Summary#

Calgary City Council approved the refreshed Home is Here: The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy 2026–2030 on September 22, 2026, by a 9–6 vote. This is a City strategy, not a bylaw: it does not itself change housing laws or create a new benefit. Its stated goal is to guide City work and partnerships to increase housing supply and choice and improve affordability.

• The refresh keeps the previous strategy’s vision and outcomes but reduces its 98 actions to 10.
• It updates measures of success, classifying them as outcomes the City can directly influence or measures it will monitor because its influence is indirect.
• The City’s target includes 3,000 new non-market homes a year (homes not rented or sold at market rates); this is a target, not a guarantee that the homes will be built.
• City staff say they will continue working across City departments and report annually to the Community Development Committee.
• Councillors Jamieson, Tyers, Chabot, Wyness, Johnston and McLean voted against approval. The supplied materials do not give their reasons.

What it means for you#

• Calgarians: The strategy sets direction for City housing work, but approval does not itself change rents, tenant protections, home prices, or anyone’s eligibility for housing.
• Housing providers and partners: City staff say the strategy is intended to guide continued work with housing-sector and government partners. The specific 10 actions are not included in the supplied materials, so their practical effect is unclear.
• Taxpayers: The decision does not approve a stated new amount of funding. Staff say there are no capital or operating impacts from this report.
• People needing accessible, Indigenous-led, or deeply affordable housing: People who took part in engagement raised these needs, among others. The available materials do not show exactly how each is addressed in the approved strategy.

Money#

City staff report no capital or operating impact from approving the refresh; this does not mean the housing work itself has no cost.

• Staff say City funding can be important in securing provincial and federal support for non-market housing. No funding amount for implementing the refreshed strategy is given.
• The materials do not give a cost estimate for meeting the 3,000-homes-a-year target.

What is unclear#

• The supplied materials do not include the revised strategy’s full list of 10 actions or its complete measures and targets.
• They do not specify what staff, funding, or timelines each action will require.
• The materials do not show how the City will act on specific engagement suggestions, such as funding accessibility changes to existing homes, operating support for housing providers, or prioritizing City land for non-market housing.
• The strategy’s overlap with existing City housing programs is not explained in the materials provided.

Case for#

• City staff say housing pressures remain high: rents and home sale prices rose faster than incomes from 2019 onward. A focused strategy could help coordinate City work and partnerships in response.
• Staff say reducing the action list from 98 to 10 gives clearer direction, while updated measures are intended to make progress easier to track.
• The Council Advisory Committee on Housing supported approval, saying a refreshed strategy can help sustain housing work and align partners. Engagement findings also reported broad support for continued coordinated action.

Case against#

• A shorter list may make the strategy easier to focus on, but the supplied materials do not show which actions were removed or how the remaining 10 will be delivered.
• The 3,000-homes-a-year target depends on resources and partners, but the decision includes no new funding amount. The RESAC Non-Market Housing Committee supported the strategy while calling for more City land, predictable funding, and faster approvals.
• Engagement participants raised needs including accessibility changes to existing homes and ongoing operating support for housing providers. It is unclear whether the approved strategy includes specific steps on these issues.