Results reveal trust in Calgary’s municipal government has seen a directional improvement since fall 2025. Although the results of this are not directly comparable to past years due to questionnaire design changes, it does appear that trust is continuing its recovery from lows seen in 2024. Calgarians’ trust in The City of Calgary is primarily driven by satisfaction with how The City is being run, perception of our programs and services, their trust of information we share with them and the authenticity of City operations to do what it says.

The most top of mind issue for Calgarians continues to be ‘traffic and roads’ and ‘crime, safety and policing.’ ‘Growth and planning,’ ‘transit’ and ‘homelessness, poverty and affordable housing’ round out the top five issues. 

Spring results show perception of quality of life has increased over the past two years, showing a steady rise in satisfaction with life in Calgary today. Perceptions of Calgary as a great place to live and work also remain strong. Calgarians are more measured in their confidence for the future, with just over half believing we are on track to be a better city in the next 10 years.

The most recent data from spring 2025 also indicates overall levels of satisfaction with services is on par with the previous year, suggesting The City's efforts to maintain service quality have been effective.  

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.

Calgarians’ perceptions of the value they receive for their tax dollar has shown directional improvement compared to the same time last year, and there is a strong preference for maintaining services. Perception of value for taxes is primarily driven by Calgarians’ view of where the city is headed in the next ten years, their assessment of City performance and quality of life. 

Trust in The City sees an increase from this time last year and has returned to levels last seen in 2023. Further, Calgarians’ satisfaction with how Council and Administration are running the city increased from this time last year;  around one-half of Calgarians believe input from Calgarians is used in decision-making about services and programs, marking a modest increase from this time last year and demonstrating that while strides have been made, trust in The City is still delicate with many Calgarians. 

The most top-of-mind priorities for Calgarians remain the same with ‘infrastructure, traffic and roads,’ being the most cited priority followed by ‘crime, safety and policing’ which saw a significant increase in mentions since fall 2024. The third most mentioned priority is ‘housing, homelessness and poverty.’ Finally, ‘growth and planning’ and ‘Transit’ round out the top five priorities.    

Perceptions of quality of life in Calgary have improved compared to this time last year. Calgarians increasingly view the city as a great place to build both a life and a career, with these sentiments continuing to trend upward into fall 2025. However, while short-term optimism about quality of life remains strong, long-term confidence is more reserved: approximately two-fifths of Calgarians agree that the city is on the right path to ensuring a high quality of life for future generations. Additionally, more Calgarians now believe the city is on track to become even better over the next decade, reflecting a significant rise in optimism about Calgary’s future.

Calgarians continue to value and appreciate the services provided by The City. Satisfaction with these services has increased compared to the same time last year, indicating that residents are recognizing the benefits and quality of what is offered. However, perceptions of the value received from tax dollars remain unchanged. Notably, there is a slight uptick in the number of Calgarians who support increasing taxes to maintain or enhance existing services.