Watch the recording of our online Community Conversation on the Calgary Plan, held on September 21, 2026. Hear residents' questions, feedback, and discussion on how Calgary should grow and change in the years ahead. A copy of the presentation is available for reference on this page.

Overview

One of my key priorities coming into Council was improving the quality and frequency and engagement from the Ward 8 Office with Ward 8 constituents. As another step in the process, the Ward 8 Team has been working on more ways to include all of your voices in important votes and policy updates coming to Council.

The Calgary Plan is one of those policies - a document that will serve as the framework for how our City grows and how we deliver key services over the next few decades.

An updated draft of the Calgary Plan comes to Council in January with the goal of amending the draft based on Council feedback. Once the draft is updated in January, there will be another round of public engagement before a final draft comes to Council sometime in 2027 (depending on Council direction in January).

We want to take this Council engagement one step further and include feedback from Ward 8 in the updates I bring to Administration through meetings and a formal report.

Below is a short explanation of the Calgary Plan process, summary of our engagement, and links to engagement tools and resources to help you learn more about the Calgary Plan.

How We Got Here

Every municipality in Alberta is required to have a Municipal Development Plan as per Section 632 of the Alberta Municipal Government Act.

The Calgary Plan is an update to our Municipal Development Plan and is a proposed long-term planning framework intended to guide how Calgary grows over the next 30 years. It brings together land use planning, transportation planning, infrastructure planning, and city-building priorities into a single document that will help guide future decisions about growth and investment in our city. 

Importantly, this Plan does NOT directly rezone properties or determine development approvals. Those decisions continue to occur through separate processes, including the Land Use Bylaw, Local Area Plans, development permit applications, and future Council decisions. As a high-level planning document, the Calgary Plan is intended to establish the vision, goals, and framework that guides those future conversations.

Regardless of where you currently stand on the draft, our office believes this is an important opportunity to improve the Calgary Plan to better reflect the priorities of Ward 8 residents. Rather than asking whether this work should continue, we want to understand what you would like to see in Calgary's long-term vision and how make the Calgary Plan stronger.

Continuing the Work — Not Starting Over

Setting aside the current draft would mean restarting the process from the beginning. Instead, Council has the opportunity to build on the work already completed while addressing valid concerns raised by residents, community organizations, and stakeholders.

This is about making the Plan better—not abandoning the progress we’ve made. There are real opportunities to improve the draft and ensure it reflects the needs and priorities of our communities which is why your input is so important.

A Commitment to Stronger Public Engagement

Feedback from residents and findings from the independent KPMG review regarding Engage Calgary highlighted a clear desire for more consistent, meaningful, and transparent public engagement. I believe we must always be doing more, which is why we are taking this step prior to January's vote.

• Survey - The Ward 8 Team has created a survey with several questions that will help inform my final report to Administration. This must be completed by the end of October to be included in the Council engagement update. Responses from this survey and previous engagement activities will be collected and considered as part of my final report. It is not possible for every suggestion to be included but I can promise that my responses will be meaningfully informed by your ideas.
• Online Engagement - We have organized an online session on September 21. This will include a short explanation of the Calgary Plan and the process so far with the majority of the session dedicated to answering questions from those in attendance.
• Direct Feedback - You are always welcome to send your thoughts to us directly in addition to these two activities. More information about how to get in touch can be found below.
  

Sincerely,

Nathaniel Schmidt
City of Calgary Ward 8 Councillor 
Calgary.ca/Ward8

How We Got Here

Every municipality in Alberta is required to have a Municipal Development Plan as per Section 632 of the Alberta Municipal Government Act. 

The Calgary Plan is intended to serve as the evolution of our current Municipal Development Plan; a long-term vision for the city—bringing together priorities for housing, transportation, infrastructure, and community development into a single, integrated framework.

The Calgary Plan is a provincially required framework that will guide how Calgary grows and evolves over the coming decades. 

At this point the decision is not limited to a “keep it or cancel it” choice. Moving forward does not mean accepting the current draft as-is—it means using the opportunity for this Council to review the work on a project initiated by previous Council and to refine, improve, and strengthen it alongside Calgarians. 

Continuing the Work — Not Starting Over

If the current draft were set aside entirely, the City would be required to restart the process from the beginning. Instead, Council has the opportunity to build on the work already completed while addressing valid concerns raised by residents, community organizations, and stakeholders. 

This is about making the Plan better—not abandoning the progress we’ve made. There are real opportunities to improve the draft and ensure it reflects the needs and priorities of our communities.

A Commitment to Stronger Public Engagement

Feedback from residents and findings from the independent KPMG review regarding Engage Calgary highlighted a clear desire for more consistent, meaningful, and transparent public engagement.

Moving forward and working on the Plan between now and January 2027 when it comes back to Council allows us to:

• Strengthen Council oversight of engagement 
• Apply best practices and lessons learned from the KPMG report 
• Have a more transparent and responsive engagement process through events and communications directly with the Ward Office. 
• Our office is actively working to deepen engagement with Ward 8 residents to ensure their perspectives help shape the next iteration of the Plan. 

Building Trust Through Action and Focusing on Outcomes

This is not the end of the conversation—it’s the next step.  

Far from a “keep it or cancel it” approach, let’s focus on efficient use of funding and work already invested, and redirect and pivot towards solutions without having to go back to the drawing board.

Next Steps

From the Ward 8 Office, we intend to continue to connect with our Community Associations, Business Improvement Areas, and individual residents to receive feedback and provide answers on the process and areas to improve on the next iteration of the Plan. You can expect the following from us:

• Calgary Plan FAQ and Feedback Form on our Ward Website 
• Calgary Plan-focused Ward 8 Open Houses 
• Continued work with City Administration on content and improvements in the draft 
• Advocating for an assessment and review of what’s working and what’s not working on the current MDP and Land Use Bylaw, and incorporating those findings into the Calgary Plan  
• Diving deeper into what a new Land Use or Zoning Bylaw should achieve and how it will work in conjunction with the Calgary Plan 

Sincerely,

Nathaniel Schmidt
City of Calgary Ward 8 Councillor 
Calgary.ca/Ward8