjects has long been recognized. The criminal justice system is only beginning to recognize were utility companies, where women made up 27% of directors. The worst performers were in oil and gas, where women made up only 9% of directors. up 29% of Canadian make Women parliamentarians. According to the Inter- as database, Parline Union’s Parliamentary we rank 57th among nations of March 2020, of the world in terms of gender diversity. 45% of up over In contrast, women make parliamentarians in 12 countries listed by the IPU, including Rwanda (61%), Cuba (53%), been a small improvement, with 2.6% on with 2.6% been a small improvement, non-profit boards, none in government on positions, 1% in media, and 2.1% corporate boards. LINKAGES Stock fare no better at the Toronto Women Of those companies who self Exchange. reported in 2018, women held only 16.4% of board seats, 24% of boards were all male, only 4.4% of companies had a female board and only 52% of those reporting had chair, a policy to increase female recruitment. Across industry sectors, the best performers government sector, at 21%, is much at 21%, is much sector, government sectors but is still better than the other below proportional. 15 percentage points in media is 10% of Representation and 2001 to proportional, and, compared there were no visible minorities when 2010, representation hason corporate boards, increased to a mere 10%. when there were no Compared to 2010, there has sample, Aboriginals in the entire 78 48 64 28 218 2018 REPRESENTATION IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN CALGARY, 2001-18 POSITIONS IN CALGARY, IN LEADERSHIP REPRESENTATION 91 61 37 54 245 2010 49 30 82 59 220 2001 NUMBER OF POSITIONS

Totals Government Media Corporate YEAR Non-profit very marginal improvement, but at 10%, it is barely a quarter of a proportional in the Representation percentage. Representation for visible minorities Representation in the non-profit sector has shown a modestly; in media, it has returned to 2001 levels after a 25% drop in 2010; and on corporate boards, it has increased from 10% but still stands at a dismal 23%. Since 2001, representation for women in the non-profit sector has dropped significantly; it has increased in the government sector, Furthermore, there is no sector in which Furthermore, any of these categories has proportional representation. in 2018, in none of the categories (women, in 2018, in none of the categories (women, visible minorities, and Aboriginal people) do we find proportional representation. TREND With respect to the entire sample surveyed acceptance of other differences (e.g., sexual acceptance of other differences (e.g., orientation or physical or mental ability) is an important mark of a mature society and is inherent to a sustainable society. of our collective experience and creativity, of our collective experience and creativity, as well as the quality of political debate. respect and Beyond ethnic diversity, The richness of community life is closelyThe richness of community of its constituents.related to the diversity As diversity increases, so does the breadth These groups make up 50%, 36%, andThese groups make population. of Calgary’s 2.9%, respectively, IMPORTANCE boards, councils, elected bodies, and media,boards, councils, elected 12.4% by visible34% were held by women, Aboriginal people.minorities, and 1.4% by THE FACTS surveyed withinIn 2018, of the 218 positions most influential a selection of Calgary’s Valuing Cultural Diversity Cultural Valuing Natural Environment Indicators

AIR QUALITY FOOD GROWN LOCALLY PESTICIDE USE

Alberta’s goal has been In 2017 there were 100 Just over 8,000 to maintain good air public and 100 private kilograms of pesticides quality at least 97% of community gardens in were sold in Calgary in the time in urban areas Calgary. 2015. and avoid poor air In 2018 there were 11 provincially Herbicides accounted for 62% of the total quality events. approved farmers’ markets in addition and insecticides for 35%. In 2016, the City to 10 markets in other small towns in the of Calgary applied pesticides in city parks Based on air quality measurements from Calgary region. at an average intensity of 0.23 kg of active 1997 to 2017 at various locations in Calgary, ingredient per hectare. the 97% goal has not been achieved in 45% of those 20 years. Those 2 decades saw over 300 instances of poor air quality. These poor air quality events came in clusters, primarily during the years 2003, 2010, 2015, and 2017.

SURFACE WATER QUALITY CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT WATER CONSUMPTION

Between 2013 and 2015, average fecal In 2018, 73 different species, a total In 2018 Calgary’s average water coliform counts below Calgary at of 61,717 birds, were counted by 138 consumption was 362 litres per capita Carseland Weir decreased significantly volunteers on December 16 between 8:00 per day (lpcd), showing an 11% decline from 167 to 33. In that same period, a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Volunteers contributed from 2012 and continuing a downward E. coli counts decreased from 164 to 23. a total of 238 hours to the count. trend since the 1970s. Per capita residential Between 1996 and 2010 in the Bow River use was 228 lpcd. downstream of Calgary at Highway 22X, the fecal coliform standard was exceeded in 61 of 129 samples and the E. coli standard was exceeded 6 times out of 123 samples. Historical comparison is difficult as monitoring site locations have changed over time. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 39 2017 2016 2014 2012 2010 better air quality, such as Calgary Climate better air quality, Hub (calgaryclimatehub.ca). take public transit to work and other public transit to work and other take destinations. atmosphere. In these conditions, we atmosphere. breathe (and often see) the condensed effects of everything we put into the air! DEFINITIONS The provincial government uses the Air to measure general air Quality Index (AQI) currently The AQI quality in the province. combines measures of fine particulate and ground-level nitrogen dioxide, matter, the index included Previously, ozone. but and sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide those were removed because they were not considered useful in predicting impacts matter and ozone on health. Particulate are known to impede lung and immune is system function. Nitrogen dioxide formed primarily as a result of combustion from vehicles, residential and commercial heating, and industry and is known to aggravate respiratory problems. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE or rollerblade, scooter, cycle, • Walk, • Support organizations that advocate for pollutants but merely trap them near the ground, limiting their dilution in the 2008 Calgary East Calgary Central 2006 AIR UAITY IE AIR UAITY Percent of hours rated good Percent 2004 2002 Calgary Southeast Calgary Northwest 2000 1998 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 94% 98% 92% 96% 90% 100% Calgarians sometimes blame poor air quality on atmospheric inversions. These do not create the inversions, however, 25% to 50% over the past 20 years, the average kilometres driven has increased light trucks, significantly – 51% for SUVs, and minivans. our cars at home and using Leaving alternative modes of transport reduces air and contributes to improved health, an enhanced sense of community, In turn, as air quality and crime deterrence. improves, more people may be persuaded of the benefits of walking and cycling to work and other destinations. inner city (Inglewood). LINKAGES of the 2010 State The City of Calgary’s Environment report notes that the personal vehicle is the largest source of air pollution Environment Canada estimates in the city. carbon that per passenger kilometre, emissions for and nitrogen oxide dioxide passenger vehicles are 3 times those of buses and 5 to 10 times those of the While the per kilometre emissions LRT. of various pollutants have improved from parameter. From 1997 through 2017, there From 1997 through 2017, parameter. were 189 days in which the safe level for These particulate matter was exceeded. were concentrated in 4 years exceedances and are increasing in frequency. is declining, nitrogen dioxide City-wide, although not at the monitoring stations located in southeast Calgary and in the

Particulate matter in the 2.5-micron range matter in the Particulate is perhaps the most troubling air quality cities, but the long-term trend is toward worsening air quality quality associated with years of heavy air quality Calgary’s forest fire activity, remains good, in comparison to most big known for poor air quality. TREND of long periods of poor With the exception due to damage to materials such as paint, and through reduced metal, and rubber, property values in areas that become health cost of particulate matter and ozone air is $36 billion (in 2015 dollars). Poor quality also results in economic losses fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter, and ozone in the air. The mid-range estimate of the annual asthma and cancer). The Canadian government estimates that each year, Canadians die prematurely due to 14,600 aesthetics, and the environment. Almost all aesthetics, and the environment. Almost all parts of the body can be affected, both in respiratory problems) the short term (e.g., increased and in the long term (e.g., IMPORTANCE The air we breathe is a common good. Air quality can affect our health, economy, air quality in the NE – both areas that are car-dependent. higher levels of pollution in the inner city (where walking, cycling, and transit options are good), along with poorer winter air quality in the south and poorer summer More detailed, exploratory analysis has compared air quality with school locations and transportation options. It identified clusters, primarily during the years 2003, clusters, primarily during and 2017. 2015, 2010, the 97% goal has not been achieved in the 97% goal has not Those 2 decades 45% of those 20 years. of poor air quality. saw over 300 instances events came in These poor air quality areas and avoid poor air quality events. areas and avoid poor from Based on air quality measurements locations in Calgary, 1997 to 2017 at various THE FACTS goal has been to maintain good Alberta’s of the time in urban air quality at least 97% Air Quality 40 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT gardens. to Calgariansatnocostforuse in their them intocompost,whichisavailable residential foodscrapsandturning properties. TheCityisnowcollecting homeowners producingfoodon their permaculture projectsstewarded by Calgary continuestoseearisein Distributors). network forlocalfood(YYC Growersand and atleast1larger-scaledistribution Supported Agriculture(CSA) operations farming. We nowhave7Community The Calgaryareahasseenariseinurban there aremorethan200. Calgary HorticulturalSocietyreportsthat there were10, and20yearslaterthe community gardeninCalgary. By2000 on therise. In1974therewasonlyone The popularityofgrowinglocalfoodis has agoodclimateforproducingfood. Despite Calgary’s longwinters,thecity TREND and isgenerallylessprocessed. fresher, tendstobefreeofpreservatives, produced intheindustrialfoodsupply. Itis Local foodisoftenhealthierthanfoods space forgrowingfood. centred aroundeducationandaccessto to createlocalfoodproductionprograms being foodinsecure. Thereisanopportunity 11% oftotalhouseholdsinAlbertareport address foodsecurityissues.Approximately its ownfoodalsohasthepotentialtohelp The capacityofacommunitytoproduce gas emissionsglobally. approximately 21%to37%ofgreenhouse our industrialfoodsystemscontributed critically importanttodaybecausein2019, for producingfoodsustainably. Thisis Growing foodlocallyisacommonsynonym IMPORTANCE in othersmalltownstheCalgaryregion. farmers’ markets inadditionto10markets 2018 therewere11provinciallyapproved private communitygardensinCalgary. In In 2017therewere100publicand THE FACTS Food GrownLocally

diversification in Calgary. agriculture isalso contributingtoeconomic and mentalhealthoutcomes.Urban that cancontributetopositivephysical Gardening isaregular, low-impact activity and beingmoresociallyengaged. of increasingtheirattachmentto community participate incommunitygardens asaway and amelioratementalillness.Manypeople Gardening hasbeenshowntoreducestress for minimumwageordependentonAISH. lower thecostoffoodforpeopleworking transportation. Communitygardenscanhelp expenditure afterhousingand Food isthethird-highesthousehold production systems. unconventional andefficientfood can offerconsiderablehelpincreating design approaches,suchaspermaculture, than theindustrializedfoodsupply. Certain because itistypicallymoreexpensive widespread acceptanceoflocalfood economic barrierexistsagainstmore growing foodlocallyandsustainably. An cheap energyisapressingreasonfor The factthatourfoodsystemrelieson LINKAGES Food System AssessmentandActionPlan. food systembylaunchingtheCalgaryEats! step towardachievingamoresustainable In 2012theCityofCalgarytookamajor grown locally. children withexposuretohowfoodis schoolyard naturalizationefforts,providing have addedediblelandscapesaspartof More elementaryschoolsinCalgary 200 100 150 50 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 0 1974 2000 UER OFCOUITYARES ICAARY 2004 2008 2009 2010 The CityofCalgarydefinesacommunity DEFINITIONS • Considerbecomingamember ofthe • Signupasafruitpicker withCalgary • Askyourgrocertocarrylocalandorganic • Visityourlocalfarmers’ markets. • Produceyourownfoodinbackyard TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED including fortheproductionoffood. creation ofregenerativehumanhabitat, approach thatisconcernedwiththe sold inAlberta.Permaculture isadesign are grown,produced,processed,and uses theterm about the100milediet.TheCityofCalgary others, itistheregion;andstillotherstalk For someitisfoodgrowninthecity;for There isnosingledefinitionoflocalfood. of gardeners. shared bytheownerswithaspecificgroup gardens areprivatelyowned as thoseincityparks.Privatecommunity are gardenslocatedonpubliclandssuch Calgarians.” Publiccommunitygardens of providingagardenexperienceto by agroupofpeopleforthepurpose garden as“apieceoflandgardened 2011 Guild (permaculturecalgary.org). (calhort.org) ortheCalgaryPermaculture Calgary HorticulturalSociety Harvest (calgaryharvest.org). produce. or patio, orinacommunitygarden. 2013 2014 local todescribefoodsthat 2015 2016

