Summary#

On March 31, 2026, Calgary City Council approved this item on the consent agenda, 15–0, and received the report for the City’s records. It is a progress update on developing a rolling, city-wide 10-year Capital Infrastructure Plan—not approval of that plan or of the projects it lists. City staff say the goal is to coordinate and prioritize the City’s long-term infrastructure needs.

• Assessments for 13 capital-intensive City services identify about $49 billion in capital needs over the next 10 years. Other services’ assessments are still underway.
• The assessments cover needs and timing to meet current service objectives, without accounting for financial or delivery limits.
• The assessments will help inform a prioritized city-wide plan and the 2027–2030 budget process. The assessments and plan are intended to be updated annually.
• The report gives preliminary estimates, not commitments to build particular projects on a particular schedule.

What it means for you#

• Calgarians: The report offers information about City infrastructure needs, but it does not promise that listed projects will be funded or built. City staff say public input can occur through earlier service-plan engagement and during individual projects’ design.
• Council and City staff: The assessments are inputs to planning and budget decisions. This Council decision only received the progress report for the City’s records.

Money#

The report estimates about $49 billion in capital needs over 10 years; it does not approve that spending.

• City staff estimate the City will need to spend about $5 billion annually on capital projects to deliver services.
• The estimates are preliminary, in 2025 dollars, and do not include future inflation. Staff say costs and operating impacts may change as projects are developed.
• City staff report no anticipated financial impact from this report itself. It does not set a project budget.

What is unclear#

• Which needs will be prioritized, funded or scheduled—and which may be pushed beyond the 10-year period—will be considered through later planning and budget decisions.
• The report does not give a final city-wide plan or detailed project-by-project commitments.
• Public engagement was not undertaken for this report; the report says earlier engagement on service plans and future engagement on individual projects inform the work.

Case for#

• City staff say common assessments can help coordinate and prioritize spending across services, with the aim of supporting reliable services.
• The report makes the scale of identified needs more visible to Council, the public and industry before the 2027–2030 budget process.
• Staff say annual updates can inform budget adjustments and the City’s long-range financial planning.

Case against#

• City staff warn that people may mistake the needs and timing in the assessments for promises to deliver projects. Some projects may be delayed or move outside the 10-year window.
• The roughly $49 billion estimate is preliminary and excludes future inflation, so it does not show the final cost of delivering the listed needs.
• The assessments identify needs without financial or delivery constraints; the report does not yet say which needs the City can afford or deliver.