As politicians are making the rounds doing their year-end interviews, Alberta NDP opposition leader Naheed Nenshi sat down with the CBC to discuss his party’s plans to improve Alberta’s economy and win over voters in the next provincial election.During the interview, the CBC asked Nenshi about Premier Danielle Smith and her UCP government repeatedly stating that if the NDP were to gain power, they would raise taxes.In response, the NDP leader pointed to his time as mayor of Calgary as evidence of his fiscal credibility.“New Democrats always hear, ‘We know you’re better on health care. We know you’re better on education. We know you have the same values as me, but the economy,’” Nenshi said.He then added that, “my record in Calgary — 11 years of balanced budgets … the lowest taxes in the country and the highest quality of life in the country — I think that speaks for itself.“We have to keep taxes low and competitive … But the number one, most important thing is you’ve got to grow the economy.”A review of Nenshi’s record as mayor, however, shows that while parts of the statement may be accurate, others rely on selective framing and omit key details.Nenshi served as mayor of Calgary from 2010 to 2021. During that period, the City of Calgary did not report any operating deficits..'I KNOW HOW TO BUILD A PIPELINE': Nenshi calls out Smith's tactics .However, the city increasingly relied on reserves, borrowing, and long-term debt to fund projects, and municipal debt rose substantially over that same period, a trend that was documented in the city’s own financial statements.Nenshi’s assertion that Calgary had “the lowest taxes in the country” during his time as mayor is not supported by independent data.There is no evidence that Calgary consistently had the lowest taxes nationwide across all municipalities, all property types, or all of the years during Nenshi’s tenure.Smaller cities and towns regularly recorded lower property tax bills than Calgary, in particular towns and communities on the outskirts of the city such as Airdrie and Cochrane, which saw their populations rapidly increase during this time period.One thing critics point out as well is that while Calgary remained competitive relative to other large cities, property taxes increased substantially during Nenshi’s time in office..Data cited earlier this year by SecondStreet.org shows that in Calgary, the median detached home paid $1,173.61 in municipal property taxes in 2010. By 2021, that figure had risen to $2,147.13 — an increase of roughly 83%.In 2017, the Financial Post reported that “the biggest beef against Nenshi” was that residential property taxes had risen 51% over seven years, while some non-downtown businesses saw tax increases as high as 200%, driven in part by high office vacancy rates in Calgary’s downtown core during his tenure, which reached 30% at its peak — the highest of any major global city.At that time, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce also reported a record 7,124 business closures in 2016 and complained that an escalation of red tape made it more difficult to attract new investment to the downtown core.Fiscal watchdogs have also criticized City Hall’s spending practices during Nenshi’s tenure.In 2020, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s (CTF) federal director Franco Terrazzano pointed to a $100-million corporate contingency fund, rising labour costs, and what he described as comparatively generous council salaries and pension obligations.Nenshi had previously stated that council kept taxes below inflation and population growth after the 2014 economic downturn and identified more than $740 million in “cuts and savings.”.Alberta UCP calls for Nenshi to come clean on positions on carbon tax, other issues .Terrazzano also said the city’s own data showed that from 2018 to 2019 residential tax revenues grew faster than inflation and population combined and argued the cited “savings” largely reflected slower spending growth rather than actual reductions, noting that city spending increased every year after 2014 and rose by roughly $460 million overall.Nenshi’s claim that Calgary had “the highest quality of life in the country” is also partially supported, but again selective.Calgary ranked first among Canadian cities in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index in 2018 and 2019 and frequently placed in the global top 10 during the mid-2010s.In 2013, Calgary ranked fifth worldwide but was still behind Vancouver and Toronto in the top five.The Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Calgary 28th globally in 2010, again behind other Canadian cities such as Ottawa and Vancouver.Calgary may have balanced its operating budgets during Nenshi’s mayoralty and achieved high quality-of-life rankings in several years, but claims of having “the lowest taxes in the country” and consistently leading in quality of life are misleading and paper over the cracks of his divisive tenure.
