A new report from the University of Calgary School of Public Policy says yes

VCC says the surplus is an opportunity to re-index income support and AISH to keep up with inflation

With a $3.9B surplus in Alberta, should that money be used to make life more affordable?

Inflation is driving anxiety and exacerbating mental health issues said Meaghon Reid in a recent Calgary Herald article

Inflation hits highest levels in Alberta in almost four decades

Spreading the seeds of early literacy across Calgary

PODCAST: Literacy & the Dandelion Strategy

Meaghon Reid discusses addiction and it's root causes as part of the Safe Cities series   

A serious conversation about addictions and addiction services in Calgary

VCC’s community joins together to recap 2021

How Indigenous Law brings healing, growth, and community connection

PODCAST: Systemic Change – Indigenous People and the Legal System 

VCC discusses rising food costs and desperation some are feeling

VCC discussed the impacts of the cost of living on both taxi drivers and households living on low incomes that rely on their services

Delicate balancing act as Calgary hikes taxi fares by 15%

Concerns about housing affordability are valid and work needs to be done

Is Calgary in an affordable housing crisis?

VCC sees a new City Council motion as as a positive step forward 

'There's a huge gap': Council to debate creating task force on affordable housing

Addressing misconceptions with some new resources

VCC's Meaghon Reid and Hagir Sail discuss how poverty exists despite being hidden in certain areas of the city with the Calgary Journal

Poverty profile paints a clearer picture of Ward 8 incomes

Mount Royal University professor Kimberly Williams weighs in on inequity and some solutions

Without emphasizing women, Calgary's post-pandemic recovery plan is doomed to failure

Should new policies be implemented to avoid debt loading Calgarians living on low incomes?

Vibrant Communities Calgary discusses rising power costs and how some policies are making things worse for those struggling 

Some Albertans could lose power as the province’s moratorium ends Friday

Vibrant Communities Calgary executive director says some households are making sacrifices to tackle expenses

Heat, power could be shut off on Friday for Alberta households behind on utility bills

PODCAST: Child Care, Women, and the Economy

For the over 20% of Canadians with inadequate coverage, universal pharmacare would mean not having to sacrifice other necessities

Adult Literacy and Foundational Learning 

Quadrant: NE
Population: 83,960 (2016)
Households: 22,560 (2016)
Total contacts to 211* for basic needs: 515 (2020)

Communities: Castleridge, Cityscape, Cornerstone, Falconridge, Homestead, Martindale, Redstone, Saddle Ridge, Skyview Ranch, Taradale 

Through an online questionnaire and interviews, we heard from the community that the people have a strong sense of community and connection with one another. There are collaborative networks within this ward, and people come together to meet the needs of the community in culturally appropriate and community-driven ways. 

Community members identified the following key issues as concerns: financial well-being, affordable housing, food security, employment, physical health, mental health, and access to appropriate cultural supports. 

Median household income before tax
This ward: $87,562/year (2015)
Calgary: $97,329/year (2015)

Median individual income before tax
This ward: $31,239/year (2015)
Calgary: $43,251/year (2015)

Number of individuals living in low income
This ward: 12% (LIM-AT* 2015)
Calgary: 9% (LIM-AT* 2015)

Individuals receiving government cash benefits
This ward: 64% at $5,578/year (2016)
Calgary: 57% at $6,448/year (2016)

Households earning less than $30,000/year after tax 
1,705 or 8% (2016)

Unemployment rate 
This ward: 10% (2016)
Calgary: 10% (2016)

Part-time employment rate
This ward: 55% (2016)
Calgary: 50% (2016)

Average employment income per year 
This ward: $37,923 (2016)
Calgary: $64,542 (2016)

Percentage of individuals earning less than $30,000/year from employment
This ward: 47% (2016)
Calgary: 37% (2016)

Average monthly income and expenses of those requesting Calgary Food Bank Emergency Food Hampers from this ward
Income: $1,668/month (2020)
Expenses: $1,310/month (2020)
Net income remaining: $358/month (2020)

Number of 211 contacts for food resources
211 (2020)

The most frequently reported reason for requesting a hamper

Insufficient fixed government benefits (28%)

Income support from government programs (29%)

Rent, with households allocating a median of $1000/month towards housing

Residents who spend 30% or more of their income on shelter
This ward: 30% (2016)
Calgary: 22% (2016)

