Priorities
As Mayor of Calgary, Jyoti’s top priorities are ensuring the safety of our community, practicing fiscal responsibility, and investing in critical infrastructure to meet the needs of all Calgarians.
Public Safety
Making sure that every Calgarian feels safe living in our city has been a top priority since I was elected. Bringing together a leadership table to determine best first steps in addressing public safety concerns and creating meaningful solutions helped City Council find opportunity for stronger investment in public transit safety, emergency services budgets, and taking proper care of our vulnerable communities.
The Economy
Growing our economy means expanding our investment opportunities, being fiscally responsible and making bigger, bolder decisions towards our future. Calgary’s innovation and creative action has led to an increase in investments towards greener infrastructure development, helping ensure Calgary is a place people want to keep calling home and to keep attracting new talent.
Infrastructure
Demonstrating leadership during Calgary’s recent water emergency, the Mayor’s advocacy with other orders of government was critical. Her ability to communicate with Calgarians, collaborate with third-party experts in the oil and gas industry, and lead the City during a state of local emergency ensured a swift resolution and minimized future risks. And she’s committed to protecting the City’s complete infrastructure network now and into the future.
What We’ve Achieved Together
In the first three years of her term as Mayor, Jyoti Gondek has…
Led City through Water Emergency
Throughout Calgary’s water emergency, the Mayor was at the forefront, communicating to Calgarians about all of the newest updates. Connecting with other orders of governments, organizations, and even international municipalities allowed Calgary to quickly recover from a significant infrastructure emergency.
Balanced Calgary’s Budget
Balancing the budget requires balancing current needs and future goals. With consistent re-evaluation, the budget adapts to changing city circumstances while also ensuring that we can take advantage of meaningful investments that build Calgary’s future.
Delivered Event Centre Promise
By finalizing plans and breaking ground on Calgary’s new event centre, Mayor Gondek demonstrated her understanding of the generational impact Scotia Place will have on the city. Whether it’s creating spaces for community gathering or contributing to the revitalization of Calgary and renewing our place as a global destination, Scotia Place has room for everyone.
Advocated for Housing
Calgary’s housing strategy directly addresses the city’s housing crisis through government-supported initiatives, re-zoning, and innovative downtown conversions. By ensuring affordability and fair housing market access, Calgary will remain one of the most liveable cities in the world.
Provided Relief for Local Business
Local businesses play an essential role in Calgary’s flourishing economy and the City has taken a more active role in supporting them. Mayor Gondek’s advocacy for non-residential property tax adjustments and grant funding for businesses impacted by construction on main streets enables Calgary businesses to remain dynamic and competitive.
Promoted Inclusivity, Safety and Belonging
Mayor Gondek championed the Safe and Inclusive Access Bylaw that promotes safety, inclusivity, and diversity in public spaces, such as libraries and recreational facilities, by limiting protests which challenge the human rights of LGBTQ2S+ Calgarians. This is one example of how she is making sure Calgary remains a city for everyone.
Made Calgary’s Streets Safer
Through initiating the Downtown Safety Leadership Table to address the root issues of Calgarians’ safety concerns and providing appropriate funding to Calgary’s emergency services, Mayor Gondek has taken diverse action towards creating a safer city. By speaking with experts and community members, these actions will create long-lasting and meaningful impact in the wellbeing and comfort of all Calgarians.
Led Transformation of Calgary’s Arts and Culture Sector
The Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza transformations will enhance the way Calgarians experience and access our vibrant arts and culture sector. Collaboration with other orders of government have established this as a key expansion to the revitalization of our city.
Issues
Housing
Ensuring all Calgarians have a place to call home amidst a housing crisis is a critical component to building vibrant communities and a thriving city. As more people from across Canada, and the world, choose to establish Calgary as home, it is becoming evermore important that everyone has access to dignified housing.
We have made strides through the city’s housing strategy to maintain access to affordable housing. Leading the country in innovation, downtown office conversions in our city centre have started to develop housing that will contribute to our downtown revitalization. In collaboration with other orders of government, we can provide Calgarians with more housing opportunities to ensure that no-one is left behind.
Budget
Creating a balanced budget in a world of changing circumstances requires saving responsibly for the future, while also taking advantage of current opportunities. Allocating the budget to build initiatives and programs that better the lives of Calgarians means investing into the now, and the future of our city for long-lasting impacts.
We have increased funding for programs that will ensure our city’s growth, like investing in clean energy projects or increasing budgets that contribute to building safety in Calgary. Previous savings have allowed us to start development on new infrastructure that will contribute to a growing economy and culture.
New Arena
In October 2023, the City of Calgary reached final agreements to begin developing a new space for Calgarians to connect. A project of this scale represents significant investments and collaboration between different orders of government and local organizations – it signifies the opportunity to revitalize our city and attract talent from across the world.
A new event centre in Calgary will contribute to the city’s economic development and downtown revitalization strategy by creating thousands of jobs, garnering substantial investments into our city, and fostering spaces for community building. Whether you’re a Calgary Flames fan or learning to skate, the new arena and surrounding area will have something for everyone.
Arts Commons
Being home to countless arts productions and programs, and host to an unforgettable 1988 winter Olympics and place for community gathering, the Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza have played a significant role in shaping Calgary’s arts and culture sectors.
The ways in which Jyoti has advocated to other orders of government for these transformations is a testament to its importance to Calgary’s growth. Expanding and modernizing the Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza is a commitment to Calgary’s downtown revitalization strategy, and investments will help enhance the ways and opportunities in which Calgarians can interact with these sectors of our city.
Green Line
Green Line LRT was envisioned as a city-shaping transit line to connect Calgarians in the north and south parts of the city. As of September 2024, the Government of Alberta indicated they no longer believe in the original Green Line alignment as agreed to by the three orders of government in 2021. In subsequent conversations, the Province has proposed a new project with a revised alignment downtown, and they are interested in preserving design already underway from 4th St SE to Shepard. Our Administration teams have been working to find ways to maintain any relevant contracts that can advance a north-south rail solution in a manner that saves taxpayer dollars and saves time in delivery of the project.
Water Emergency
When the Bearspaw main water feeder broke on June 5th, it shaped the way the city responds to emergencies. Communicating with Calgarians, not only about critical updates, but about how we can best support our communities and neighbours, was crucial to maintaining sustainable water levels in the Glenmore Reservoir. Providing Calgarians with knowledge and motivation, the city was able to conserve water and efficiently repair the pipe.
This was not possible without the tireless efforts from construction crews who worked around the clock to return water flow to all Calgarians, or the oil and gas companies and other orders of government who provided their insight so that the city can monitor and improve maintenance strategies on our water infrastructure. A big thank you to everyone who played their part and went above and beyond during this emergency.