Today, Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) released a report on the state of wellbeing in Calgary – Beneath the Surface, the layers of poverty in Calgary. The report is the result of several months of collaboration with 12 leading experts on nine domains of wellbeing. It is intended to supplement typical income-based data and poverty metrics to paint a clearer picture of the path we need to take to improve poverty in Calgary.

Some highlights of what the report uncovered:

• Calgarians are invested in the wellbeing of their neighbours and are showing up to support each other.
• Calgary remains the second most unequal city in Canada after Toronto.
• Employment is improving but wages are not.
• Our cost of living is rising faster than most can keep up with and one in five Calgarians can’t afford healthy food.
• More than a quarter of Calgarians aren’t prepared for a financial shock, but we’re doing better than other Canadian cities.
• Almost 42,000 Calgarians are considered “working poor.”
• More and more Calgarians are unable to afford home ownership or the available rental options.
• It will be a while before we know the full extent of the pandemic on our kids’ development.

The report is a checkup on the health of our city, identifying where Calgary is doing well and where improvement is needed. VCC will continue to collaborate with experts and policymakers to ensure that we have the services and supports that ensure people and communities thrive.

Quotes:

“We know that what gets measured gets done. This report identifies how we create a city where poverty can’t exist, a city where our health, education, and childcare systems meet our needs, and our jobs pay a living wage. This report helps us to understand how we're really doing. It’s a checkup for our city and it needs our attention.”

-          Lee Stevens, policy and research specialist, lead author

“We know that measuring how we are doing as a city involves so much more than looking at income data. I’m pleased to see the Enough for All initiative taking the steps to consolidate efforts and choose the best data to help agencies, educational institutions and government make evidence-based decisions.”

-          Marshal McCallum, Measuring what Matters project lead, Mount Royal University

Resources

• See the highlights of Beneath the Surface, 2022 Calgary Wellbeing Report and download the full version.
• Enough for All is Calgary’s community-driven poverty reduction strategy.

About Vibrant Communities Calgary

Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has been working for more than a decade advocating for long-term strategies that address the root causes of poverty in Calgary. VCC works collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to advance the Enough for All Poverty Reduction Strategy. For more information, visit enoughforall.ca or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

For more information, contact us.