Calgary’s mayor cautiously optimistic about federal budget as more details sought

Mayor Jeromy Farkas said the budget makes funding for municipalities a priority, but notes Calgarians will judge the budget on 'actions on the ground, not words on paper.' 

Despite Calgary only receiving a single mention in the more than 400-page document, there’s cautious optimism at city hall and amongst stakeholders regarding Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget.

Carney’s federal Liberal government tabled its first budget on Tuesday, which projects a deficit of around $78.3 billion this year with $141.4 billion in new spending, partially offset by more than $51 billion in savings and cuts over the next half-decade.

Calgary’s sole mention in the document is on a chart that shows unemployment rates across the country’s major cities.

However, at a press conference late Tuesday afternoon, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he feels the spending plan makes “funding municipalities a priority.”

“We approach today’s budget with cautious optimism,” Farkas said. “Today’s promises are encouraging but Calgarians will judge this budget by actions on the ground, not words on paper.”

Farkas pointed towards a new initiative called the Build Communities Strong Fund, which proposes to spend $51 billion over the next 10 years through provincial governments to municipalities to build “housing-enabling” infrastructure like roads and water projects as well as health-related infrastructure.

The mayor also mentioned housing funding in the newly launched Build Canada Homes plan, as well as “broad investments” in law enforcement.

“I’ll work with our provincial and federal partners to ensure that Calgary leverages this budget to deliver for our city,” Farkas said.