2017 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 41 2016 2015

2014 your councillor and mayor to create more. the like reduced pesticide use in the city, Canadian Association of Physicians for the environment (cape.ca). control, and rodenticides. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE parks and ask pesticide-free • Visit Calgary’s • Support organizations that advocate for feed products. However, the overall feed products. However, sustainability trend is negative because of pesticide impact on the Bow and because pesticide use is not declining. LINKAGES into runoff brings pesticides Stormwater and wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes, contaminating water supplies and harming aquatic ecosystems. Pesticides bioaccumulate in animals, posing a risk to both animal and human health. Half of Albertans agree that pesticides pose a threat to the environment, while two-thirds agree that pesticides pose a threat to children and pets. Public opinion on pesticide use is important, and so is the precaution need to exercise We science. given that the scientific assessment of the effects of pesticides on human health is inadequate. DEFINITIONS include herbicides, fungicides, Pesticides mosquito and insecticides and exclude control products, pruning paint, moss There has been some positive movement, There has been some positive movement, such as the provincial ban on weed and 2013 2012 (kg active ingredient/hectare) (kg 2011 CITY OF CAARY ITESITY OF PESTICIE USE PESTICIE ITESITY OF CITY OF CAARY 2010 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.25 0.00 0.20 education and outreach to reduce pesticide A to $358,000. use would be $197,000 million. to $1.124 bylaw would cost $544,000 the precautionary principle to regulate shows that bylaws pesticides. Research reduce pesticide usage between 51% and 90%, whereas education and outreach result in only a 10% to 24% reduction. In 2016 the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and Prevent Cancer Now co-published survey results showing that 62% of Albertans support a law to “phase out the use and sale of all but the safest pesticides for lawns and The City disagree. while one-third gardens,” of Calgary estimates that the annual cost of with a statistically significant increase in all 3 products. In some cases, guidelines for irrigation and aquatic life had been the provincial That same year, exceeded. pesticide index showed that water quality in upstream of Calgary the Bow was excellent but fair downstream of the city. bylaws regulating municipal As of 2007, pesticide use on private property covered 43% of Canadians. The ability to pass pesticide bylaws was upheld by the Supreme Court, including using remains around 30%. Three-quarters of those households use herbicides. In 2005 Alberta Environment found that pesticide use had increased pesticide concentrations in the Bow River High concentrations downstream of Calgary. of pesticides associated with urban use and diazinon) were detected, MCPP, (2,4-D,

country, the percentage of households country, with a lawn or garden that use pesticides among Calgarians for those concerns. Canada, across the According to Statistics thoroughness of the federal regulatory system. Public consultation by the City of Calgary in 2017/18 showed broad support non-chemical treatments, the scientific basis for City decision-making regarding pesticide and research into the monitoring of use, health effects, and the adequacy and to the City. The concerns include lack of to the City. disclosure about which pesticides the City uses and how they are applied, lack of Prevent Cancer Now raised serious Integrated Pest concerns about the City’s Management program in a 2017 submission how residential and commercial pesticide use intensity has changed. The Coalition for a Healthy Calgary and reaching a high of 23 kg of active reaching a high of 23 kg ingredient per hectare in 2011, 2013, and 2016. No data were available to assess In 2017 the City’s Pesticide Toxicity Report Report Toxicity Pesticide In 2017 the City’s showed that herbicide use intensity between 2010 and 2016 fluctuated, government beginning in 2010. Collection government beginning in 2010. of pesticide sales data was discontinued after 2015. since 2003, primarily because products that combine fertilizer and herbicide (weed and feed) were banned by the Alberta respiratory problems. TREND sales in Calgary have declined Pesticide have serious consequences for human health, including increased risk of cancer, birth defects, neurological effects, and A sustainable community strives to A sustainable community substances. eliminate the use of toxic Evidence indicates that pesticide use can an average intensity of 0.23 kg of active kg 0.23 an average intensity of ingredient per hectare. IMPORTANCE accounted for 62% of the total and accounted for 62% of In 2016, the City of insecticides for 35%. in city parks at Calgary applied pesticides THE FACTS THE FACTS kilograms of pesticides Just over 8,000 in 2015. Herbicides were sold in Calgary Pesticide Use Pesticide 42 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT from fecalcoliforms. SE remainsineffect duetocontamination the riverfromSandyBeachto9 Avenue advisory againstswimmingorwading in consumption. WithinCalgary, a4-year affect theabilitytotreatwaterfor human phosphorus, andsuspendedsolids that data showedincreasedfecalcoliforms, pollution sourcesnearthecity. TheCity’s was deteriorating,primarilydueto in theElbowRiverupstreamofCalgary 2010–2012 reportedthatwaterquality The City’s CalgaryWatershed Report increased inrecentyears. pollution downstreamofCalgaryhas improved wastewatertreatment,bacterial a threattofish.Aswell,despitegainsfrom results inlowlevelsofoxygen, whichare unnaturally highaquaticplantgrowth weeds. MonitoringoftheBowshowsthat terms ofnutrientsthatstimulateaquatic Bow downstreamofCalgaryas“fair”in In 2016AlbertaEnvironmentratedthe years outof20. is poorer, butitwasstillratedasgoodin17 20. DownstreamofCalgary, waterquality the GovernmentofAlberta16yearsout upstream ofCalgarywasratedexcellent by Overall waterqualityintheBowRiver TREND both humanandaquatichealth. quality waterhelpsmaintainandimprove disposal ofwastewater. Ensuringhigh- recreation, andtourism,aswellforthe aquifers) fordrinkingwater, industrialuse, Rivers andotherwaterbodies(including Calgarians dependontheBowandElbow IMPORTANCE locations havechangedovertime. comparison isdifficultasmonitoringsite 6 timesoutof123samples.Historical and the standard wasexceeded in61of129samples Calgary atHighway22X,thefecalcoliform and 2010intheBowRiverdownstreamof decreased from164to23.Between1996 33. Inthatsameperiod, Weir decreasedsignificantlyfrom167to coliform countsbelowCalgaryatCarseland Between 2013and2015,averagefecal THE FACTS Surface Water Quality E. coli standardwasexceeded E. coli counts counts Natural processes contributetogoodwater LINKAGES bacterial contaminationinthelower Elbow. implications forCalgary’s watersupply, and quality intheupperElbowandits Calgary, thedownward trendinwater impacts ontheBowdownstream of conditions intheNoseCreekwatershed, is currentlynotsustainablebecauseof remains tobeseen.Calgary’s waterquality this stabilitywillleadtosustainability the healthofsomeriparianlands.Whether wastewater treatmentplantsandimproving the riskoffishkillsinBowbelow provided somestability, suchasreducing Better managementofcontaminantshas wastewater treatmentplants. by dischargesfromtheCityofCalgary’s quality intheBowisheavilyinfluenced Downstream oftheCalfRobe Bridge, water solids beingthebiggestconcern. by stormwaterrunoff, withsuspended Calgary, waterqualityisprimarilyaffected 2005 State oftheBowreport,inside According totheBowRiverBasinCouncil’s within Calgary. larger sourcesofcontaminationintheBow coliforms fromNoseCreekareamongthe watershed’s streams.Nutrientsandfecal the onlyacceptableuseofwaterfrom levels ofphosphorus.Livestockwateringis algae andaquaticweedgrowthduetohigh bacterial contaminationandexcessive was marginaltopoor. Key concernsare quality intheNoseCreekwatershed The 2010–2012reportstatedthatwater 200 100 150 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 50 0 ATER UAITY ORIER FROCARSEA EIR 2013 Average countper100mlofwater 2014 • GetinvolvedintheBowRiverBasin • Encourageeducation,monitoring, • Supportpoliciesandlegislationthataim TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED contamination offreshwaterbodies. as themostreliableindicatorofbacterial and riparianecosystemsisimportantto quality, somaintaininghealthyaquatic human health.HealthCanadauses indicate contaminationthatmaythreaten of mammals,includingpeople. Both are bacteriafoundintheintestinaltracts Escherichia coli(E.coli) DEFINITIONS activities detrimentaltowaterquality. can encouragegoodbehaviorandcontrol education, andenforcement,allofwhich quality. Key elementsarepolicies,laws, impact, positiveandnegative, onwater live ourlives,though,willhavethegreatest ensuring goodqualitywater. Thewaywe Council (brbc.ab.ca). contamination. and enforcementrelatedtowater to eliminatewaterpollution. contamination from fecal coliforms. Avenue SEremains ineffectdueto the riverfromSandyBeachto9 against swimmingorwadingin Within Calgary, a4-yearadvisory andfecalcoliforms 2015 Fecal coliforms E. coli E. coli

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 43 pesticides in Calgary. (naturecalgary.com). that attract birds. • Support a ban on the cosmetic use of • Get involved in the Calgary bird counts DEFINITIONS Bird Count is part The Calgary Christmas North Society’s of the National Audubon Count. The 2019 American Christmas Bird of the count in count was the 120th year 66th in Calgary. North America and the all-day census of The survey involves an December birds for each day between covers a 12.5 km 14 and January 5 and The count Bridge. radius from the Louise by the Calgary Field is coordinated locally Society (also called Nature Naturalists’ Calgary) and is conducted by volunteer observers. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE • Naturalize your yard with prairie species