Average rent per household
This ward: $1,368/month (2016)
Calgary: $1,354/month (2016)

Residents in unsuitable housing
14% (2016)

Residents in unaffordable housing
37% (2016)

Residents in housing requiring major repairs
3% (2016)

Households experiencing energy poverty (2016)
23% (2016)

Number of affordable housing units
322 (2016)

Total contacts to 211 for housing/shelter supports
178 (2020)

Total contacts to 211 for utilities support
78 (2020)

People applied to Calgary’s Fair Entry program for the low-income bus pass
13,969 (2019)

Total contacts to 211 for transportation support
15 (2020)

Percentage of average income that families with two parents in the home spend on childcare for infants, toddlers and preschoolers
13% (2018)

Percentage of average income that lone-parent families spend on childcare for infants, toddlers and preschoolers
19% (2018)

Hospitals and public health clinics
0 (2021)

Recreation centres
7 (for-profit not included, 2021)

Total contacts to 211 for criminal justice and legal services
127 (2020)

Statistics relating to this ward, compiled from several separate surveys.

This section contains a snapshot of information provided by residents from this ward through an online questionnaire and interviews. The experience of poverty is unique and personal, and these comments do not reflect the entire ward. 

When asked what’s working well to address poverty in Ward 5, residents highlighted various programs and services: affordable housing development, ongoing food security programs, technology access programs, and financial literacy programs like tax clinics. We also heard that there are local collaboratives and grassroots groups that support with engagement, relationship building, and access to resources. 

When asked what poverty looks like in Ward 5, we heard that employment is a key concern in the community. Although some residents have achieved high levels of education, their education is not accredited. As a result, they are unable to practise what they are qualified for here in Canada. Precarious employment was also highlighted as a key concern in the community. Sometimes, people have multiple jobs that pay minimum wage, which makes it challenging to meet their basic needs. We heard that food security is a concern for some in Ward 5, and there are ongoing food security programs in the community. 

COVID-19 has amplified the need to access technology. However, some face barriers to accessing the internet, phones and computers. Residents also shared concerns about transportation. In particular, they raised issues related to public transit accessibility in the newer communities and families relying on one car, especially since the hailstorm in June 2020. 

Childcare was highlighted as a high need in the community. Residents shared that they lack affordable childcare providers, especially in the newer communities. When it comes to accessing resources and government supports, we heard that community members sometimes face barriers, such as stigma and a lack of accessibility. 

Residents from this ward shared the following ideas to help eliminate poverty from their community:

More resources and support from the government to overcome poverty 

Intentional resource injection within community groups that already exist, and investing in opportunities that build capacity for residents 

Improve accessibility and education about programs and services 

More supports to improve technology access and digital literacy 

Increase mental health supports that meet the needs of local residents, and are culturally appropriate and embedded in existing community supports 

Ward 6 is located in southwest Calgary and includes the following communities:

Aspen Woods, Christie Park, Coach Hill, Cougar Ridge, Discovery Ridge, Glamorgan, Glenbrook, Glendale, Medicine Hill, Patterson, Signal Hill, Springbank Hill, Spruce Cliff, Strathcona Park, West Springs, Westgate, Wildwood 

These profiles were developed by Vibrant Communities Calgary and the Canadian Poverty Institute to equip the community with poverty-specific data related to Calgary’s 14 wards. This information can be used to stimulate debate and highlight poverty as a key election issue with local candidates.

Ward 5: Poverty Profiles 2021 | Enough for All

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with Steacy Pinney, CEO of Calgary Reads, to explore how Calgary Reads is spreading early literacy across Calgary through the Dandelion strategy, and the importance of literacy and prevention in the early years. 

Episode 13: Literacy & the Dandelion Strategy

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Sarah Sinclair, a Lawyer who leads the Indigenous justice program Sahwoo mohkaak tsi ma taas (Blackfoot for “Before Being Judged”) at Calgary Legal Guidance, to discuss creating equal access to justice for Indigenous people, how Indigenous Law brings healing, and the need for systemic change in the legal system.

Episode 12: Systemic Change – Indigenous People and the Legal System

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Lee Stevens, policy and research specialist with Vibrant Communities Calgary to explore basic income. What a basic income could mean for Canadians and how it could have a positive impact on our social support systems.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Lee Stevens, VCC’s policy and research specialist and this episodes’ co-host alongside Nevena Ivanovic, public policy coordinator with the Women’s Centre of Calgary and Andrea Cox, manager of government relations with YW Calgary. Together they discuss women and the economy, child care in Alberta, and what’s working in regards to policy.

