Article

VCC’s policy priorities for the 2025 municipal election

Key decisions new City Council should make to build an economically and socially resilient city

12 June 2025

On October 20, 2025, Calgarians will vote in a municipal election that will shape the city's well-being for years to come. The next City Council has the opportunity to reinforce the vital role that local governments play in building a vibrant and prosperous Calgary. The municipal government is uniquely positioned among the orders of government to significantly impact the lives of Calgarians.

In late 2024 and early 2025, VCC engaged Enough for All (E4A) Champions and over 400 Calgarians from every ward through in-person sessions and online surveys to understand their top priorities for the municipal election. These community insights, especially from those with lived experience of poverty and E4A Champion organizations, helped shape our municipal election platform, ensuring it reflects what matters most to Calgarians.

“There is no “getting ahead” for low-income and middle-class Calgarians. People are desperate right now. We need access to affordable groceries, comprehensive public transit, valuable employment, and to not feel like we are being left behind.”

2025 Civic Engagement Survey Participant

As the steward of Enough for All, Vibrant Communities Calgary is focusing on four key policy areas in our 2025 Election Platform to help build a city where there is enough for all. Our key policy recommendations include:

Housing: Access to suitable and affordable housing is vital for healthy communities. VCC recommends that City Council continue with the full implementation of the Home Is Here Strategy.
Transit (Low Income Transit Pass): The Low Income Transit Pass (LITP) enhances access to employment and education, reduces traffic congestion, and ensures every Calgarian can stay connected to their communities. VCC recommends City Council secure a long-term, sustainable funding agreement for the LITP with provincial and federal governments.
Social Disorder: Our research, No Place To Go, found a rise in social disorder partly driven by inadequate shelter space and limited daytime spaces for those experiencing homelessness. VCC recommends that City Council allocate funding to operate daytime spaces for the homeless population outside of downtown, in addition to the two spaces opening in 2025.
Indigenous Gathering Place: Calgary has the fourth-largest urban Indigenous population in Canada, but is the only major city without a purpose-built Indigenous gathering space. VCC recommends that City Council designate land for the development of an IGP building at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers.

Explore our full Election Platform here.

2025 Election Platform

As a long-standing convener and policy leader, VCC is not just advocating, we’re bridging the gap between community priorities and civic leadership. See how the 2025 Election Platform outlines actionable policy priorities to guide mayoral and council candidates on what matters to Calgarians.

Learn more

Focus Areas