2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE sands development include the Evening and Boreal Grosbeak, Bohemian Waxwing, Chickadee. increase in wetland birds and forest about birds. It sounds an alarm, however, decreased populations of shorebirds, grassland birds, and aerial insectivores – down 40%, 57%, and 59%, respectively. there are Institute, According to Pembina 22 million to 170 million breeding birds in the 35 million acres that could eventually be developed for tar sands, with the potential to lose 6 to 160 million birds over the next 30 to 50 years. Species found in Calgary that are either on the top 20 birds-in-decline list or endangered by tar Nature observation is a relaxing pastime that can have significant health benefits and can encourage interaction with other community members. Birds also help to rhythms: connect city dwellers with nature’s the nothing marks spring in Calgary like Robin. appearance of the first Birds 2019, of Canada’s The State published by the North American Bird reports on 50 Conservation Initiative, years of data showing a strong recovery of waterfowl and birds of prey and a healthy the number of volunteer observers can the number of volunteer a heavily influence the final tally of birds in in -29°C weather For example, given year. birds were counted. in 2008, only 30,300 LINKAGES Climate change is disrupting the migratory patterns and home ranges of many birds. Habitat loss, with accompanying biodiversity loss, in almost all major ecosystems on Earth is shrinking the available habitat of birds in all regions of the world. of Juncos (392), Redheads (19), and Redheads of Juncos (392), (3) but Woodpeckers American Three-Toed of Gray Partridges unusually low counts (3), and White-Winged Crossbills (14), Red species on the low Crossbills (147). Three species scale were end of the threatened Great Blue Heron, counted this year – the Duck. Canvasback, and Ruddy annual differences in On a note of caution, and availability, weather conditions, food , which sounded an alarm Christmas Bird Count Bird Christmas In 2018 there were unusually high counts There is some evidence that the increase is, in part, due to the proliferation of fruit- bearing trees in Calgary. averaged 4,000 to 5,000 before 2003 to 5,000 averaged 4,000 and more recently have regularly topped with 16,835 sightings in 2018. 15,000, In the 2005 count, 65 were recorded; in it was 102, and in 2018, it was 314. 2009, Since 2003, there has been a dramatic which increase in Bohemian Waxwings, 17,268 birds in 2018 was a significant 17,268 populations rebound. Northern Flicker have been steadily rising around Calgary. From a historic high of 27,450 in 2004, From a historic high of 27,450 Canada Goose numbers steadily declined of in 2009 – though the count to 7,012 and in 2018, it was 61,717. The record and in 2018, it was 61,717. species count of 78 was recorded in 2003. The 20-year average species count is 66. individuals counted has fluctuated over 53,950 total individuals were In 2009, time. counted. In 2012, that number was 66,599 TREND The diversity of species counted in the 2018 Christmas Bird Count increased 14% from the 2017 count of 64 species. Total about the loss of bird species due to the use of lethal pesticides. the modern environmental movement was the modern environmental movement was Carson’s the 1962 publication of Rachel Silent Spring Birding is one of North Americans’ favourite Americans’ North of one is Birding pastimes, so presence or absence of birds is something many people are attuned to. the seminal event in the birth of Perhaps us where our environmental protection is lacking. contribution to science. Birds are intricately Birds are intricately contribution to science. ecosystems, and long-term to our linked changes in their populations can show IMPORTANCE represents over The Christmas Bird Count in and 100 years of citizen engagement volunteers on December 16 between 8:00 volunteers on December contributed Volunteers a.m. and 6:00 p.m. the count. a total of 238 hours to THE FACTS species, a total In 2018, 73 different 138 birds, were counted by of 61,717 44 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT have arighttodemand thattheCityrestrict the irrigationdistricts downstream,which licences arelowerprioritythan licences of to additionalcommunities.The City’s water Chestermere withwaterortosupply water continue supplyingAirdrie, Strathmore, and has challengedthelegalrightof theCityto new waterlicencesinthewatershed and The provincialgovernmentdoesnotissue and dailydemandsometimebefore2046. be toosmalltomeetpeakdemandin2036 The City’s waterlicencesareforecastedto irrigation intheBowRiverwatershed. increased wateruseforlawnandcrop demand periodsoftheyear, leadingto temperatures duringthewarm,high- flood flows.Climatechangewillincrease are resultinginhigher, morefrequent Climate changeandlanddevelopment as aconsequenceofclimatechange. future. Annualriverwatersupplyisfalling Calgary isfacinganuncertainwater Despite reducedpercapitawateruse, withdrawals evenaspopulationincreases. and ofstabilizingordecreasetotalwater consumption to350litresperdayby2033, objective ofreducingpercapitawater putting Calgaryoncoursetoachieveits water consumptionhassteadilydeclined, Since the1970s,Calgary’s percapita TREND other levelsofgovernment. with othermunicipalities,industries,and developed incooperationandcoordination which meansthatsolutionsmustbe upstream anddownstreamofthecity, Calgary sharesitswaterwithmanyusers to reducetotaldiversion. consumption, butitisevenmoreimportant is importanttoreducepercapitawater a cleanandreliablesupplyofwater. It Like alllivingthings,humansdependon IMPORTANCE was 228lpcd. since the1970s.Per capitaresidentialuse 2012 andcontinuingadownwardtrend day (lpcd),showingan11%declinefrom consumption was362litrespercapita In 2018Calgary’s averagepercapitawater THE FACTS Water Consumption infrastructure. Aswaterdemandincreases, put pressureonexistingmunicipal High levelsofwaterconsumption LINKAGES change andlanddevelopment. constraints andimpactsfromclimate sustainable, primarilybecauseoflegal The City’s futurewateruseisnot profitability. peak electricalproduction,andagricultural of smallercommunities,thereliability significant consequencesfortheviability infancy andiscomplicatedbypotentially water users.Themarket isinits and buylicensedallocationsfromother the Citywillneedtoenterwatermarket Unless conservationeffortsaresuccessful, periods. or ceasedivertingwaterduringlow-flow used toprocess anddistributewater. to powerthepumpsandotherequipment large amountsofelectricityare required water, energyisalsoconserved,since 1,800 ayeartolessthan400. Insaving to reducewatermainbreaksfrom about Since the1980s,Cityhasmanaged home by2014. that watermetresbeinstalledinevery Council passedabylawin2002requiring citizens toconservewater, CalgaryCity and waterlossinthesystem.To encourage We shouldstrivetoreducebothwateruse stations, reservoirs,andpipesarerequired. costly upgradestotreatmentplants,pump 600L 500L 200L 800L 400L 300L 700L 100L 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 ATER COSUPTIOICAARY Daily averagepercapitawaterconsumption 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 water consumptionaffectsaquaticlife, Excessive withdrawalsofwaterforhuman • Supportorganizationsthatadvocate • Read abouttheworkofBowRiver • Learn aboutwaterconservation • Xeriscapeyourlawnsothatitthriveson • Retrofit yourhomewithwater • Don’t buybottledwater. TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED water use. because ofdifferentwayscalculating difficult tocompareusagewithothercities public use, leakage, andfirefighting.Itis population. Consumptionalsoincludes consumption, dividedbythetotal commercial, institutional,andresidential per persondayincludesindustrial, The averageamountofwaterused DEFINITIONS systems. since itdisruptsanddamagesnatural (albertawilderness.ca). Alberta WildernessAssociation for waterconservation,like the Basin Council(brbc.ab.ca). (permaculturecalgary.org). through permaculturedesign rainfall alone. conservation devices. 2004 2006 2008 less than400. breaks fromabout1,800ayearto managed toreducewatermain Since the1980s,cityhas 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Resource Use Indicators

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT TRANSPORTATION SPENDING DOMESTIC WASTE

In 2014 Calgary’s In 2018 the City of In 2018 a total of 437,000 tonnes of waste went to Calgary landfills, or 345 kg/ ecological footprint Calgary spent just capita. This is down from 368 kg/capita in was estimated at under $1 billion (net) 2017 and is only 20% of the 1,688 kg/capita registered in 1982. WRS’s goal is for 70% approximately 12.4 on transportation, the diversion of waste from landfills by 2025. ha/person. largest item in the City’s In 2017 the City’s Waste and Recycling Services (WRS) collected 268,000 tonnes budget. of garbage from multi-family housing and The global average ecological footprint businesses, or approximately 320 kg/capita was 2.75 ha/capita and the fair share Fifty-seven percent of the money was for – a 4% reduction since 2015. (based on what the earth can provide) public transit, in line with the long-term was only 1.72 ha/capita. Based on average. the 2019 population of Calgary, our footprint represents a total land area of approximately 117,000 km² – about 142 times the actual size of our city.

POPULATION DENSITY TRANSIT USAGE FOR WORK TRIPS ENERGY USE

In 2017 Calgary had City-wide in 2016, In 2017 Calgarians’ per capita final energy demand was the equivalent of 78.2 barrels, a population density transit accounted for up from 71.3 barrels in 2016. From a low of of 2,473 persons/km2 14% of all work trips, a 60.5 barrels of oil equivalent in 1995, our per capita consumption has increased based on a from 2011 (17%) almost 30%. In 2017 Alberta emitted 62.4 tonnes of CO e per capita – over 3 times of 1,246,337 and a built- and 2006 (16%). 2 the Canadian average of 19.4 tonnes per 2 up area of 504 km . capita. In 2017 transit accounted for 41% of all trips into downtown Calgary during the This was an increase of 5.3% from the 2012 morning commute, a substantial decrease density of 2,348 persons/km2. from 2013/14, when more than half of downtown trips were made by transit. 46 RESOURCE USE Canada’s. and haveafarsmallerfootprint than very competitiveintheglobaleconomy respectively. Countries like Germanyare relatively smallfootprints–2.7 and1.8, high qualityofhumandevelopment with such asCostaRicaandCubamaintain a far belowtheglobalfairshare. Countries most ofCentralandSouthernAfrica, use such asSierraLeone (1.0 ha/person),and times theglobalfairshare. Countries world averagein2016andjustover5 Calgary’s footprintwasover3timesthe footprint wasabout6.2ha/personin2010. to approximately 5.1 ha/person.Canada’s estimates ofCalgary’s footprinthadrisen it hadrisento2hectares.By1960, footprint was1ha/person,andby1950, It isestimatedthatin1900Calgary’s TREND people ontheplanet. to theunderconsumptionofmanyother overconsumption isnecessarilylinked (e.g., cleanwater).Onafiniteplanet,our systems thathumanscannotlivewithout resilience anddegradesthelifesupport reduces anecosystem’s healthand life. Everyspecieslossandhabitat all Calgarians.Thenaturalworldsustains lifestyle thatenhancesqualityoflifefor need tomovetowardalessconsumptive the earthcanprovide. Itunderlinesthe to examineourlifestyleinrelationwhat From anethicalstandpoint,itchallengesus strategies foreliminatingoradjustingthem. to identifywastefulpracticesandeffective sustainable fromaglobalperspectiveand us todeterminewhetherourlifestyleis The conceptofecologicalfootprinthelps IMPORTANCE times theactualsizeofourcity. approximately 117,000 km footprint representsatotallandareaof on the2019populationofCalgary, our provide) wasonly1.72 ha/capita.Based fair share(basedonwhattheearthcan footprint was2.75 ha/capitaandthe person. Theglobalaverageecological was estimatedatapproximately 12.4ha/ In 2014Calgary’s ecologicalfootprint THE FACTS Ecological Footprint 2 – about142 Report thataboveabasicamount, there We knowfromthe2019World Happiness means toreduceecologicalfootprint. density andtransitusageareimportant consumption andincreasingpopulation planet. Reducing energyuseandwater resources throughoutourcity, country, and reflect ontheunequalaccessanduseof cost ofourlifestylesandenablesusto in thatitdemonstratestheresource Ecological footprintisaneconomicindicator LINKAGES 29, theearliestdateinhistory. 1970. In2019overshootdayarrived onJuly experienced anecologicalovershootin of degradedecosystems.Theearthfirst that date, consumptionisattheexpense particular yearhasbeenconsumed.Beyond available bio-capacityoftheplanetfora dayisthedatewhenallof large Canadiancity. Montreal hadthelowestfootprintofany products thanotherCanadians.In2009 automobiles, andspendmoreonconsumer in largerhomes,ownmoreandbigger in otherprovinces.Calgariansalsolive compared tohydro-derivedelectricity coal- andnaturalgas-derivedelectricity because ofAlberta’s dependenceon Energy landdemandisparticularlyhigh consumption) ofallCanadianmunicipalities. to sequesterGHGsproducedinenergy land demand(theareaofrequired that Calgaryhadthehighestenergy A 2009CityofCalgarystudyshowed Why dowehavesuchabigfootprint? 15 12 0 6 9 3 1980 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 1985 1990 1995 2000 Hectares perperson(Calgary) 2005 2006 2007 ECOOICA FOOTPRIT 2008 2009 2010 2011 happiness. Reported happinesshasnot is nocorrelationbetweenincomeand • Calculateyourecologicalfootprint • Eatlessmeat,considergivingupyourcar, TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED comes fromStatistics Canada. to thatofCanada.Average incomedata average totalincomeforeconomicfamily Canadian footprintbytheratioofCalgary’s Calgary’s footprintbymultiplyingthe ecological footprint.We thencalculated indicator, westartedwiththeCanadian is closelyrelatedtoincome, soforthis Footprint Network.Ecologicalfootprint footprint ofnationsproducedbyGlobal on theannualestimatesofecological Calgary’s ecologicalfootprintisbased those activities. of wastesandpollutantsthatresultfrom goods, and(2)todealwiththeproduction food, forests,energy, andmanufactured relative toannualconsumptionlevelsof (1) tosustainagivenhumanpopulation amount ofproductivelandneeded An ecologicalfootprintestimatesthe DEFINITIONS what itistoday. material consumptionwasonlyafractionof increased sincethe1950s,whenour (footprintnetwork.org). and explorehowtoreduceit and buylocallywheneverpossible. 2012 2013 2014

