‘Biggest defunding’: Calgary mayor blasts province over photo radar revenue loss

Calgary’s mayor is taking aim at the province over the loss of photo radar revenue, arguing it’s worsening pressure on emergency services as they prepare for major budget requests.

The city’s emergency services say they are straining under the demands of a rapidly growing city, with both police and fire officials signalling they will be seeking significant increases when budget talks begin later this year.

While shootings in Calgary are down 31 per cent compared to 2024, overall violent crime has risen by 4 per cent. Calls for service are also climbing with public‑initiated calls up about 5 per cent, and officer‑generated calls have increased nearly 4 per cent.

Police Chief Katie McLellan says the service needs more officers and more investment in aging infrastructure.

“We absolutely need more,” McLellan said. “We’ve deferred a lot of maintenance. We’ve got 41 buildings that we own and/or lease, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done there.”

Mayor Jeromy Farkas says the province is making that challenge harder by withholding photo radar fine revenue that previously flowed to the city.

“They have contributed to the biggest defunding yet of our Calgary Police Service,” Farkas said, adding that restoring the revenue could fund new positions.

“The fine revenue that they defunded our Calgary Police by, $28 million, that fine revenue would accommodate at least 200 of the positions that the chief is asking for.”

In a statement to CityNews, the province said it will not expand photo radar and argued “police budgets should be prioritized in any budget, not subject to variable and uncertain fine revenues throughout the year.”

The Calgary Fire Department is also preparing a substantial budget request as with call volumes up 50 per cent since 2020.

“Largely it’s staffing,” Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said. “Ninety per cent of our budget is people, and we need to open new stations and put new apparatus in service.”

Coun. Raj Dhaliwal says residents consistently raise safety concerns, and council will need to reflect that when budget deliberations begin in November.

“We heard from the doors safety is very important—public safety, pedestrian safety, personal safety,” Dhaliwal said. “We will have an opportunity in November to put our money where it matters and send a strong message.”