Calgary mayor calls special meeting over ‘privacy breach’ tied to leaked budget documents
Posted Sep 4, 2026 10:51 am.
Calgary’s mayor has escalated the fallout from leaked confidential budget documents, saying he has called for a special meeting next week.
In a statement posted online on Friday, mayor Jeromy Farkas said he called for a Special Meeting of Council for Tuesday, Sept. 8 after receiving legal advice that a serious privacy breach may have occurred.
The mayor goes on to say he has “reasonable grounds to believe” the leak poses potential safety risks to City personnel and could expose the municipality to significant financial or legal consequences. Farkas says the meeting will be held so council can receive legal advice on the potential damage, the city’s obligations, and “what actions may be required to protect employees and taxpayers.”
The move comes after days of political tension over documents leaked by Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston, which suggested Calgary could face a 20 per cent property tax increase next year. Johnston has defended releasing the information, arguing Calgarians deserve transparency about closed‑door budget talks.
The leak has prompted strong reactions from other councillors.
Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean posted on X that the proposed hike is “unacceptable,” saying taxpayers are outraged and calling for cuts “beyond essential services” to find “fat on the bone.”
Farkas responded publicly, repeating his earlier position that the leaked figure is “a wish list, not a tax increase.”
He says the number represents every departmental request, program proposal, spending increase, and downloaded provincial responsibility added together, instead of being a finalized budget direction.
“Our job is to separate needs from wants,” Farkas wrote, adding that early figures are part of a preliminary exercise.
“Anybody can come to council and ask for a pony and that’s added to the wish list,” the mayor says. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to get a pony.”
Johnston maintains the numbers are not hypothetical, saying council voted privately on a 15 per cent increase for 2027, contradicting the mayor’s public messaging.
“That’s not a wish list,” he said. “That’s a council that has trouble saying no.”
Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Yule has also criticized the leak, saying it should violate the municipal code of conduct, which the province is still finalizing.
“This was a clear breach of the code of conduct that we don’t have,” Yule said.