12.4 Calgary

Hectaresperperson 8.05 Canada comparison 2014

2.8 World ave. World

1.7 Fair share Fair

2.5 Costa Rica Costa

USA 8.4 RESOURCE USE 47 2017 2016 2014 2012 2010 2008 2006 (bikecalgary.org) by donating, (bikecalgary.org) volunteering, or taking the Commuter Cycling Skills Course. LINKAGES to its is linked The form a city takes the transportation system. In Calgary, system has been designed primarily to accommodate cars, often overlooking the needs of transit users, pedestrians, and cyclists. Car-oriented design reduces the potential for personal interaction and imposes higher costs on disadvantaged, low-income households and on others most vulnerable members. among society’s DEFINITIONS Data on City of Calgary transportation expenditures do not include construction of roads within new subdivisions, provincial Stoney government expenditures (e.g., and spending by the Calgary Airport Trail), Authority. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE Calgary • Get involved with Bike selling one already owned. 2004 2002

2000 1998 1996 e. As well,e. 2 1994

MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION SPENDING CALGARY SPENDING TRANSPORTATION MUNICIPAL Roads Transit 1992 1990 0 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 400M 800M 200M 600M 1,000M 1,200M has shown that a Calgary family can dramatically expand its housing options and home affordability by not owning a car or by vehicle use accounting for 90% of those costs. Fourteen percent of total household expenditures is for transportation. A study of Calgary neighbourhoods found that average personal vehicle travel per household ranged from 16,200 resulting in km annually, km to 45,600 expenditures for gas alone of between per year (in 2007 dollars) and $6,169 $2,060 and greenhouse gas emissions of between tonnes of CO and 15.1 5.0 reported in research by Sustainable Calgary, Transportation, Living: Housing + Affordable Based on replacement value, roads inBased on replacement value, 2017 accounted for 84% of Calgary’s transportation infrastructure and transit accounted for the remaining 16%. Although most transit and road infrastructure is in good condition, the 10-year funding gap for billion, transit system is over $1.5 Calgary’s while the funding gap for the road system is over $1 billion. The cost of transportation for households has been steadily rising, with private- continues, the City will need an additional $8.8 billion (in 2009 dollars) over the next 60 years to pay for roads beyond what a more compact city needs. This is one symptom of the cost-revenue gap for roads: estimates have shown that road users Canada-wide reimburse at best, a quarter of the governments for, costs of the road network. Transportation Spending Transportation The lack of a cost-recovery policy for roads is a serious concern. It is estimated that if to the City. Road users are not required to Road to the City. contribute to the costs of the road system. that 100% of enforcement revenue and the greater of 65% or $11 million of net revenue be paid Authority Calgary Parking operating costs. This policy will deliver similar net operating costs whether urban sprawl continues or a more compact city parking policy requires develops. The City’s The City has a target that transit fares and other revenue should cover 55% of transit’s developers and grants from the provincial and federal governments that include funds for transportation. revenue. Both sources of revenue haverevenue. dropped from their peaks in 2015 – a 10% decrease for transit and 9% for parking. The City also receives levies paid by In 2018 the City received $177 million in revenue from transit fares and other transit income and $58 million from parking trends continue, operational budgets maytrends continue, be reduced and new construction will place greater demands on operational budgets. to have not kept paceto municipalities have not kept with growth and have shifted away from operations to construction projects. If these toward operations, which accounts for two-thirds of transit spending. This is of particular concern since provincial grants quality of life. TREND transit budget is skewed The City’s to maintaining prosperity. Unless wisely to maintaining prosperity. used, spending on transportation will be a drag on improvements in productivity and in productivity to maintain the prosperity in productivity to maintain 4 decades. An enjoyed during the past effective transportation system is essential IMPORTANCE the Calgary region will In the future, levels of growth require unprecedented item in the City’s budget. Fifty-seven item in the City’s was for public transit, percent of the money average. in line with the long-term THE FACTS spent just under In 2018 the City of Calgary the largest $1 billion (net) on transportation, 48 RESOURCE USE tonnes oforganic materialswerediverted. program implementation,atotal of37,748 diverted fromlandfills. After theGreenCart 29,004 tonnesoforganicmaterials in thesecondhalfof2017),WRS recorded Prior totheGreenCartprogram (rolledout successfully divertedfromlandfillsites. 3,058 tonnesofhazardouswaste were garden chemicals,andaerosols.In2017, car batteries,antifreeze, usedoilandfilter, off hazardouswastesuchassurpluspaint, materials fromlandfills. Residents candrop divert chemicalsandotherhazardous Fire Department,allowsCalgariansto Program, inpartnershipwiththeCalgary The HouseholdHazardousWaste Drop-off recyclables werecollectedin2017. recycling depotswhere56,000 tonnesof also operates36networksofcommunity homes uptoandincludingfourplexes. WRS collection toover324,000 singlefamily operate city-wideandprovidesweekly The BlueCartprogramcontinuesto TREND and tohumans. and plasticcausehealthriskstoanimals and persistentwastesuchasheavymetals times morepotentthanCO generates methane, agreenhousegas25 productive uses,anditsdecomposition takes valuablelandawayfromothermore ecosystems. Waste tolandfillsiscostly, it reused orreabsorbedsafelybackinto should onlyusematerialsthatcanbe becomes obsolete. Oureconomicsystem In asustainablecommunity, waste IMPORTANCE diversion ofwastefromlandfillsby2025. registered in1982.WRS’s goalisfor70% and isonly20%ofthe1,688 kg/capita This isdownfrom368kg/capita in2017 went toCalgarylandfills,or345 kg/capita. In 2018atotalof437,000 tonnesofwaste – a4%reductionsince2015. businesses, orapproximately 320kg/capita of garbagefrommulti-familyhousingand Services (WRS)collected268,000 tonnes In 2017theCity’s Waste andRecycling THE FACTS Domestic Waste 2 . Hazardous A recentstudyreportedinthe LINKAGES produced, only9%hasbeenrecycled. the 8.3billiontonnesofvirginplasticever find theirwayintotheoceansannually. Of year. Ten to20milliontonnesofplastic from 2millionto330tonnesper global productionofplasticshasincreased kg ofplasticeveryyear. Sincethe1950s, general. TheaverageCanadianuses100 bags andevenonsingle-useplasticsin implemented bansonplasticstrawsand and waste. Somejurisdictionshave on thecriticalsituationofplasticuse to landfillshelpedfocuspeople’s attention sending 2,000 tonnesofplasticcontainers News in2019thattheCityofCalgarywas and reducingthe useofmaterials.In2019 general. Thismeans reducingconsumption goal shouldstillbereductionof wastein amount ofwastefromlandfills, the key WRS programsdivertaconsiderable and nogarbageissenttolandfills. While materials areresourcesthatcan bereused waste, whichmeansthatalldiscarded of theCityCalgaryistoachievezero The aspirationalwastemanagementgoal average carisparked 92%ofthetime. a homeareusedonlyoncemonth? The Did youknowthat80%ofitemsstoredin different brands. than 90%ofbottled-watersamplesfrom11 revealed plasticscontaminationinmore plastic microfibres.Another2019study tested in7countrieswerefoundtocontain found that83%ofsamplestapwater 1,200,000 1,000,000 600,000 200,000 800,000 400,000 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 0 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 DOMESTIC WASTE CALGARY Guardian 1992 1994 Tonnes ofwaste, annually 1996 1998 2000 materials consumedtofeedourhigh- the worldsetarecordforgrossvolumeof • Learn moreaboutachievingzero • AdvocateforExtendedProducer TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED Data. and Recycling Services2017Historical Calgary. DatawerecollectedfromWaste 3 landfills–Spyhill,Shepard,andEast waste tolandfillismeasuredatCalgary’s of Calgaryresidentialcollection.Total business wasteisreportedfromCity diversion programs.Residential and through theCityofCalgary’s waste has beendivertedfromthelandfillsites This indicatormeasureshowmuchwaste DEFINITIONS business models. recycling, remanufacturing,andinnovative waste prevention,improveddesign,reuse, at theirhighestutilityandvaluethrough materials circulatingwithintheeconomy A circulareconomykeeps productsand energy consumereconomy. Council ofAlberta(recycle.ab.ca). (plasticfreeyyc.com), andtheRecycling (zerowastecanada.ca), Plastic-Free YYC organizations like ZeroWaste Canada waste andreducingplasticusefrom levels. both thelocalandprovincialgovernment Responsibility policyandlegislationat 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 RESOURCE USE 49 2017 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Climate Hub (calgaryclimatehub.ca). that you support density and an end to sprawl. less urban sprawl, such as Sustainable the Calgary (sustainablecalgary.org), and Calgary Arusha Centre (arusha.org), 2007 High-density living results in important economic benefits. A study commissioned for the City of Calgary estimated that over the next 30 years, business-as-usual low-density sprawling development will $10 billion cost Calgarians approximately more than would a more compact form of development within our existing footprint. DEFINITIONS Our density calculation is based on all of the land currently in use for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes and roadways. It does not include parks, the airport, or land within the legal boundary but not yet developed. Densities are typically measured in persons per square kilometre. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE your city councillor and mayor know • Let • Support organizations that advocate for and enjoying active leisure. 2006 excluding 3 major parks excluding 2

2005 2001 Persons/km POPULATION DENSITY CALGARY POPULATION . 2 1981 1971 1961 1951 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 1,000 1,500 3,000 3,500 2,000 2,500 of serviced land available: enough to 2 can also mean shorter commuting distances, less time spent in traffic, and more time spent with family and friends Fewer vehicles means fewer accidents. In 2016 pedestrian collisions and fatalities cost Calgary an estimated $120 million. Fewer cars and more transit, walking, and biking lowers air pollution and can lead to lower levels of obesity and heart and study showed that One respiratory disease. cycling 20 minutes per day can reduce the risk of heart disease by 50%. A compact city can put amenities within reach of those who cannot drive or afford youth and elderly, such as the a vehicle, Higher density children, and the poor. house almost 160,000 people (15 years of house almost 160,000 growth at current growth rates). This was 2018 Municipal done despite the City’s Development Plan/Calgary Transportation Plan progress report showing that the City was not reaching its targets for growth in established communities. LINKAGES As cities become more compact and active transportation infrastructure is built, a greater proportion of the population will or use public transit. choose to walk, cycle, densities, for example, are in the range of densities, for example, persons/km to 5,000 4,000 City of Calgary policy requires 5 years In 2019 city of serviceable land supply. council approved another 14 suburban communities despite the fact that Calgary Snapshots 2015 noted that the city had 17 km

