'A drop in the bucket': Calgary Chamber slams provincial budget for lack of downtown revitalization funding

The Calgary Chamber says an unexpected surplus in the 2022 provincial budget is good news for Alberta’s fiscal growth, but it lacks significant support for small businesses and downtown revitalization.

“It’s a drop in the bucket,” said Calgary Chamber president and CEO Deborah Yedlin.

“Calgary continues to have the second highest number of offices per capita in Canada, we are a corporate centre and our downtown core doesn’t reflect that.”

The UCP government allocated $5 million to revitalizing Calgary’s downtown, of which $1 million will be directed to the Calgary Downtown Business Association.

Yedlin adds that Calgary’s downtown is struggling significantly with a 30 per cent office vacancy rate, noting that it needs to be rebranded and market itself as a constant opportunity to engage community involvement. 

She says the province should put more stake in repurposing existing buildings, providing incentives for new developments, and building more greenspaces.

“There's not a lot of vibrancy and when we think about small businesses a lot of those businesses downtown are owned by real people, it’s their dream, it's their retirement, it’s something that they feel passionately about doing,” she said.

“Many of these businesses are struggling to stay afloat, having accessed government support over the last two years and they need to see some uplift. That is immediate, we can't wait, we don't have the luxury of time right now.”

Calgary city council previously approved $255 million in city spending towards downtown revitalization in 2021 and Mayor Jyoti Gondek had asked the province to put up the same amount.

“I suppose our request for matched funding means two per cent,” Gondek told reporters at a city hall press conference Thursday.

“I would like to think that $5 million is a starting point. I always hesitate to call something an insult because a little bit of money is better than none, but it's absolutely not what a partner should be providing.”

Gondek also slammed the province’s allocation of its affordable housing budget. She said Calgary represents 30 per cent of Alberta’s population, but only 11 per cent of affordable housing funds were allocated in the budget, and just 5.5 per cent of housing units are coming to Calgary.

Another issue remains a lack of funding to cover Calgary Transit shortfalls.

“The deal was, the federal government was prepared to offer operating dollars in this emergency situation only if the province stepped up,” said Gondek.

Following the tabling of the provincial budget Thursday, Finance Minister Travis Toews said the UCP government is seeking to be a partner in downtown revitalization in the major hubs of Calgary and Edmonton.

Both cities received the same $5 million in funding. 

“This is a modest investment that we’re confident will make a difference,” said Toews.