7 Questions to Ask Each Candidate This Municipal Election on Housing + Safety
We know that safer streets start with stable homes, and City Hall controls a lot of the levers that make homes happen (or stall out). There’s no public safety without appropriate, affordable housing. Ask your candidates how they intend to ensure we keep moving forward towards more permanent housing and safety solutions in Calgary.
1) Prioritize capital dollars for non-market housing
Ask: Given stretched property taxes, what will you prioritize in the capital budget to deliver non-market homes fastest, considering both new construction and acquisition? How much per year, from which sources, and how will you leverage City land and other orders of government to multiply impact?
Why it matters: Non-market homes require up-front investment—that’s the price of safer, more stable communities. The City can put real dollars on the table and help non-profits like NHA buy existing buildings, which is often cheaper per home than new builds, while still funding the new supply we’ll need for the long term. Clear annual targets (dollars in, homes out) keep projects moving even when budgets are tight.
2) Use City land for mixed-income housing
Ask: Will you commit to a steady, annual pipeline of City land sold or leased below market to non-profits (and help non-profits buy existing buildings where it’s cheaper per home)?
Why it matters: Land cost sets the floor on rent. When the City contributes land or helps providers purchase buildings so they stay affordable over time, rents can be truly affordable without endless operating subsidies.
3) Fund the supports that keep people stable
Ask: How will you work with the Province to fund supports (mental health, addictions care, home-care) that help people stay housed?
Why it matters: Housing ends homelessness; supports stop the revolving door. After long periods outside, many people need help with life skills, health, and income—otherwise the same crises repeat in public spaces and on transit. And before or alongside providing housing, providing places to go during the day is essential to support the wellbeing of individuals and the safety of communities in the short term.
4) Make financing affordable, so rents can be too
Ask: Will you press Ottawa to expand low-cost, long-term financing for non-profits (modern versions of the old Section 56.1-style mortgages)?
Why it matters: Interest costs drive rents. Cheaper, longer-term loans let non-profits charge lower rents for the long run. Cities don’t set interest rates, but they can champion change at the federal level.
5) Specificity around downtown safety – actions + results
Ask: Which evidence-based downtown safety actions will you champion - and how will you report results each quarter?
Why it matters: Extra surveillance usually pushes problems around rather than solving them, and adding officers is expensive and slow to scale. Pairing housing, supports, and day-space options reduces disorder instead of relocating it. Quarterly reporting keeps everything transparent and allows us all to see the effects of change.
6) Handle encampments humanely, with a path to housing
Ask: What’s your plan for encampments that moves people into housing - including enough daytime spaces - instead of endless displacement?
Why it matters: Chasing tents block-to-block wastes money and trust. If people have nowhere safe to be in the day, they end up in stations, parks, or doorways. Day-spaces plus real pathways into housing reduce calls, conflict, and repeat clearances. This isn’t just about safety, either. It’s also about dignity, appropriate use of public resources, and solutions that actually solve.
7) Keep housing project moving when there’s pushback
Ask: When a small affordable project faces neighbourhood opposition, how will you keep it on schedule while addressing real concerns?
Why it matters: Every delay keeps families stuck. Mixed-income housing strengthens neighbourhoods and avoids the harms of concentrated poverty, and simple things like knowing your neighbours improve community safety. Council’s job: fix legit issues (design, traffic, operations) and deliver the homes the city needs.
Two Numbers Worth Remembering
It costs Norfolk about $3,000–$6,000 per household/year to subsidize a home; governments spend roughly $87,000/year keeping someone unhoused (mostly health and justice costs). Housing is cheaper—and humane.
Where NHA Fits in All of This
Norfolk Housing Association operates mixed-income buildings: our residents pay no more than 30%-40% of their income in rent - and can move in or out of subsidy without moving homes, as needed. Social impact renters pay near-market rents (with the same 30-40% threshold) and ensure we remain profitable and able to add homes (albeit, slowly).
We also connect neighbours to community resources and encourage neighbour-to-neighbour connection because we know that safer streets and community wellbeing start at home.