calgarylens
live record51.0447°N · 114.0719°Walt 1045 m
file 02topic · climate13 directives9 figures
last updated · 2026.04

Calgary’s climate emergency,
what it actually did.

On 15 November 2021, Calgary City Council declared a climate emergency. Four years later, a motion to rescind it was defeated 4-10. This case file walks through what the declaration directed, what got built, what it cost, and who actually paid.

climate · case filecity tax-base share
$2.20
/person
Recurring annual cost to every Calgarian, fully-ramped 2026.($3.52M/yr citywide)
grants secured
$602M
Federal + provincial money brought in 2023→2026.(non-repayable)
city contribution
$137M
Calgary capital + one-time operating + city-reserve cash for the same window — 4.4× leverage.(non-loan, 4-year cash)
per-capita GHG
−31.9%
Community emissions per resident vs. the 2005 baseline.(2005 → 2022)
[02]

Calgary among the declarers

By the time Calgary declared a climate emergency on November 15, 2021, more than 2,000 jurisdictions in 40 countries — including the federal House of Commons and most of Canada’s major cities — had already done the same. Vancouver was first among big Canadian cities, on January 16, 2019. Toronto, Ottawa, and Edmonton followed within months. Calgary arrived more than two and a half years later — squarely in the mainstream of the wave, not its leading edge and not its tail.