). While some 2 based on a population based on a population 2

City must make a greater effort to increase a greater effort to City must make European city urban densities. Typical hectare for public transit–oriented urban lifestyles (3,953 persons/km the progress has been made in Calgary, the world, researchers Peter Newman and the world, researchers Peter Kenworthy recommend densities Jeffrey of 30 to 50 units or above per residential new suburban development to be in the range of 18 to 22 units/ha. In their study of 32 major cities around Britannia 7.4, Dalhousie 13.7, Sunnyside Dalhousie 13.7, Britannia 7.4, The and Beltline 65.9. Bankview 51.6, 42.7, 2008 Municipal Development Plan requires units/ha in 1995 to 21.1 units/ha in 2014. units/ha in 1995 to 21.1 Established, fully built-out community densities in units/ha vary across Calgary: or Vancouver. the average approved new In Calgary, density has increased from 13.5 Calgary was almost 30% more compact than Edmonton, on par with Winnipeg and Montreal, much less dense than Toronto, would be almost 400,000 more people would be almost 400,000 living in the city. Data from the 2006 census show that density of our city was almost 25% less current than it was in 1951. If Calgary’s there density matched that of 1951 density, dominance of the automobile. Per capita Per dominance of the automobile. vehicle registrations in Calgary rose from in 2015. In 2017 the in 1961 to 0.817 0.276 TREND population Until the early 2000s, Calgary’s density had been in steady decline since at least 1951, coinciding with the rise to more viable, which in turn leads to more viable, reductions in car usage and air pollution. preserve surrounding natural environments preserve surrounding transit usage and and farmland. They make other alternative modes of transportation IMPORTANCE important marker Compact cities are an they help of sustainability because of 1,246,337 and a built-up area of 504 of 1,246,337 and a built-up of 5.3% from the km². This was an increase persons/km². 2012 density of 2,348 THE FACTS population density of In 2017 Calgary had a 2,473 persons/km Population Density Population 50 RESOURCE USE in morecongested anddangerous high personalautomobile usage, resulting The primaryeffectoflowtransit usageis LINKAGES within 5to15kilometresoftheir workplace. lower-income individuals,andthose living the mostfromtransitare15-to24-year-olds, of about20%in1964.Thosewhobenefit transit usagehasstillnotreachedthepeak Despite recentgainsinridership, city-wide commuting bytransit. Halifax, Edmonton,andQuebecCityfor ranks onlyslightlyaheadofWinnipeg, (20%), andOttawa-Gatineau(18%).Calgary Toronto (24%),Montreal(22%), Vancouver that Calgaryhasfallenfurtherbehind The declineinworktripsbytransitmeans TREND commuters. that percentagedropstoaquarterof cycle, ortake transit.At 10to14kilometres, within 5kilometresoftheirworkplacewalk, example, justunderhalfofthoseliving usage isbelowaverage. InCalgary, for in theouteredgeofcity, wheretransit work. Population growthhasconcentrated many peopledonotlivenearwherethey Exacerbating theproblemisfactthat pressure onthetransportationsystem. to Calgaryeachyear, whichputsincreased is minimized.Thousandsofpeoplemove transportation infrastructureandmovement the needforcostlyandinappropriate becomes. Sustainabilityisenhancedwhen automobile, thelesslivablecity city tosupportthemovementof The moreweuseourcarsorbuild using themostefficientmeanspossible. of peopleandgoodsisaccomplished In asustainablecommunity, themovement IMPORTANCE transit. half ofdowntowntripsweremadeby decrease from2013/14,whenmorethan during themorningcommute, asubstantial for 41%ofalltripsintodowntownCalgary and 2006(16%).In2017transitaccounted of allworktrips,adeclinefrom2011(17%) City-wide in2016,transitaccountedfor14% THE FACTS Transit Usage forWork Trips spend onprivate vehiclesinjust1year The amountofmoney thatCalgarians and walkingemitnoGHGs! that isabundantinsouthernAlberta. Biking cleanest sourcesofenergyand asource LRT runsonwindenergy–oneofthe In contrasttopersonalvehicles, Calgary’s than anyotherpersonalvehicleontheroad. Chevrolet suburbansproducemoreGHGs of acompactcar. TheFordF1504X4and rail. Apickuptruckemits5timestheGHGs for SUVs andlessthan 50 gramsforlight per personareover400gramsofCO Institute report,theGHGemissionsperkm of alllighttrucks.AccordingtoaPembina Canada’s populationandpurchased13.7% to 54%inCanada.Albertahas11.6% of 2016 to2018werelighttrucks,compared Alberta, 75%ofpurchasedvehiclesfrom actually beendecreasingovertime. In market shareandtheirfuelefficiencyhas SUVs arethelargestandfastestgrowing truck fleetintheworld.Lighttrucksand fuel-efficient, highestGHGemittinglight reported in2020thatCanadahastheleast The InternationalEnergyOrganization than theaverageCanadianhousehold. on privatetransportation,almost25%more In 2017Albertahouseholdsspent$14,120 Living inacar-dependentcityisexpensive. green spaceorhousingdevelopments. use valuablelandthatdisplacespotential of roadsandparkinglots,bothwhich and visualpollutionarealsoproducts of greenhousegases(GHGs).Noise roads, pollutedair, andhigheremission 20% 10% 15% 0% 5% 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 1964 1979 TRANSIT USAGE FORWORK TRIPS CALGARY 1985 1988 2 e 1996 fund theconstructionofover200km could fund2GreenLines.Italso • Checkouttheprogramsandinformation • Considerallthecostsinchoosingyour • Walk, cycle, rollerblade, orusetransit TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED transit (LRT). community shuttles,buses,andlightrail Canada census.Transit usageincludes The city-widedataarederivedfromthe was derivedfromCalgaryTransit surveys. Information forthedowntowncommute DEFINITIONS which nobodyhastoownaprivatevehicle. transit- andactivetransport-orientedcityin “dollars andsense” tomoverapidlya separated bike tracks.Itmakes alotof of astreetcarnetworkor12,000 kmof 2001 at Bike Calgary(bikecalgary.org). mode oftransportation. whenever possible. 2006 2011 2014 2016 RESOURCE USE 51 2016 , ozone, , ozone, 2 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2009 Climate Resilience Strategy. Advocate for Strategy. Climate Resilience its policies. Institute (pembina.org). Pembina Hub (calgaryclimatehub.ca). Reducing the release of the CO Reducing teachers to reduce class sizes, and provide teachers to reduce class sizes, and provide all Calgarians with a living wage. consumer for all energy uses. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE • Download and read the City of Calgary’s • Check out the energy research of • Become a member of the Calgary Climate and nitrogen dioxide produced by fossil produced by fossil and nitrogen dioxide fuels will bring relief to those who suffer with asthma and other cardio-pulmonary diseases and will allow us to divert billions of health care dollars to the neglected areas of prevention and primary care. About 27% of the energy consumption in our city can be attributed to automobile Achieving the land use targets in the use. will Municipal Development Plan City’s allow us to reduce transportation emissions by about 16% by 2050. DEFINITIONS This indicator includes electricity usage, petroleum product and natural gas usage, residential, industrial, and captures usage, and commercial energy consumption. The data are derived from the Statistics on Energy Supply Canada Annual Reports and Demand in Canada and the Energy Handbook 2012. The per capita Statistics figures are for Alberta. Final energy demand is all energy supplied to the final 2008 2007 2006 2005 Barrels of crude oil equivalent per capita Barrels of crude oil equivalent AERTA EERY COSUPTIO EERY AERTA 2003 2002 2001 1990 0 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 40 80 20 60 100 pollution and associated health care costs adding up to another $33 billion. Those dollars could help us build transit, hire LINKAGES In 2017 installed wind capacity represented total electricity almost 10% of Alberta’s In 2019 several solar generation capacity. projects in Alberta were underway and 5 set to deliver power at approximately As costs have cents per kilowatt hour. plummeted, installed solar capacity in Canada has grown by almost 200 times since 2005. According to the International Monetary Fund, Canada directly subsidizes fossil with air fuels at a rate of $1 billion annually, and increasing parking fees to encourage and increasing parking fees to encourage biking, and walking. transit use, Compared to other major cities, Calgarians own the most vehicles (1.47 per household) in Canada. More of us drive trucks, vans, than in any other major city in and SUVs drive more kilometres than Canada. We Edmontonians. other urban dwellers except than transit to work Fewer Calgarians take Montreal, people in Victoria, Vancouver, or . Toronto, 2018 reported that without further action, in 2018 reported that without further action, in greenhouse gas emissions 2050 our city’s 2005 will be 24% higher than the City's target and 300% higher than its 2050 target of 80% reduction in emissions. Some of the most effective measures to reduce greenhouse gases include retrofitting existing homes; building new homes to the highest efficiency standards; e emissions in Alberta 2 e per capita – over 3 timese per capita – over 3 2

e, and natural gas emissions have and natural gas emissions e, 2

The City of Calgary’s Low Carbon Economy Low The City of Calgary’s of CO increased by more than 40% to 49.5 megatonnes. of BC and 7 times those of Quebec. Since have activity sands oil from emissions 1990, megatonnes increased from 15.5 to 80.1 Since 1990, CO Since 1990, have grown 58%, a larger and faster In 2017 increase than in any other province. Alberta emissions were 4.4 times those has been a significant reduction in final demand for coal in the past decade. 2017, final demand in Alberta increased 2017, 115% – it more than doubled while Alberta’s population increased only 67%. There is attributable to the consumption of natural gas in oil sands operations. Refined petroleum products increased 21% in that same 12-year period. From 1990 to energy consumed. Alberta’s final energy energy consumed. Alberta’s demand for natural gas increased 89% Most of this increase from 2005 to 2017. years 2011 to 2014, when it ranged from 82.4 to 92.5 barrels equivalent per capita. But it is also important to talk about total Per capita final energy demand increased Per Final demand is at from 2016 to 2017. 9.7% the excluding the highest rate since 1990, amount of stuff we consume. TREND change emergency. We need to move We change emergency. We rapidly to cleaner sources of energy. also need to reduce our consumption of the energy through efficiency and reducing run with cheap and accessible fossil fuels, run with cheap and accessible fossil fuels, but they are getting more expensive and less accessible and are creating a climate IMPORTANCE For over 100 years, we have had a good almost 30%. In 2017 Alberta emitted 62.4almost 30%. In 2017 Alberta tonnes of CO tonnes per of 19.4 the Canadian average capita. up from 71.3 barrels in 2016. From a lowup from 71.3 barrels in of oil equivalent in 1995, barrels of 60.5 has increasedour per capita consumption THE FACTS per capita final energy In 2017 Calgarians’ of 78.2 barrels,demand was the equivalent Energy Use Energy Wellness Indicators

ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE & CHILD & YOUTH WELLNESS HEALTHY BIRTH-WEIGHT BABIES ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE

Approximately 3.2% of In 2017 approximately In the period of 2015 Alberta’s 2016/17 health 26% of Alberta youth to 2017, 92.3% of budget was allocated to aged 12 to 17 years newborns in Calgary were overweight or had a healthy birth preventive health care. obese. weight. This preventive budget covers the portfolios of population and public health, In 2015 approximately 21% of Calgary Calgary has the highest incidence of research and education, and cancer youth aged 12 to 17 years were overweight low birth weight in Alberta. Nunavut and research and investment. There were no or obese. That same year, the Canadian Alberta consistently have the highest rates data available on the proportion of the Medical Association declared obesity a of low-weight births (first and second, preventive health care budget allocated chronic disease. respectively) in Canada, but as of 2009, to the Calgary region since the creation of Canada had the highest rate of healthy Alberta Health Services in 2009. birth weights among the G7 countries.

