Why Calgary is closer to asking the feds for over $800M
Posted Jun 19, 2026 10:14 am.
Last Updated Jun 19, 2026 10:16 am.
Kids have their lists for Santa, and Calgary City Council has its own for the federal government, with a committee endorsing an over $800 million ask.
The proposed request centres around infrastructure, transportation and recreational funding, including $190 million for the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, $170 million for five recreation facilities, and $80 million for the Blue Line LRT Extension.
The request is part of a letter the city writes for consideration in pre-federal budget submissions, with the city saying this year’s request features shovel-ready projects.
“Other levels of government have multiple different ways to bring money in from revenue perspective; the City of Calgary only has property taxes,” said Ward 4 councillor DJ Kelly.
Ward 11 councillor Rob Ward says they’ve heard Prime Minister Mark Carney is interested in investing in transit and infrastructure in cities around the country.
“Words are cheap, actions speak louder, so we’ll see what they do,” he said.
Some on council believe the city can go further with its request as the city grows. Councillor John Pantazopolous hopes for flexibility on the priorities sent to the feds if a shovel-ready project is identified and is not currently funded.
“I think $800 million is a great number, but it’s a start. We are going to have a $20 billion capital ask over the next four years through our budget cycle, we need more government funding.
The proposed request comes as city administration also said Thursday that letter-writing advocacy is becoming less effective.
Kelly Cote, Manager, Government Relations, City of Calgary: “It is still a practice that is expected by other orders of government, but we can’t solely rely on letter writing that we used to do. What we are actually finding right now is the strength in relationship building.”
The funding request will now head to a full council vote, and if affirmed, is set to be submitted to the federal government in July.
