Infrastructure, affordability, public safety are key issues for Calgarians as election day approaches: poll

Calgarians will be heading to the ballot box with infrastructure, public safety and affordability on their minds, according to a poll done for CBC News.

“What I see in the data very much reflects what the candidates are talking about,” said Calgary-based pollster Janet Brown, who conducted the survey of 1,000 residents of the city of Calgary through the Trend Research Online Panel between Oct. 1 and 8. 

Survey respondents were presented with a list of issues and asked how important it was that the City of Calgary pursue certain goals over the next four years, using a scale from zero to 10.

The poll suggests significant support related to maintaining water and road infrastructure, tackling public safety and disorder downtown, as well as keeping residential property taxes low.

The issue of maintaining Calgary’s water system topping the list is likely reflective of the fact that the city had a major water main break earlier this year, Brown said.

It’s unsurprising to see matters like maintaining roads and snow removal near the top of the list, too — “table stakes” in any municipal election, in Brown’s view.

Calgary pollster Janet Brown says maintaining infrastructure like roads and water mains, as well as tackling spending and safety, are top priorities for voters in the municipal election. (Helen Pike/CBC)

Then there’s another level of concerns tied to safety, taxation and affordability.

“Calgary is always a place that is concerned about taxation and responsible spending,” Brown told CBC Radio’s Calgary Eyeopener. “But this issue of crime, it’s really growing. We’re really seeing that that has been changing over the years … growing as an issue of concern.”

Fixing the infrastructure deficit

Earlier this week, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce hosted a debate with what it considered the “top contenders” in the race for mayor: Brian Thiessen, Jeff Davison, Jeromy Farkas, Sonya Sharp and incumbent Jyoti Gondek. 

Brown’s poll put those same candidates in the top five amongst decided and leaning voters. Thirty-four per cent of voters are undecided, the poll suggests.

At the debate, candidates shared their approaches to issues like downtown safety and infrastructure. 

From left to right, some of the mayoral candidates in the 2025 municipal election in Calgary: Sonya Sharp, Jyoti Gondek, Jeff Davison, Brian Thiessen and Jeromy Farkas. (CBC, Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

On infrastructure, Gondek said the problem stems from “years of cuts to the budget,” arguing that her council has reversed that trend by reinvesting in core services like water systems and pavement.

“We’ve finally got shovels in the ground on the Green Line, we have approved funding for the Blue Line to be extended up to the airport,” she said.

Farkas emphasized fixing aging infrastructure and supporting local suppliers. 

“Right now, there’s a big focus on the very large facilities, the things like Arts Commons, the things like the arena,” he said. “All these things that we’re going to need. But we’re really falling short when it comes to the community, street-level infrastructure.”

Sharp said she’d push for a “fix-it-first mentality” and proposed opening an infrastructure planning office. 

“Everywhere we go, a business is closing its doors because of the construction that’s happening,” she said. “Then we get a bad reputation about construction in Calgary.”

Thiessen proposed creating an independent water utility and mandating a “dig once” policy. 

“All the utilities co-ordinating, so small businesses in Marda Loop and Bridgeland aren’t forced to go under because the road keeps getting dug up,” he said.

Meanwhile, Davison argued the city must “build faster” by partnering with the private sector. 

“When the water stops working, we failed as a city. When 40 per cent of our roads have fallen into disrepair, we’ve failed to manage the roads,” he said. “It starts with partnering with industry, actually creating the certainty and security that investors need.”

People split on blanket rezoning

The polling also asked respondents about city hall’s contentious blanket rezoning bylaw, which allows townhomes and row houses in most residential areas without going through a rezoning process.

Fifteen per cent of respondents said they strongly supported the zoning policy, while 28 per cent said they somewhat supported it. Sixteen per cent said they somewhat opposed the policy, while 36 per cent said they strongly opposed it. Five per cent said they didn’t know or had no answer.

“Really, the poll just reaffirms that that’s a very controversial idea,” said Brown.

Duane Bratt, political scientist at Mount Royal University, noted that many of the issues that emerged in the poll revolve around maintaining critical infrastructure. (Mike Symington/CBC)

Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, also found the split in how respondents polled on rezoning interesting, noting that candidates are promising either a repeal or a reform of the policy.

“Half accept that it’s a good idea, half accept it’s a bad idea … someone who likes blanket rezoning, where do they go to vote?”

One thousand Calgary residents were surveyed through the Trend Research Online Panel between Oct. 1 and 8, 2025, under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The survey was commissioned by CBC Calgary. Quotas were set for age, gender and city quadrant. Minimal weighting was applied to match Statistics Canada population data. As a non-probability online survey, a margin of error does not apply. However, the margin of error for a comparable probability sample would be +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.