Episode 10: Child Care, Women, and the Economy

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with the CEO of The Alex, Joy Bowen-Eyre, to explore what it means to provide dignified services, how food is a convenor and community builder, and how progress comes from investing energy into policy and advocacy. 

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Hagir Sail, Community Facilitation and Engagement Specialist with Vibrant Communities Calgary to explore allyship. 

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Celestina Akinkunmi with the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA) to explore settlement and integration services in Calgary.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Vibrant Communities Calgary and EndPovertyEdmonton’s Executive Directors to get their perspectives on poverty reduction and the future of Alberta.

Episode 6: No Battle of Alberta when it comes to Poverty Reduction

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with Momentum’s Jeff Loomis to talk about financial empowerment, innovations like the QUBER Savings App, skills training for the growing tech industry and more.

Episode 5: Building Assets Brings Opportunity

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel catches up with Sue Gwynn from Poverty Talks! to chat about the importance of engaging with the voices of lived experience. Hear about why Poverty Talks! challenges perceptions around poverty, how models and systems keep people in poverty, and why poverty is a trap.

In this episode, VCC’s Executive Director Meaghon Reid sits down with Mayor Naheed Nenshi. Mayor Nenshi is one of the original champions of the Enough for All strategy and emphasizes how ‘my neighbour’s strength is my strength.’ Listen to them discuss priorities for Calgary and poverty reduction and their optimism for the future. 

Episode 3: My Neighbour’s Strength is My Strength

In this episode, VCC’s Executive Director Meaghon Reid sits down with Karen Young, president and CEO of the United Way of Calgary and Area, to discuss how community partnerships deliver dividends in the poverty reduction space. The United Way is a leader in developing key partnerships that drive results. Get to know what the United Way has learned from initiatives like Community Hubs, how businesses are evolving around social purpose, and how they’re taking community action on mental health.

Literary specialist Berniece Gowan discusses how improving literacy levels can shift the needle on poverty reduction.

The strength of the Enough for All strategy was highlighted in 2021 as it has continued to be a credible and reliable north star of the system changes that are still needed to make poverty history in Calgary. The 2021 Report to Community outlines some of the key accomplishments and initiatives in the year.

As part of the report, you can also view the audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2021.

The audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2021. 

Poverty affects every aspect of your life, not only the ability to meet your basic needs — your health, relationships, how you’re impacted by climate change, even how safe you are while you walk through your neighbourhood. We do the poverty snapshot to understand how people experience poverty and what policy makers can do to help. 

On Nov 1, 2021 the Government of Alberta released Stronger Foundations: Alberta's 10-year strategy to improve and expand affordable housing, intending to outline the action needed to provide more affordable and accessible housing options for Albertans. While some aspects of the strategy are supported by VCC and the Edmonton Social Planning Council, there are also elements that pose considerable risks.

Check out their analysis What you need to know about Stronger Foundations: The Government of Alberta’s affordable housing strategy.

Analyzing the Government of Alberta’s affordable housing strategy

Earlier this year, the Calgary Foundation released its 2021 Vital Signs report, reflecting the feelings of 1,000 Calgarians who shared their unique perspectives and impressions of life over the past year. It struck us that this timely snapshot of life in Calgary touched on some important themes such as quality of life, racism, and how people are coping with the pandemic. Check out our infographic below that shows how Enough for All continues to align with some key issues identified by Calgarians.

Infographic: Enough for All alignment with Calgary Foundation's Vital Signs Report

Since 2008, Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has been updating the living wage figure for Calgary on an annual basis. The framework for calculating a living wage is adopted from the Living Wage National Framework created by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 

Income from employment that is sufficient to cover the cost of living in a given region is not only vital to reducing poverty but is a necessary component to a resilient city and economy. People need more than the bare minimum, this includes enough income to cover bank fees, education and training, internet costs, and the ability to save for an unexpected event. Other principles identified by Living Wage Canada include a wage that enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs, promote social inclusion, and support healthy child development.