SUPPORT FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE SELF-RATED HEALTH CHILDHOOD ASTHMA HOSPITALIZATION RATE The Assured Income for the Severely In 2017, 65.7% of Calgarians 12 years of In 2017 there were Handicapped (AISH) program provides age and older self-rated their health as financial and health benefits to eligible very good or excellent; 8.9% rated their 3,295 emergency visits adult Albertans with a permanent medical health as fair or poor – down from previous related to childhood condition that prevents them from earning years and among the lowest in the country. a living. The program provides support In 2017, 73.8% of Calgarians rated their asthma to all hospitals to more than 66,000 Albertans. In 2018 mental health as very good or excellent in Calgary. an AISH registrant received $1,649 per – the highest percentage since 2005. In month through the AISH program, or 92% the same year, 5% of Calgarians rated their This was up from the 3,091 visits in 2016 of the low-income cutoff (LICO). mental health as fair or poor – the highest but much lower than the 3,714 visits in 2014. since 2005. WELLNESS 53

2016 - 2017 2015 - 2016 2014 - 2015 2013 - 2014 2012 - 2013 2011 - 2012 2010 - 2011

2009 - 2010 diseases. integrate physical activity and health into city planning. or YWCA (ymcacalgary.org) the YMCA (ywcalgary.ca). ForkSmart (forksmart.com). strategy focused on prevention of chronic 2008 - 2009 • Contact your councillor and ask them to part in the programs offered by • Take about meat-free eating at • Learn and pathways, causing them to disproportionately experience poorer health outcomes. This inequity should be into consideration during planning taken and development of community areas in order to encourage active transportation. In the 2016 Chronic Disease Prevention Survey conducted by the Alberta Policy over 90% of Coalition for Chronic Disease, Calgarians supported implementing active transportation policies, enhancing green spaces, and encouraging physical activity in schools. DEFINITIONS Preventive health care includes all interventions that reduce the risk of including health diseases or injury, promotion, tobacco cessation initiatives, healthy living programs, cancer prevention research, and immunization. There were no data regarding alternativeavailable health care. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE your MLA in support of a health • Write communities with low incomes have less access to green spaces, sidewalks, 2007 - 2008 2006 - 2007 2005 - 2006 *Data not available for 2013-14 2004 - 2005 2003 - 2004 Percent of Alberta Health Services budget Percent 2002 - 2003 FUI OF PREETIE EAT CARE EAT FUI OF PREETIE 2001 - 2002 2000 - 2001 1999 - 2000 1998 - 1999 0 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 8% 6% 4% 2% 10% In the 2019 report Healthy Places, Sustainable Calgary showed that According to the 2019 Alberta Survey on 64% of Albertans get Physical Activity, enough physical activity to achieve health benefits. Among these activities, walking was found to be the most popular. Urban agriculture can encourage healthier diets by providing fresh greens and vegetables. It can also reduce energy consumption and the ingestion of harmful chemical preservatives. Though some animals are grown in urban areas, it is rare. and urban agriculture can support a Local move away from animal-based diets. all-time low of 0.94%. all-time low of 0.94%. LINKAGES Albertans spend considerable time at work in increasingly sedentary jobs. It is therefore important to integrate physical It is activity into the daily commute. also important to provide opportunities for physical activity in non-work hours, whether this means creating more walking areas, promoting sports programs, or plan. integrating green spaces in the city’s care budget covered the additional 2 and and Education portfolios of Research and Investment. Cancer Research health care budget has preventive Alberta’s seen various peaks and troughs. In 1999 the proportion of the provincial health budget allocated to preventive health care was 2.8%. In 2010/11, that proportion reached an

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission portfolios. In 2017 the preventive health budget. In the year 2000, the preventive budget. In the year 2000, health budget covered the Protection, Promotion and Prevention and the Alberta health care budget dedicated to prevention has remained constant (about 3%), despite a change in the portfolios under the health TREND preventive Despite an increase in Alberta’s health budget in the last 10 years, over the last two decades, the proportion of the number of Albertans who are obese and overweight increased in the same period. was a modest decrease in the number of Albertans suffering from diabetes and hypertension from 2011/12 to 2013/14, the and smoking cessation can eliminate 80% of all heart diseases, approximately 80% of diabetes, and 40% of cancers. Canada reported that while there Statistics Preventive health care programs that healthy eating, promote exercise, in Canada, with the majority of spending allocated to treating and managing chronic diseases, as reported by the AHS Chronic Disease Prevention Action Plan 2015–18. of hospital inpatient care and one-third of all visits to physicians. Alberta has the highest health care expenditure per capita General of Alberta’s report in September General of Alberta’s 2014, in Alberta, people suffering from chronic diseases account for two-thirds worldwide. These diseases include worldwide. and cardiac diseases, all diabetes, cancer, of which can be prevented by adopting a According to the Auditor healthy lifestyle. According to the World Health According to the World Organization, chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability Alberta Health Services in 2009. in 2009. Alberta Health Services IMPORTANCE research and investment. There were no research and investment. proportion of the data available on the budget allocated preventive health care since the creation of to the Calgary region health care. This preventive budget covers This preventive budget covers health care. and public the portfolios of population education, and cancer health, research and THE FACTS 2016/17 3.2% of Alberta’s Approximately to preventive health budget was allocated Health Care Health Access to Preventive & Alternative & Alternative to Preventive Access 54 WELLNESS child well-being. Canada ranked 17th out of29countriesin According toa2017UNICEFReport Card, Canadians maybeassociatedwith obesity. incidence ofcanceramongyounger suggests thatsubstantialincreases in Canadian MedicalAssociationJournal obese. Research reportedin2019the met thecriteriaforbeingoverweightor 2017, 30%ofyouthenteringadulthood Alberta HealthServicesreportedthatin compared to35%in2004and30%2017. and youthwereoverweightorobese, in last30years.In1978/79, 23%ofchildren (2-17 years)inCanadahavenearlytripled Obesity ratesamongchildrenandyouth from 19.4% to27.9%. over thesametimeperiod,raterose from 19.7% to26%ofyouth;inCanada, the rateofoverweightorobeseyouthwent to 21%.InAlberta,between2005and2017, overweight orobeseincreasedfrom15.2% youth aged12to17yearswhoareeither 2005 to2015thepercentageofCalgary Community HealthSurvey(CCHS),from collected. AccordingtotheCanadian reported ormeasured)andareinfrequently bracket andmethodofcapture(self- youth areinconsistentwithrespecttoage Data onoverweight/obesechildrenand TREND diabetes, andheartdisease. chronic diseases,includingasthma,type2 more likely tohavelife-longdebilitating Overweight andobeseyoutharefar performance isalsonegativelyaffected. and sociallymarginalized.Academic more likely tobediscriminatedagainst and reducedself-esteem,theyare tend tohaveanegativebodyimage healthy. Overweightandobeseyouth physically, emotionally, andspiritually In asustainablecommunity, youthare IMPORTANCE obesity achronicdisease. Canadian MedicalAssociationdeclared overweight orobese. Thatsameyear, the Calgary youthaged12to17yearswere or obese. In2015approximately 21%of youth aged12to17yearswereoverweight In 2017approximately 26%ofAlberta THE FACTS Child &Youth Wellness

substantially less likely tobeoverweightor servings offruit and vegetablesadayare and adolescentswhoeat5ormore computer. Italsofoundthatthose children TV, playingvideogames,andusing the or obeseriseswithtimespentwatching olds, thelikelihood ofbeingoverweight The CCHSfoundthatfor6-to17-year- as activetheyshouldbe. programs arenotsufficienttogetchildren that Canada’s currentinfrastructureand Health comparing37countriesshows of Calgary’s O’Brien InstituteforPublic guidelines. AreportbytheUniversity and 35%of5-to17-year-oldsmetthe youth. Only62%of3-to4-year-olds card onphysicalactivityforchildrenand In 2018ParticipACTION releaseditsreport associated withchildhoodobesity. has shownthatlowincomeissignificantly in food-insecurehouseholds.Research food insecurity, with17%ofchildrenliving In Alberta,1in10individualsexperiences vitamin A,folicacid,zinc,andB12). of severalessentialnutrients(e.g., protein, generally consumeinsufficientamounts of nutritionalinadequaciesbecausethey adolescents andadultsareatelevatedrisk Alberta HealthServices,food-insecure household foodinsecurity. Accordingto outcomes whentheyareexposedto face pooremotionalandphysicalhealth Children andyouthappearmorelikely to food playingthemostimportantrole. to ratesofoverweightandobesity, with Both dietandphysicalactivityarelinked LINKAGES 20% 25% 30% 10% 15% 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT

2005 SELF REPORTED BODY MASS INDEXFOR12 TO 17 YEARS OLDS 2007 Canada Alberta Calgary 2008 Surveyrespondentsrankingoverweightorobese 2009 2010 2011 obese thanthosewhoconsumeless. • CheckouttheRaising Healthier • Checkouttheservicesandprograms • Advocatetomake foodliteracyacore TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED calculated usingbodymassindex. 20). Overweightandobesityratesare Table 105-0508,andTable 13-10-0096- Community HealthSurvey(Table 105-0501, reported intheStatistics Canada,Canadian The coredataforthisindicatorare DEFINITIONS nurse visits. 13% morespecialistservices,and12% and has5.5%morefamilyphysicianvisits, spends 38%moredaysinhospitalcare to anactiveperson,inactiveperson for ActiveLivingestimatedthatcompared province. AstudybytheAlbertaCentre which addsuptobillionsofdollarsforthe of 2%to3%thehealthcarebudget, enormous. Somestudiessuggestacost The financialcostsofobesityare 2012 Generations programatVivo(vivo.ca). (thealexcfc.ca). at theAlexCommunityFoodCentre component ofK-12 education. 2013 households. of childrenlivinginfood-insecure experience foodinsecurity, with17% In Alberta,1in10individuals 2014 2015 2016 2017 WELLNESS 55

2015-2017 2013 2012 2010 2008 2006 exposure to racism, poverty, and income exposure to racism, poverty, Centre of inequality: the Women's Calgary (womenscentrecalgary.org), Basic Income Calgary the Alex (basicincomecalgary.ca), and Vibrant Health Centre (thealex.ca), Communities Calgary (vibrantcalgary.ca). ameliorate and eliminate womens’ ameliorate and eliminate womens’ 2004 determinant of a host of health indicators is the level of economic equality in a one of the most potent is Poverty country. factors contributing to low birth weights families may have in Canada. Low-income less knowledge about prenatal health and reduced access to nutritional foods, and to practice high health- they are more likely risk behaviours such as smoking during pregnancy. DEFINITIONS a defines The Calgary Health Region healthy birth weight as over 2,500 grams (5.5 pounds). This standard was set by the Health Organization and is used World internationally to monitor birth weights. birth weight occurs as a result of Low shortened gestation and/or inadequate fetal growth. Data were derived from Alberta the Government of Alberta’s Health: Pregnancies and Reproductive Births, Surveillance Reports. & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE • Support organizations that work to Research by the UK’s Equality Trust Trust Equality by the UK’s Research shows that the most important positive 2002 2000 1998 O IRT EIT AIES IRT O 1996 1994 Calgary Alberta Canada 1992