Climate emergency declarations worldwide — 40 countries, 2,365 jurisdictions
Canada — 653 jurisdictionsUnited Kingdom — 603 jurisdictionsSouth Korea — 228 jurisdictionsUnited States of America — 206 jurisdictionsJapan — 136 jurisdictionsAustralia — 118 jurisdictionsItaly — 114 jurisdictionsGermany — 106 jurisdictionsSpain — 30 jurisdictionsFrance — 26 jurisdictionsSwitzerland — 20 jurisdictionsBelgium — 19 jurisdictionsIreland — 19 jurisdictionsNew Zealand — 17 jurisdictionsAustria — 11 jurisdictionsNorway — 8 jurisdictionsPhilippines — 7 jurisdictionsHungary — 6 jurisdictionsPoland — 5 jurisdictionsTaiwan — 4 jurisdictionsBrazil — 3 jurisdictionsChile — 3 jurisdictionsNetherlands — 3 jurisdictionsColombia — 2 jurisdictionsCzechia — 2 jurisdictionsSweden — 2 jurisdictionsAndorra — 1 jurisdictionArgentina — 1 jurisdictionBangladesh — 1 jurisdictionFiji — 1 jurisdictionFinland — 1 jurisdictionLithuania — 1 jurisdictionMaldives — 1 jurisdictionMalta — 1 jurisdictionMexico — 1 jurisdictionPeru — 1 jurisdictionSingapore — 1 jurisdictionSlovakia — 1 jurisdictionSolomon Is. — 1 jurisdictionVanuatu — 1 jurisdictionAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAngolaAnguillaAntigua and Barb.ArmeniaArubaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBarbadosBelarusBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and Herz.BotswanaBr. Indian Ocean Ter.British Virgin Is.BruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCayman Is.Central African Rep.ChadChinaComorosCongoCook Is.Costa RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCôte d'IvoireDem. Rep. CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican Rep.EcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEq. GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaeroe Is.Falkland Is.Fr. PolynesiaFr. S. Antarctic LandsGabonGambiaGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard I. and McDonald Is.HondurasHong KongIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIsle of ManIsraelJamaicaJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaliMarshall Is.MauritaniaMauritiusMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarN. Mariana Is.NamibiaNauruNepalNew CaledoniaNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorth MacedoniaOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPitcairn Is.PortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaS. Geo. and the Is.S. SudanSaint HelenaSaint LuciaSamoaSan MarinoSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSint MaartenSloveniaSomalilandSouth AfricaSri LankaSt-BarthélemySt-MartinSt. Kitts and NevisSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vin. and Gren.SudanSurinameSyriaSão Tomé and PrincipeTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos Is.TuvaluU.S. Virgin Is.UgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUruguayUzbekistanVaticanVenezuelaVietnamW. SaharaWallis and Futuna Is.YemenZambiaZimbabweeSwatiniÅlandDarebin2016-12-05Calgary2021-11-15
hover a country
40
countries with ≥1 declaration
jurisdictions
0
1
2–9
10–49
50–199
200+
# jurisdictions
2,366
40 countries · cedamia tracker, 2026-05-01
people covered
~1.07B
13.4% of world population
Canadian declarations
653
126 pinned individually + 525 Québec councils tracked together
Calgary's lag
+34 mo
Vancouver declared Jan 16, 2019; Calgary Nov 15, 2021
Every individual Canadian declaration on the cedamia tracker
BCABSKMBONQCNBNSNLYTNTNUCalgaryNov 15, 2021Calgary (Alberta) — declared Nov 15, 2021 · primary-verifiedToronto (Ontario) — declared Oct 2, 2019 · primary-verifiedAjax (Ontario) — declared Sep 16, 2019Amherstburg (Ontario) — declared Dec 11, 2019Annapolis (Nova Scotia) — declared Sep 23, 2019Aurora (Ontario) — declared Oct 22, 2019Barrie (Ontario) — declared Oct 7, 2019Bathurst (New Brunswick) — declared Jun 17, 2019Belleville (Ontario) — declared Jun 28, 2021Berwick (Nova Scotia) — declared Oct 8, 2019Bowen Island (British Columbia) — declared Oct 28, 2019Bracebridge (Ontario) — declared Jun 29, 2021Brampton (Ontario) — declared Jun 5, 2019Brant (Ontario) — declared Nov 26, 2019Brantford (Ontario) — declared Nov 12, 2019Brock (Ontario) — declared Aug 23, 2021Burlington (Ontario) — declared Apr 23, 2019Burnaby (British Columbia) — declared Sep 9, 2019Caledon (Ontario) — declared Jan 28, 2020Canada House of Commons (Federal) — declared Jun 17, 2019Canmore (Alberta) — declared Oct 1, 2019Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) — declared May 21, 2019Capital (British Columbia) — declared Feb 13, 2019Central Elgin (Ontario) — declared Oct 28, 2019Central Kootenay (British Columbia) — declared Apr 11, 2019Central Saanich (British Columbia) — declared Jul 8, 2019Chase (British Columbia) — declared Sep 6, 2022Chatham-Kent (Ontario) — declared Jul 15, 2019Clarington (Ontario) — declared Mar 3, 2020Cobourg (Ontario) — declared Nov 25, 2019Colwood (British Columbia) — declared May 27, 2019Cornwall (Ontario) — declared Dec 13, 2021Cowichan Valley (British Columbia) — declared Nov 13, 2019Dufferin (Ontario) — declared Sep 8, 2022Duncan (British Columbia) — declared Jul 15, 2019Durham (Ontario) — declared Jan 29, 2020East Gwillimbury (Ontario) — declared Apr 18, 2023Edmonton (Alberta) — declared Aug 27, 2019Edmundston (New Brunswick) — declared Feb 19, 2019Esquimalt (British Columbia) — declared Mar 18, 2019Essex (Ontario) — declared Feb 16, 2021Fredericton (New Brunswick) — declared Mar 27, 2023Gananoque (Ontario) — declared Jul 2, 2019Goderich (Ontario) — declared Jan 13, 2020Gravenhurst (Ontario) — declared Apr 20, 2021Greater Sudbury (Ontario) — declared May 28, 2019Grey (Ontario) — declared Apr 14, 2022Halifax (Nova Scotia) — declared Jan 29, 2019Halton (Ontario) — declared Sep 11, 2019Halton Hills (Ontario) — declared May 6, 2019Hamilton (Ontario) — declared Mar 27, 2019Highlands (District of) (British Columbia) — declared Mar 18, 2019Huntsville (Ontario) — declared Jun 28, 2021Innisfil (Ontario) — declared Feb 9, 2022Islands Trust (British Columbia) — declared Mar 12, 2019Kenora (Ontario) — declared Sep 17, 2019King (Ontario) — declared Jul 8, 2019Kitchener (Ontario) — declared Jun 24, 2019Kingston (Ontario) — declared Mar 5, 2019Langley (British Columbia) — declared Jan 11, 2021Lions Bay (British Columbia) — declared Apr 13, 2021London (Ontario) — declared Apr 23, 2019Lunenburg District (Nova Scotia) — declared Oct 22, 2019Mahone Bay (Nova Scotia) — declared Feb 12, 2019Meaford (Ontario) — declared Nov 18, 2019Milton (Ontario) — declared Jul 22, 2019Mississauga (Ontario) — declared Jun 19, 2019Moncton (New Brunswick) — declared Mar 18, 2019Muskoka (Ontario) — declared Oct 19, 2020Nanaimo (British Columbia) — declared Apr 29, 2019New Glasgow (Nova Scotia) — declared Mar 1, 2022New Westminster (British Columbia) — declared Mar 11, 2019Newmarket (Ontario) — declared Jan 13, 2020Niagara (Ontario) — declared Sep 23, 2021Niagara-on-the-Lake (Ontario) — declared Feb 24, 2020North Cowichan (British Columbia) — declared Jul 17, 2019North Vancouver (British Columbia) — declared Jul 8, 2019Oak Bay (British Columbia) — declared Apr 8, 2019Oakville (Ontario) — declared Jun 24, 2019Ottawa (Ontario) — declared Apr 24, 2019Peel (Ontario) — declared Oct 24, 2019Pemberton (British Columbia) — declared Mar 8, 2022Pembroke (Ontario) — declared Apr 20, 2021Penticton (British Columbia) — declared May 17, 2022Peterborough (Ontario) — declared Sep 23, 2019Pickering (Ontario) — declared Dec 16, 2019Port Hope (Ontario) — declared Dec 20, 2022Port Moody (British Columbia) — declared Jun 11, 2019Powell River (British Columbia) — declared Feb 21, 2019Prince Edward (Ontario) — declared May 28, 2019Qualicum Beach (British Columbia) — declared Aug 10, 2022Quebec Parliament (National Assembly) (Quebec) — declared Sep 25, 2019Richmond (British Columbia) — declared Feb 4, 2019Saanich (British Columbia) — declared Mar 25, 2019St. Catharines (Ontario) — declared Apr 29, 2019St. Thomas (Ontario) — declared Feb 10, 2020Sarnia (Ontario) — declared Jun 17, 2019Shippagan (New Brunswick) — declared Mar 2, 2020Sidney (British Columbia) — declared Mar 25, 2019Smithers (British Columbia) — declared Jul 9, 2019Sooke (British Columbia) — declared Apr 8, 2019Squamish (British Columbia) — declared Jul 2, 2019St. John's (Newfoundland) — declared Nov 4, 2019Stratford (Ontario) — declared Feb 10, 2020Surrey (British Columbia) — declared Nov 4, 2019Tecumseh (Ontario) — declared Dec 10, 2019Thunder Bay (Ontario) — declared Jan 13, 2020Tracadie (New Brunswick) — declared May 27, 2019Treaty #3 Grand (Ontario) — declared Oct 3, 2019Vancouver (British Columbia) — declared Jan 16, 2019Vaughan (Ontario) — declared Jun 4, 2019Victoria (British Columbia) — declared Mar 14, 2019View Royal (British Columbia) — declared Mar 5, 2019Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (Old Crow) (Yukon) — declared May 19, 2019Waterloo (Ontario) — declared Oct 9, 2019Wellesley (Ontario) — declared Oct 8, 2019West Nipissing (Ontario) — declared Apr 23, 2019West Vancouver (British Columbia) — declared Jul 8, 2019Whitby (Ontario) — declared Jun 24, 2019White Rock (British Columbia) — declared Jan 13, 2020Whitehorse (Yukon) — declared Sep 23, 2019Wilmot (Ontario) — declared Sep 23, 2019Windsor (Ontario) — declared Nov 18, 2019Wolfville (Nova Scotia) — declared May 21, 2019Woolwich (Ontario) — declared Sep 24, 2019Yukon Legislative Assembly (Yukon) — declared Oct 10, 2019