Working in collaboration with other municipalities, VCC has adopted the new standardized methodology to calculate the living wage rate for Calgary. The 2021 living wage is $18.60 per hour, a 10% decrease from the 2020 living wage of $20.69, and a difference of 24% from Alberta’s minimum wage of $15 per hour. The primary reason for the decrease in the living wage is attributed to changes made by the provincial government to Alberta’s childcare subsidy program. 

The year 2020 marked the second year of phase two for Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, Enough for All. The COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest ‘story’ of 2020 and the impact of the pandemic on community efforts to reduce poverty cannot be understated. Limitations in support services due to closures and reduced capacity because of restrictions due to COVID-19 have likely increased the risk that people in need of support ‘fell though the cracks’. This year’s evaluation report is written within this context. This report shows progress and identifies gaps in the Goals, Levers of Change, Principles and the role of the Enough for All Champions and Vibrant Communities Calgary in advancing the Enough For All Strategy in the midst of a global pandemic.

Building Back Better: Enough For All Evaluation Report 2020

Earlier in the year, Poverty Talks! hosted a series of Community Conversations, engaging people experiencing poverty about what questions they would ask the municipal candidates running for City Council. The Poverty Talks! Peer Connections Team then used the feedback as a framework to create a survey to send to the candidates. Many candidates responded, and the report outlines their responses. 


Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has created its Social Procurement Guidelines to ensure that products and services purchased by the team are in alignment with the goals of the Enough for All strategy, of which VCC is the steward. To successfully implement the strategy, organizational purchasing must flow to companies that are rooted in Calgary, provide living wages, and environmentally friendly products and services that meet our organization’s needs and mission. In doing so, VCC can scale the impact of purchasing decisions, and materially contribute to Community Economic Development. 

We encourage our community partners to consider purchasing from businesses that minimize the impact on our environment, pay a living wage, and are based in Calgary to support the local economy. 

Read Momentum 's Social Procurement for Calgary publication.

Vibrant Communities Calgary’s Social Procurement Guidelines

VCC has identified areas of opportunity for policy change within Calgary City Council and Administration. There are several roles that the local government can play in creating vibrant communities, including exemplary employer, service provider, investor, leader and champion, convener and partner. 

VCC's Policy recommendations for Calgary City Council

Vibrant Communities Calgary and the Canadian Poverty Institute have released a publication outlining the incidence of poverty with poverty-specific data related to Calgary’s 14 wards. 

This information can be used to stimulate debate and highlight poverty as a key election issue with local candidates.

The goal is for municipal candidates to use these profiles to inform their platforms and priority issues and consider how other orders of government and community organizations could address the various issues of poverty. In addition, voting Calgarians can use the information to form questions to ask candidates how they will support and advance poverty reduction if elected.

Both quantitative (numerical data) and qualitative (descriptive data) methods were used to create the profiles for each Ward. Calgarians participated in an online questionnaire designed to give insight into some of the top issues and concerns in each ward. Along with information on what is working well and what solutions are needed to address the various aspects of poverty in each ward.

Poverty is not always visible. Each of the 14 Wards in Calgary have things in common such as a strong sense of community and groups that help community members and residents. At the same time, these profiles are further evidence that poverty exists in each Ward, where people are struggling with access to affordable housing, mental health, transportation, childcare, access to appropriate cultural supports, and food security.

Calgary Municipal Ward Poverty Profiles 2021

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of low-income Calgarians as they cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research project engaged with people with lived experience of poverty to understand from their perspectives, how COVID-19 is impacting their day-to-day lives.

We asked participants to describe changes in their lives related to income, employment, service access and health and wellbeing specifically because of the pandemic. Some people reported positive changes including an increase in income from their pre-COVID wages to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, reduced spending on ‘luxury’ items, increased savings and establishment of their ‘true’ social support networks. However, the majority of people, reported serious and significant negatives changes in their lives related to loss of employment, loss of income, food insecurity and being many weeks or months behind in paying household bills.

In reviewing Enough for All’s progress in 2020, we acknowledge the collective efforts of the Enough for All Network to ensure people in our city who live in poverty were – and continue to be – supported. The 2020 Report to Community outlines some of the key accomplishments and initiatives in the year. 

As part of the report you can also view the audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2020. 

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are clear, and few will rebut that in 2020, some were hit harder. Women in Alberta experienced disproportionate job losses, increases to unpaid care work, and greater exposure to the virus working in health care, elder-care, and childcare. Budget 2021 aimed to strike a balance by maintaining previous funding commitments, but it did not address the unequal impacts of the pandemic on women, people of color, or those working in low wage precarious jobs.