1990 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 7% 8% 6% 5% low birth-weight babies, and small-for- gestational-age babies. as asthma and hearing problems. They are to have developmental also more likely disabilities and to perform poorly in school. The economic costs associated with low birth-weight babies are enormous. to be They are 2 to 4 times more likely hospitalized during the first 5 years of life than normal birth-weight babies, and they fourth- are the Calgary Health Region’s highest category of expenditure. Chronic pre-existing medical conditions such as hypertension, type 1 diabetes, and asthma are associated with preterm births, In 2017 Canada’s incidence of low birth In 2017 Canada’s weight was 6.5%, the same as the OECD average but significantly higher than Nordic countries, which averaged under Canada and Alberta have 5%. Additionally, seen a steady increase in incidence of low whereas most birth weight since 2000, European countries have been stable. LINKAGES birth-weight babies are more at risk Low of developing health complications such In 2008/9, the Canadian average incidence In 2008/9, of low birth weight was 5.9%, and in Quebec, the province with the lowest it was 4.9%. incidence, The estimated additional lifetime health care cost for a low birth-weight baby It can exceed is more than $675,000. of life. for the first year $50,000

approximately 20 times more likely to die 20 times more likely approximately as infants than normal birth-weight babies. of Welfare estimates that up to 75% of of Welfare infant deaths can be attributed to low birth-weight babies are birth weight. Low 29-year age group. From 2005 to 2007, 1 2005 to 2007, From 29-year age group. in 10 babies born to women over 40 had a low birth weight. The National Council low birth-weight babies. The incidence of low birth weight is higher in mothers below and above the 25- to the city; and Calgarians’ access to fertility the city; and Calgarians’ which drugs and advanced levels of care, can facilitate risky pregnancies and sustain help to explain this trend, including the larger proportion of mothers over 35 in Calgary; the higher rate of multiple births in Historically, Calgary has had a higher Historically, incidence of low birth-weight babies than the rest of Alberta. Several factors may average for low birth weights, 217 fewer infants would have been born with a low birth weight in our city. 6.4%. Since 2000, it has averaged 7.4%. it has averaged 7.4%. 6.4%. Since 2000, births in Calgary. In 2015 there were 16,671 If the city had achieved the national ranging from a low of 5.9% in 1994 to a high in 2012. Between 1990 and 2000, of 7.74% the incidence of low birth weight averaged TREND the incidence of low birth- Since 1990, weight babies in Calgary has varied widely, weight is key to getting a good start in life. to getting a good start in life. weight is key associated with birth weight is strongly Low poor health outcomes. that lead to healthy birth weights, we can most important protect one of Calgary’s resources – its children. A healthy birth IMPORTANCE IMPORTANCE By promoting practices and behaviours rates of low-weight births (first and second, rates of low-weight births but as of 2009, respectively) in Canada, rate of healthy Canada had the highest the G7 countries. birth weights among weight. Calgary has the highest incidence weight. Calgary has the Alberta. Nunavut of low birth weight in have the highest and Alberta consistently THE FACTS THE FACTS 92.3% of to 2017, In the period of 2015 had a healthy birth newborns in Calgary Healthy Birth-Weight Babies Birth-Weight Healthy 56 WELLNESS In 2012,12.5%of Albertansaged15or Support, seniors’ benefits,andAISH. receive supportthroughprovincial Income A totalofapproximately 250,000 Albertans constant for30years. these rateshavebeenmoreor less 76% oftheLICO. Withsomefluctuations, Income Supporthadanincomethatwas of LICO. Asingleparentwith1childon work receivedevenless–$8,106, or38% of LICO, whileapersonunabletofind (but notonAISH)received$10,301, or48% a disabilityonprovincialIncomeSupport much less.In2018asinglepersonwith deemed severelyhandicappedreceive Those onsocialassistancebutnot benefit levelofallprovinces. months later. AlbertahasthehighestAISH in January2019, butitwasde-indexed 9 was, forthefirsttime, indexed toinflation in relationtotheLICOsince2014.AISH 64% in2009. AISHincomeshavefallen line. Thiswasamarked improvement from 98.3% oftheLICO–almosttopoverty and lobbyingfromdisabilitygroups,risingto rates improvedafterconcertedpressure the LICO. Between2005and2014,AISH By 2005,AISHhaddroppedtoonly38%of TREND vulnerable topovertyandsocialisolation. with disabilities,theyareparticularly stigma thathaslongaccompaniedpeople sustainable society. Becauseofthesocial participate fullyincommunitylifeisnota citizens meettheirbasicneedsand society thatcannothelpitsmostvulnerable chain ismeasuredbyitsweakest link.A It hasbeensaidthatthestrengthofa IMPORTANCE low-income cutoff(LICO). through theAISHprogram,or92%of AISH registrantreceived$1,649 permonth more than66,000 Albertans.In2018an a living.Theprogramprovidessupportto condition thatpreventsthemfromearning adult Albertanswithapermanentmedical financial andhealthbenefitstoeligible Handicapped (AISH)programprovides The AssuredIncomefortheSeverely THE FACTS Support fortheMostVulnerable strollers. wheelchairs, as well asforparentswith those whocannotwalkveryfast orarein citizens whosesightisimpaired andfor design themwithconsideration forthose crosswalks andintersections,we should city. Forexample, when planningnew decision wemake abouttheformofour limited mobilityshouldfactorintoevery The needsofpeoplewithdisabilitiesand access toacarorbeabledrive. citizens withdisabilities,whomaynothave transportation systemcanbealifelinefor increase. Aconvenient,accessiblepublic are fewerandtraveldistancestimes spreads outward,transportationlinks living fordisabledcitizens.Asthecity Urban sprawlcreatesproblemsineveryday Support. the homelessarenoteligibleforIncome risk ofbecominghomeless.InAlberta, in inadequatehousing,andareathigh state ofconstantfoodinsecurity, often Many peoplewithadisabilitylivein LINKAGES national averages. for femalesinAlbertaweresimilartothe their Canadiancounterparts.Therates to 24and2544,hadlowerratesthan the youngermales,suchasthoseaged15 than theirCanadiancounterparts,while likely toreportsomeformofdisability seniors (aged65+)inAlbertaweremore suffer fromaveryseveredisability. Male suffering fromadisabilityinCanada,14% older hadsomeformofdisability. Ofthose 100% 60% 20% 80% 40% 0% 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT 1989 1991

ASSURE ICOE FOR TE SEEREY AICAPPE SEEREY TE FOR ICOE ASSURE 1993 As percentoflow-incomecuto , singleperson 1995 1997 1999 2001 Information forthisindicatorcomesfrom DEFINITIONS • ConnectwiththeDisabilityActionHall • Write yourMLAandthepremierasking TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED Canadians Aged15Years orOlder, 2012. Profile of Persons withDisabilitiesamong Disability, 2012;andStatistics Canada,A Statistics Canada,CanadianSurveyon Group andSex,AlbertaCanada; Statistics, PrevalenceofDisabilitybyAge Other dataderivefromAlbertaOfficial poverty inCanada. of 3commonlyusedproxy measuresfor for updatingtheseries.TheLICOisone Maytree Instituteassumedresponsibility National CouncilofWelfare. In2018the maintain datapreviouslypublishedbythe by theCaledonInstituteofSocialPolicy to the Welfare inCanadareport,established disabilities andtheirallies. (actionhall.ca), agroupofpeoplewith programs. inflation AISHandotherincomesupport the low-incomecutoffandtoindex persons withaseveredisabilitytoatleast them toraisegovernmentsupportfor 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2012 2017 2019 WELLNESS 57 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 know that you support policy for universal pharmacare and dental care. the Calgary Urban Projects Society and the Drop-In Centre (cupscalgary.com) (calgarydropin.ca). 2011 TAKE ACTION & GET INVOLVED ACTION TAKE to your MLA and MP to let them • Write • Familiarize yourself with the work of twice as likely to be hospitalized for mental twice as likely to report illness and about 20% less likely or very good health. excellent When citizens have a strong sense of wellness, we can expect less absenteeism from work or school, less stress, a more and a smaller burden productive economy, on the health system. Healthy individuals to engage in preventive are more likely more responsibility for to take care, and to be active in the their own care, community. found that Canada report A 2005 Statistics “a strong sense of community belonging was associated with substantially better self-reported physical and mental health.” DEFINITIONS The data for this indicator come from the Canadian Community Health Surveys. The to other was “Compared question asked would you describe how people your age, your state of health (mental health)? or Poor.” Good, Good, Fair, Very Excellent, economically marginalized citizens (based economically marginalized citizens (based on a deprivation scale) were more than 2010 2009 SELF RATED HEALTH SELF RATED Percent rated very good or excellent Percent 2008 2007 British Medical 2005 Calgary Alberta Canada 2003 found that poor self-rated health 2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 2020 STATE 70% 40% 80% 50% 60% Institute for Health Information report covering data from 2005 to 2008 found the most socially and that in Calgary, aged 45 to 54. Life satisfaction was down overall: it was highest among those aged 35 to 44 (93.4%) and lowest among those aged 65+ (89.1%). LINKAGES A research paper in the Journal was a strong predictor of increased mortality in all sub-groups. A 2015 Canada analysis reports that Statistics rates of mood and anxiety disorders have increased in Canada from 8.6% of the population to 12.4%. A Canadian downward trend over time. Newfoundland downward trend over time. districts consistently report high levels of large self-rated mental health. Generally, cities seem to report lower mental health well-being. What about self-rated health across age The most recent data, from 2012, groups? show that self-rated health in Calgary was highest among those aged 35 to 44 and lowest among those aged 65+. Self-rated mental health was highest among those aged 12 to 19 and lowest among those health regions consistently report lower rates of fair or poor health. self- Calgarians’ From 2003 to 2017, rated mental health was at the high end compared to other health regions. or very good mental of excellent Reports in 2007 to health ranged from 80.4% The data show a noticeable 71.5% in 2017.

