Summary#

Council received the 2025 Status of Emergency Preparedness in Calgary report for the corporate record, approving it on the consent agenda on May 26, 2026. The report is required each year under Calgary’s Emergency Management Bylaw; its stated purpose is to share information about disaster risks and emergency-management work.

• The decision records the report; it does not create a new emergency program or direct staff to carry out specific new actions.
• The report describes 2025 work by the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA), including updates to the Municipal Emergency Plan, training, and responses to events such as the G7 Summit and the Bearspaw South Feeder Main Break.
• It reports that community preparedness programs reached more than 11,500 Calgarians and that Canada Task Force 2 completed three deployments and more than 11,000 training hours.
• City staff reported an assessment of 67 hazards and threats, with 22 high-priority disaster risks. The full Disaster Risk Report was to be released later in 2026.

What it means for you#

• Residents: The decision does not add individual duties or change services or benefits. The report says preparedness programs reached more than 11,500 Calgarians in 2025.
• City staff and emergency partners: The report describes work already carried out, including planning, training and coordination. It does not set new duties for them.
• Taxpayers: Council’s decision was to receive the report, not to approve a new program or budget.

Money#

The report says emergency planning and preparedness are funded through existing operating funding in the 2023–2026 Service Plans and Budgets; it gives no total cost.

• The report mentions additional CEMA staffing but gives no staffing numbers or related cost.

What is unclear#

• The full Disaster Risk Report was not included in the supplied material; staff said it would be released later in 2026.
• The report points to future priorities but does not set specific actions, timelines or budgets for them.
• The report does not give the cost or staffing level for the work described.

Case for#

• City staff say updated plans, training and risk assessments help coordinate emergency responses and focus resources on significant risks.
• Staff report that CEMA supported major events and emergencies in 2025, while Canada Task Force 2 maintained urban search-and-rescue capacity through deployments and training.

Case against#

• The report identifies 22 high-priority risks, but without the full risk report it is hard to assess how those risks were ranked or what response each requires.
• Council received the report for the record but did not set specific actions or funding for the future priorities it describes.