The 2026 Spring Research Results are now available ahead of the presentation to Executive Committee on May 5, 2026.
Results show Calgarians continue to report a high quality of life and steady satisfaction with City services. Roads, traffic and safety remain top priorities for residents while Calgary continues to compare favourably with other surveyed Canadian municipalities on trust and value for tax dollars.
“We’re leading other major cities in trust and value for tax dollars by listening to Calgarians and focusing on what matters most to them,” says David Duckworth, Chief Administrative Officer. “These results show we’re moving in the right direction and that our focus areas are making a real difference for Calgarians. At the same time, they highlight opportunities to keep improving — raising our performance, strengthening results, and, with Council’s support, continuing this upward momentum.”
Roads, traffic and safety remain top priorities for Calgarians
When asked to identify the primary issues local leaders should address, Calgarians continue to point to traffic and roads as their top priority.
Two‑fifths (39 per cent) identify traffic and roads as a key concern.Mentions of crime, safety and policing (21 per cent) remain the second‑highest priority.15 per cent prioritized growth and planning, unchanged from last spring.Transit concern remains steady, with 14 per cent of Calgarians identifying it as a priority.Mentions of homelessness, poverty and affordable housing (11 per cent) have declined by eight per cent from spring 2025.
Calgarians report strong quality of life and cautious optimism for the future
More than three‑quarters (76 per cent) of Calgarians rate their overall quality of life as good, a measure that is showing sustained growth over the past two years. Perceptions of Calgary as a great place to live and work also remain strong, with three‑quarters (74 per cent) saying it is a great place to make a life and around two thirds (68 per cent) saying it is a great place to make a living.
Calgary continues to outperform other major Canadian cities on several key measures, including quality of life. National municipal benchmarking shows Calgary’s results are 10 per cent higher than the average of four comparable large Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal.
Despite ongoing concerns about global impacts on Calgary’s economy, Calgarians continue to express steady optimism about Calgary’s future, tempered by caution when considering the city’s longer‑term outlook.
60 per cent rate the Calgary economy as ‘good,’ suggesting stable perceptions of current economic conditions.54 per cent say Calgary is on the right track to be a better city over the next decade.
Service satisfaction remains steady as Calgarians weigh taxes and services
A majority (62 per cent) of Calgarians are satisfied with the overall level and quality of City services, with results remaining consistent over the past two years. Only 11 per cent of Calgarians report dissatisfaction with City services, a decrease of three per cent from last spring.
Overall satisfaction with City services continues to exceed national benchmarks. Calgary’s satisfaction rating remains five per cent higher than the national municipal benchmark, reflecting strong performance relative to other large Canadian cities.
This year’s survey updates how City services are measured to better reflect Calgarians’ priorities. It assessed public-facing service areas and introduced new dimensions of service experience, time and quality, providing deeper insight.
Looking across City services, results show stronger performance on experience and quality, with most Calgarians finding City services easy to access, reliable and helpful in supporting quality of life. Time-related scores are lower, reflecting higher expectations around service interruptions, issue communication and how quickly concerns are addressed.
When considering the balance between taxation and service delivery, Calgarians show a growing preference to maintain services at their current level. More than half of respondents (57 per cent) favour tax increases, while fewer than four in ten (37 per cent) prefer service reductions to avoid tax increases. Most support is for moderate, inflation-level increases to sustain current services.
Calgarians rate trust and value for tax dollars above national benchmarks
Trust in The City and perceptions of value for tax dollars are closely linked measures of confidence. In the 2026 Spring Survey of Calgarians, Calgary continues to perform above other large Canadian municipalities on both.
Just over half (54 per cent) of Calgarians say they trust The City, while half (51 per cent) also rate the value they receive for their tax dollars as ‘good’. While these results reflect moderate levels of confidence, national benchmarking shows Calgary performing well above the municipal average on both measures — with trust levels more than 10 per cent higher than the national municipal benchmark, and value for tax dollars rated five per cent higher than the average of the five comparable cities.
“Listening to Calgarians through research helps us understand what’s working, where expectations are higher and helps to align City actions with resident priorities,” says Paul Taylor, Director, 311 & Insights.
City research supports accountability and transparency
The results of this representative, third-party survey, coupled with additional research, provide City Council with insights into Calgarians’ opinions on a range of issues, including satisfaction with services, quality of life and outlook.
The City’s biannual surveys help provide ongoing accountability and transparency by identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement.
The 2026 Spring Survey was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs from Feb. 17, 2026 to March 16, 2026 with 2,500 Calgarians, via telephone. The survey was conducted using numbers from both cell phones (70 per cent) and landlines (30 per cent) to obtain a random and statistically representative sample of Calgarians with a margin of error ± 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The 2026 Spring Survey of Calgarians report as well as additional research can be found at calgary.ca/insights.
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