Calgary generally scores better than most local regions in Canada, though Quebec noticeable upward trend in this indicator. noticeable upward trend in this indicator. Calgary has consistently scored better than the Alberta and Canadian averages. 2003 and 2013, Calgarians reporting fair in or poor health has ranged from 7.6% There is a small but in 2010. 2003 to 9.9% reporting slightly higher satisfaction over time. On the other end of the spectrum, between In comparison with other local health regions, Calgary has consistently ranked districts with Vancouver near the top, and Labrador being its main rival for the and Labrador number 1 spot. and the Alberta average when it comes to self-rated health. Among the provinces, Alberta consistently ranks first or second in self-rated health, with Newfoundland 69.4% in 2015. The average over that time 69.4% Calgary consistently rates was 66.15%. higher than both the Canadian average TREND Calgarians’ Between 2003 and 2010, health self-rating of very good or excellent fluctuated between 64.2% in 2010 and economic well-being, and sense of security. of physical, mental, and emotional health, but also an indirect assessment of family well-being, connection to community, of well-being is often as important as objective assessments of physical health. The notion of self-rated health provides not subjective assessment only an individual’s IMPORTANCE mental and emotional sense A person’s same year, 5% of Calgarians rated their same year, poor – the highest mental health as fair or since 2005. In 2017, 73.8% of Calgarians rated their 73.8% of Calgarians In 2017, – good or excellent mental health as very since 2005. In the the highest percentage good or excellent; 8.9% rated their health 8.9% rated their good or excellent; from previous years as fair or poor – down in the country. and among the lowest THE FACTS of age of Calgarians 12 years 65.7% In 2017, health as very and older self-rated their Self-Rated Health Self-Rated 58 WELLNESS approximately 11.2%. to 3.1%, andby1994/95,therate was By themid-1980s,thatratehad risen Canada werediagnosedwithasthma. in 1978/79, 2.5%ofchildrenunder15in high. Statistics Canadafiguresshowthat childhood asthmaratesarestill very Compared todatafromthe1970s, today’s childhood asthma. which aimstohelpfamiliesmanage the CommunityPediatric AsthmaService, work ofAlbertaHealthServicesthrough control ofthecondition,including but alsotomoreeffectivetreatmentand number ofchildrendiagnosedwithasthma are likely relatedtosomereduction in the and admissionsoverthepast20years Reductions inasthma-relatedhospitalvisits have beendecreasingsincethattime. by thelate1990sandearly2000s, the late1970s,hadincreasedsubstantially rates inchildrenwereattheirlowest Long-term trendsindicatethatasthma was almosthalfthatof2006. younger, thepercapitarateofvisitsin2017 2006. Withinthegroupaged14yearsor in Calgarycomparedto3,292visits related tochildhoodasthmaallhospitals In 2017therewere3,295emergencyvisits TREND and moredaysofffromworkschool. levels, sensitivitytocertainenvironments, of challenges,includingreducedactivity people whohaveasthmafaceavariety Regardless oftheseveritycondition, 500 adultsdieeachyearfromthedisease. In Canada,approximately 20childrenand researchers arestrugglingtofindoutwhy. These numbersareincreasing,and 300 millionasthmasufferersworldwide. growing problemglobally, withasmany of ourcityanditsairquality. Asthmaisa coal mineintermsofindicatingthehealth Asthma sufferersarelike canariesinthe IMPORTANCE in 2014. in 2016butmuchlowerthanthe3,714 visits in Calgary. Thiswasupfromthe3,091 visits related tochildhoodasthmaallhospitals In 2017therewere3,295emergencyvisits THE FACTS Childhood AsthmaHospitalizationRate

care system.Since physicalexercise can Dealing withasthma iscostlytothehealth is anotherareaofconcern. city parksandonprivatelawns gardens living environments.Theuseofpesticides in concentrating asthmatriggerswithin our carpets, glue, plywood,andpaint, thereby chemical emissionsfromsourcessuchas asthma. Airtighthomesandofficesseal significant factorinthedevelopmentof to whichchildrenareexposedislikely a warns thatthegrowingburdenofchemicals The CanadianInstituteforChildHealth pollution –almost30%ofallnewcases. per yearareattributabletonitrogendioxide in Toronto, almost600newasthmacases children byautomobilepollutionfoundthat A 2019 LINKAGES New Zealand. along withtheUK,Ireland,, and of childandadultasthmaintheworld, time, Canadahadoneofthehighestrates Research from2003suggeststhatat this disease. people inCalgarymaybesufferingfrom in therangeof35,000 to50,000 young group, theavailabledatasuggestthat rates ofasthmaforthe2-to17-yearage Though therearenooverallestimatesfor (2006/7), and9.6% (2008/9). were 10.3% (1994/95),10.9% (2000/1),11.7% that acrossthePrairieProvinces,rates A 2010Statistics Canadareportshowed 2020 STATE OFOURCITYREPORT Lancet 2,000 4,000 3,000

1,000 0 study on asthma induced in studyonasthmainducedin 2003 CIOO ASTA OSPITAIATIO RATE 2004 Emergency visitstoallhospitalsinCalgary 2005 2006 2007 2008 may notbephysicallyactiveenoughto trigger asthmaattacks,youngasthmatics • Learn abouttheworkofAlberta • Write yourcouncillorandmayorto TAKE ACTION &GETINVOLVED Services. this indicatorcomefromAlbertaHealth leading toahospitalstay. Thedatafor asthma wasthemostsignificantcondition asthma casesincludeonlythoseforwhom vary frommildtolifethreatening.Inpatient coughing aresuddenorpersistentandcan such aschesttightness,wheezing,and in theairwaysoflungs.Symptoms Asthma isachronicinflammatorycondition DEFINITIONS these effectsworsenwithasthmaseverity. children’s mathandreadingscoresthat There isevidencethatthediseaseaffects lost fromschoolisasaresultofasthma. on theireducation.One-quarterofalltime the healthofchildrenbutalsoforitseffect a seriousissueinourschools,notonlyfor health problemslaterinlife. Asthmaisalso maintain wellness,whichcouldleadto Canada (asthma.ca). (childrenshospital.ab.ca) andAsthma Children’s HospitalFoundation garden pesticides. based householdcleaningproductsand support eliminatingtheuseofchemical- 2009 2014

2015 2016 2017 The Pandemic – a Clear Warning and a Way Forward

As we go to press, we find ourselves that the state is still crucial to our well-being. We see that women leaders are taking centre in the grip of a global pandemic with stage in the response to this unprecedented crisis: the women at the forefront of Canada’s the novel corona virus (COVID-19). The “On the one hand, we are coordinated national and provincial health care pandemic reinforces the urgency to act thinking more response are an inspiring example. We are seriously about seeing that businesses big and small need good on the recommendations contained what a city governance just as much as the citizenry does. designed for in this report to improve social equity, people looks protect ecological integrity, create an like. On the We see that reliance on the fossil fuel industry other hand, makes us socially, ecologically, and economically the pandemic vulnerable. This crisis has given us insight into inclusive and resilient economy, and act is amplifying decisively on climate change. existing how to maintain well-being and quality of life inequalities.” in a shrinking economy. We need to use this insight, and the crisis as a whole, as a catalyst to As a society, we are responding in both predictable and a radically new economy. unpredictable ways – some moving us toward a just transition, some moving us further away. On the one hand, we are thinking We see the value new immigrants bring to our more seriously about what a city designed for people looks like. communities. Often working for meagre wages On the other hand, the pandemic is amplifying existing inequalities. as retail workers, caregivers, food workers, and delivery personnel, they incur great risks to their Air pollution, along with air and automobile traffic, is drastically personal health to keep our economy afloat. reduced. There’s a shift toward active transport and a growing appreciation for the parks and pathways in our city. Existing roads The pandemic reminds us that our social and pathways are being restructured to facilitate local leisure infrastructure is vital. Health care and education activity. We need to invest in extensive active transport networks are not expendable items in a crisis – they are to provide safe, healthy travel choices to all Canadians, during this the key to our survival. pandemic and beyond, while reducing our carbon footprint. Science warns us that pandemics will occur As we build a new post-carbon economy, it is likely to be a much more frequently, and climate change will worsen, more local economy. The Be Local campaign has gathered steam if we do not protect the planet’s vital ecological and is demonstrating that we do have alternatives, especially with life-support systems. When we degrade nature, regard to locally grown and processed food. we impair its regenerative capacity. This pandemic crisis is a precursor to more enduring We have seen how disadvantaged groups are particularly emergencies – the climate crisis and biodiversity vulnerable in this crisis. We are experiencing record high loss. We now know that we do have the capacity unemployment, especially among low-income earners, leading to act quickly and decisively, to radically to an even larger gap in income inequality. At the same time, we reorganize society on a more sustainable have become acutely aware that the most vulnerable in our society foundation, and to take care of each other in the need protection. Many more of us are open to the possibility of a transition. basic income for all. We have become more aware of the need for affordable housing for all and for coordinated national, provincial, These are preliminary thoughts on a and municipal strategies to make it happen. pandemic we do not yet fully comprehend. Sustainable Calgary will be producing a more We see evidence around the world that where good governance comprehensive response to life after the prevails, societies are faring much better, reinforcing the fact pandemic in the coming weeks.

2020 STATE OF OUR CITY REPORT 59 Local organizations all over our city work toward sustainability every day. Get involved.

Crime Rate & Rate Of Leisure Activity Membership in Community Number of & Attendance Sense of Community Volunteerism

Victimization YMCA: ymcacalgary.org Associations at Arts Events Calgary Immigrant Volunteer Centre of Calgary Women’s Centre of Calgary: YWCA: ywcalgary.ca Federation of Calgary Calgary Folk Music Festival: Women’s Association: ciwa- (Propellus): propellus.org womenscentrecalgary.org Communities: calgaryfolkfest.com online.com calgarycommunities.com GlobalFest: globalfest.ca Sled Island: sledisland.com

Housing Oil & Gas Unemployment Hours Required to Meet Food Bank Usage Income Equity: Gap

Affordability Reliance Index Rate Basic Needs at Minimum Calgary Food Bank: between Rich & Poor Calgary Homeless Foundation: Be Local: Basic Income Calgary: Wage calgaryfoodbank.com Canadians for Tax calgaryhomeless.com belocal.org basicincomecalgary.ca Vibrant Communities Calgary: Leftovers Foundation: Fairness: taxfairness.ca Southern Alberta Co-operative vibrantcalgary.com rescuefood.ca Housing Association: Arusha Centre Calgary Dollars: sacha-coop.ca calgarydollars.ca

Adult Literacy Average Class Size Daycare Worker Grade 6 Library Usage Representativeness of

Calgary WordFest: wordfest.com Calgary Bridge Foundation for Salaries Achievement Scores Calgary Public Library: Electoral System Further Education Society: Youth: cbfy.ca Time for Child Care: Support your local public library calgarylibrary.ca Fair Vote Canada: furthered.ca timeforchildcare.ca and help build a culture of Little Free Library: fairvote.ca reading in your community. littlefreelibrary.org

Municipal Campaign Effectiveness of Fiscal Balance Valuing Cultural Air Quality Food Grown Locally

Finance Planning Calgary Climate Hub: Diversity Calgary Climate Hub: Calgary Horticultural As your MLA and the premier Federation of Calgary calgaryclimatehub.ca Action Dignity (Calgary calgaryclimatehub.ca Society: calhort.org to ensure public disclosure Communities: Calgary Alliance for Ethno-Cultural Council): Calgary Harvest: of donors and donations to calgarycommunities.com the Common Good: actiondignity.ca calgaryharvest.org municipal candidates. calgarycommongood.org

Pesticide Use Surface Water Christmas Bird Water Consumption Ecological Transportation

Canadian Association of Quality Count Calgary Permaculture Guild: Footprint Spending Physicians for the environment: Bow River Basin Council: Nature Calgary: permaculturecalgary.org Global Footprint Network: Bike Calgary: cape.ca brbc.ab.ca naturecalgary.com Bow River Basin Council: footprintnetwork.org bikecalgary.org brbc.ab.ca Slow Food Calgary: Alberta Wilderness Association: slowfoodcalgary.ca albertawilderness.ca

Domestic Waste Population Density Transit Usage for Energy Use Access to Preventive & Child & Youth Wellness Zero Waste Canada: Sustainable Calgary: Work Trips Pembina Institute: Pembina.org Alternative Health Care Alex Community zerowastecanada.ca sustainablecalgary.org Bike Calgary: Calgary Climate Hub: Fork Smart: forksmart.com Food Centre: Plastic-Free YYC: Arusha Centre: arusha.org bikecalgary.org calgaryclimatehub.ca YMCA: ymcacalgary.org thealexcfc.ca plasticfreeyyc.com Calgary Climate Hub: YWCA: ywcalgary.ca Recycling Council of Alberta: calgaryclimatehub.ca recycle.ab.ca

Healthy Birth-Weight Support for the Most Self-Rated Health Childhood Asthma Babies Vulnerable Calgary Urban Projects Society: Hospitalization Rate The Alex Health Centre: Disability Action Hall: cupscalgary.com Alberta Children’s Hospital thealex.ca actionhall.ca Drop-In Centre: Foundation: calgarydropin.ca childrenshospital.ab.ca Asthma Canada: asthma.ca