Calgary Housing Politics: The 50-Year Fight That Never Ended

CALGARY, AB — Fifty years ago today, frustrated Calgarians did something radical: they formed a municipal political party. The Calgary Urban Party lasted exactly one election. Their platform? Stop urban sprawl. Rein in big developers. Make housing affordable.

Sound familiar?

On February 25, 1976, Calgary had 470,000 people and a median bungalow cost $20,000. Today, the city has 1.6 million residents and the median detached home sits at $675,000. The players have changed. The script has not.

1976: The First Party Experiment

The Calgary Urban Party (CUP) emerged during the Oil Boom, when the skyline earned the nickname 'Manhattan of the North' but ground-level Calgarians were panicking. Home prices had spiked. A company called Genstar controlled massive swaths of land, accused of monopolistic practices that kept prices high.

CUP's answer: better urban planning. Limit sprawl. Bridle the developers.

The party was wiped out in the 1977 election. Calgarians preferred 'independent' voices over party labels.

2026: New Parties, Same Fights

For the first time since CUP faded, formal municipal parties are back. The province's Bill 20 pilot cleared the way for groups like The Calgary Party, A Better Calgary Party, and Communities First to contest the 2025 election. Mayor Jeromy Farkas won as an independent. Six councillors ran under party banners.

The density wars? Still raging. In 1976, residents in Haysboro and Pump Hill fought 'high rises' at Glenmore Landing, calling the project a 'recipe for gridlock.' In 2024 and 2025, those same communities used the exact same language to oppose redevelopment of the same land.

The city-wide rezoning bylaw—approved in May 2024 to allow rowhouses and semi-detached homes across low-density neighbourhoods—became the lightning rod. Mayor Farkas and six councillors (Andre Chabot, Dan McLean, Kim Tyers, Rob Ward, Mike Jamieson, Landon Johnston) sponsored a motion to repeal it in November 2025. Council voted 13-2 in December to begin rolling it back. A public hearing is set for March 23, 2026.

Only two councillors—Myke Atkinson (Ward 7) and Nathaniel Schmidt (Ward 8)—voted against the repeal.

What Changed, What Didn't

In the '70s, the answer to growth was building out—creating middle-ring suburbs like Lake Bonavista and Varsity. Today, the battle is about building up. Blanket rezoning debates would have been unthinkable to the CUP, whose focus was simply preventing developers from owning all the dirt.

But the underlying tension—who controls growth, who profits from it, and who gets priced out—remains unchanged.

The Question Ahead

The Calgary Urban Party failed because voters rejected party politics at City Hall. Fifty years later, the province brought parties back by force. Whether The Calgary Party or Communities First can succeed where CUP failed—or whether Calgary is destined to argue about the same blocks of Glenmore Landing until 2076—depends on what happens March 23.

History doesn't repeat. But in Calgary, it definitely rhymes.