The City of Calgary's audit committee received a positive financial update on Thursday, as the 2025 fiscal report revealed record revenues and a healthy balance sheet despite ongoing economic pressures.
Record Revenues and Investment Income
The consolidated financial statements show that the city earned $5.659 billion in revenue last year, a 15% increase over 2024. This figure exceeded the budgeted projection of $5.136 billion by 10%. Including infrastructure transfers, total revenues surpassed $7 billion. Notably, the city generated a record amount of investment income, contributing to the strong performance.
Expenditures and Net Surplus
Total spending in 2025 was $5.371 billion, up $386 million from the previous year. The largest increases were in community services, driven by public safety costs, the Calgary Fire Department, and extended programming. Planning and development services also saw higher spending due to increased development activity. After accounting for contributions and transfers, the city reported an accounting surplus of $1.9 billion on a consolidated basis.
Financial Position and Reserves
The city ended 2025 with $12.164 billion in financial assets against $7.193 billion in liabilities. Reserves totaled $3.883 billion, a slight decrease of $15 million from 2024. The fiscal stability reserve, however, grew to $1.353 billion from $1.214 billion, despite being used for one-time expenditures and pilot projects. Officials emphasized that reserves are a key tool for long-term financial sustainability, not a surplus fund.
The report highlighted the city's resilience amid economic uncertainty, population growth, and inflation, with strong investment income and prudent fiscal management underpinning the positive results.
