Calgary's next civic census will be held in 2028, following a vote by city council on Tuesday. The door-to-door count, originally scheduled for 2027, was delayed by one year after a report from administration indicated the city could not find a suitable contractor to carry out the census next year. Instead, the city will use in-house staff and custom-built software for the 2028 count.
Background on Calgary's Census History
Calgary's last civic census was conducted in 2019. The following year, council supported a recommendation to cut the annual door-to-door count as a cost-saving measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the city has relied on population data from the 2021 federal census for planning purposes, which recorded Calgary's population at approximately 1.3 million. However, the city currently estimates the population to be around 1.6 million, based on projections using building permits and other growth metrics.
Council Deliberations and Amendments
In 2024, council directed administration to consider reinstating the civic census every two years, beginning in 2027. They supported a recommendation to hire an independent contractor, with a budget of $10.7 million spread between 2025 and 2030. However, due to the inability to find a contractor, the timeline shifted.
Council voted 10-5 in support of an amendment from Ward 6 Coun. John Pantazopoulos, requiring administration to present regular updates on the program's delivery, timelines, budget, and risk mitigations, starting this October. Council also voted down a request from Ward 12 Coun. Mike Jamieson to conduct the civic census every five years instead of every two years. Jamieson argued that his amendment would ensure a two- or three-year gap between federal and municipal counts. “A census almost every year, in my opinion, is overkill and is not fiscally responsible,” he said.
Importance of Local Data
Yousaf Shah, census program co-ordinator, emphasized the value of local data: “With the unprecedented growth we have seen in Calgary since our last civic census, restarting the program will provide important data on how our communities are evolving on a more granular or ward by ward level.” The federal census, conducted by Statistics Canada every five years, is currently ongoing, but Calgary's population data from that count are not expected until late next year.