hover a pin
126
Canadian declarations shown
Calgary (focus)primary-verified motionmunicipal / regionalfederal / legislativesize ∝ √population
+525Québec municipal councils tracked together by Groupe Mobilisation (since aug 2018). cedamia carries them as a single aggregate row, so they appear in the headline count but not as individual pins on the map above.
When each declared — Calgary in coral
2020202120222023Vancouver — Jan 16, 2019Halifax — Jan 29, 2019Richmond — Feb 4, 2019Mahone Bay — Feb 12, 2019Capital — Feb 13, 2019Edmundston — Feb 19, 2019Powell River — Feb 21, 2019Kingston — Mar 5, 2019View Royal — Mar 5, 2019New Westminster — Mar 11, 2019Islands Trust — Mar 12, 2019Victoria — Mar 14, 2019Esquimalt — Mar 18, 2019Highlands (District of) — Mar 18, 2019Moncton — Mar 18, 2019Saanich — Mar 25, 2019Sidney — Mar 25, 2019Hamilton — Mar 27, 2019Oak Bay — Apr 8, 2019Sooke — Apr 8, 2019Central Kootenay — Apr 11, 2019Burlington — Apr 23, 2019London — Apr 23, 2019West Nipissing — Apr 23, 2019Ottawa — Apr 24, 2019Nanaimo — Apr 29, 2019St. Catharines — Apr 29, 2019Halton Hills — May 6, 2019Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (Old Crow) — May 19, 2019Cape Breton — May 21, 2019Wolfville — May 21, 2019Colwood — May 27, 2019Tracadie — May 27, 2019Greater Sudbury — May 28, 2019Prince Edward — May 28, 2019Vaughan — Jun 4, 2019Brampton — Jun 5, 2019Port Moody — Jun 11, 2019Bathurst — Jun 17, 2019Canada House of Commons — Jun 17, 2019Sarnia — Jun 17, 2019Mississauga — Jun 19, 2019Kitchener — Jun 24, 2019Oakville — Jun 24, 2019Whitby — Jun 24, 2019Gananoque — Jul 2, 2019Squamish — Jul 2, 2019Central Saanich — Jul 8, 2019King — Jul 8, 2019North Vancouver — Jul 8, 2019West Vancouver — Jul 8, 2019Smithers — Jul 9, 2019Chatham-Kent — Jul 15, 2019Duncan — Jul 15, 2019North Cowichan — Jul 17, 2019Milton — Jul 22, 2019Edmonton — Aug 27, 2019Burnaby — Sep 9, 2019Halton — Sep 11, 2019Ajax — Sep 16, 2019Kenora — Sep 17, 2019Annapolis — Sep 23, 2019Peterborough — Sep 23, 2019Whitehorse — Sep 23, 2019Wilmot — Sep 23, 2019Woolwich — Sep 24, 2019Quebec Parliament (National Assembly) — Sep 25, 2019Canmore — Oct 1, 2019Toronto — Oct 2, 2019Treaty #3 Grand — Oct 3, 2019Barrie — Oct 7, 2019Berwick — Oct 8, 2019Wellesley — Oct 8, 2019Waterloo — Oct 9, 2019Yukon Legislative Assembly — Oct 10, 2019Aurora — Oct 22, 2019Lunenburg District — Oct 22, 2019Peel — Oct 24, 2019Bowen Island — Oct 28, 2019Central Elgin — Oct 28, 2019St. John's — Nov 4, 2019Surrey — Nov 4, 2019Brantford — Nov 12, 2019Cowichan Valley — Nov 13, 2019Meaford — Nov 18, 2019Windsor — Nov 18, 2019Cobourg — Nov 25, 2019Brant — Nov 26, 2019Tecumseh — Dec 10, 2019Amherstburg — Dec 11, 2019Pickering — Dec 16, 2019Goderich — Jan 13, 2020Newmarket — Jan 13, 2020Thunder Bay — Jan 13, 2020White Rock — Jan 13, 2020Caledon — Jan 28, 2020Durham — Jan 29, 2020St. Thomas — Feb 10, 2020Stratford — Feb 10, 2020Niagara-on-the-Lake — Feb 24, 2020Shippagan — Mar 2, 2020Clarington — Mar 3, 2020Muskoka — Oct 19, 2020Langley — Jan 11, 2021Essex — Feb 16, 2021Lions Bay — Apr 13, 2021Gravenhurst — Apr 20, 2021Pembroke — Apr 20, 2021Belleville — Jun 28, 2021Huntsville — Jun 28, 2021Bracebridge — Jun 29, 2021Brock — Aug 23, 2021Niagara — Sep 23, 2021CalgaryCornwall — Dec 13, 2021Innisfil — Feb 9, 2022New Glasgow — Mar 1, 2022Pemberton — Mar 8, 2022Grey — Apr 14, 2022Penticton — May 17, 2022Qualicum Beach — Aug 10, 2022Chase — Sep 6, 2022Dufferin — Sep 8, 2022Port Hope — Dec 20, 2022Fredericton — Mar 27, 2023East Gwillimbury — Apr 18, 2023
Global first

The first municipal climate emergency declaration on record was passed by Darebin (Melbourne) (Victoria, Australia) on Dec 5, 2016, per cedamia’s tracker — almost 5 years before Calgary’s.