Vibrant Communities Calgary’s response to the Alberta Budget 2021: The impact on vulnerable Albertans and Enough for All

This report outlines changes to Calgary’s transit bylaw system that are necessary to address difficulties faced by vulnerable Calgarians in their interactions with Calgary's public transit system.

Re-imagining transit tickets: A report for the Justice Sector Constellation on Calgary’s Transit Bylaw

Food security remains a pressing need in Calgary. Recent data has identified that many Calgary households are experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity and are concerned about not having enough money for food. The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 resulted in heightened demand for emergency food assistance. This demand revealed gaps in the emergency food assistance system. In response, a variety of agencies began providing food assistance where they had not before, while community-based mutual aid initiatives also emerged.

The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered valuable community strengths and opportunities; a need to increase the accessibility of food assistance services; increase collaboration and coordination of the emergency food assistance system; and increase the capacity of food assistance providers to meet the food needs of Calgarians.

Examining Calgary's Emergency Food Assistance System provides recommendations that will improve the capacity of Calgary’s emergency food assistance system to effectively deliver emergency food assistance in an emergency.

Examining Calgary's Emergency Food Assistance System

Income from employment that is sufficient to cover the cost of living in a given region is not only vital to reducing poverty but is a necessary component to a resilient city and economy. People need more than the bare minimum, this includes enough income to cover bank fees, education and training, internet costs, and the ability to save for an unexpected event. Other principles identified by Living Wage Canada include a wage that enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs, promote social inclusion, and support healthy child development.

Working in collaboration with other municipalities, Vibrant Communities Calgary has adopted the new standardized methodology to calculate the living wage rate for Calgary.  The 2020 living wage is $20.69 per hour, a substantial 27% increase from the 2018 rate of $16.45, and a difference of 39% from Alberta’s minimum wage of $15 per hour.  

2020 has been a tough year. While the data is not all in, this year has brought inequities to the surface, in our own city and worldwide. 

Among those harder hit include Calgarians who were experiencing poverty before COVID-19 began. Parents, especially mothers, are struggling to balance work and childcare, and many are leaving employment altogether. Racialized groups and people with lower incomes are less likely to be able to work from home and much more likely to contract COVID-19. Unpaid sick leave was always an issue of poverty, but today it is a matter of public health. 

The intersection of COVID-19, the recession, and increasing food prices has made the vulnerable more vulnerable. We don’t have all the information yet, but need to be prepared to support Calgarians facing unprecedented challenges. As such, we’ll share the most recent data we have on poverty in Calgary and what we know about this radical new context.

Vibrant Communities Calgary and EndPovertyEdmonton believe the Alberta government plays a pivotal role in ensuring public safety, wellbeing, and in creating the right environment for civil society to adequately do its job. While we realize these are extraordinary times, Alberta’s debt and increasing health care costs are long standing challenges. When the causes of health care and opportunities for savings are closely examined, the evidence points overwhelmingly to various issues related to poverty. We understand and respect the difficult choices your government has had to make during an extremely challenging year, and we believe this submission presents a path forward towards modernizing our policies for the Alberta of today, helping create a strong foundation for the future. 

Our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All in 2021

Learn more about the steps taken to advance the development of an Indigenous gathering space within the City of Calgary

Not filing your taxes? You could be missing out!

Public transit must be connected, convenient, accessible, and affordable

Transit – moving the conversation beyond ‘affordable’

2020 Evaluation Report highlights progress in poverty reduction

Building Back Better – Enough for All in action

Collective impact and collaboration at the centre of reducing poverty in Calgary

Enough for All Changemakers constantly ask ‘what’s possible?’

Highlighting the experiences of poverty in all 14 wards of Calgary

Evaluating our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All in 2020

Laying Bare Inequities: COVID-19, Gender, Race and Precarious Employment

Reflecting on Basic Income Through the Lens of Poverty Reduction

Combating poverty in the earliest stages of life

Overcoming Stigma: Poverty is Not a Choice

Ward 5

At a glance

Low income demographics (LIM-AT*, 2015)

4,240

Ages 0-17

5,125

Ages 18-64

435

Ages 65+

Statistics by category

Income inequality

What we heard

Ideas

Next Ward

Poverty Profiles 2021