Calgary city council approves new Green Line plan with shovels in the ground this year

The Green Line LRT project remains on track with the potential for construction to begin later this year, after Calgary city council approved a new plan for the line.

The decision follows an ultimatum from the provincial government, which commissioned an engineering firm to find an elevated alignment through the downtown core instead of the previously approved tunnel.

City council’s decision Tuesday means major construction could begin this year on the Green Line between Victoria Park and Shepard in the southeast; a segment of the line for which both the city and province agreed to continue advancing design work.

However, city council approved a recommendation to undertake a functional study for the alignment through the downtown core, including design, engagement with stakeholders, firming up cost estimates, and determining property and safety impacts.

Administration said the study would be complete by the end of 2026, and construction on the downtown section could begin in 2027.

Several councillors who voted in support of the move expressed concern with the process, after the province threatened to pull its $1.53 billion share of funding if city council did not accept its preferred alignment.

“The province really does feel like it has us staring down the barrel of a gun, but I am supportive,” Ward 12 councillor Evan Spencer said during debate.

“We need track, we need the Green Line to get started.”

City administration provided 10 recommendations to council, with councillors Jasmine Mian, Jennifer Wyness, Raj Dhaliwal, Courtney Walcott and Mayor Jyoti Gondek opposed in a number of votes.

Mian, who represents Ward 3, said city council’s approval of the new Green Line plan was the “last straw” for her and then announced she would not be seeking re-election in October because of it.

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“Calgary is being held hostage on our own project,” Mian said. “It seems to me that council will accept whatever terms necessary to keep the project alive, including signing a blank cheque while relinquishing control over something for which we have ultimate accountability.”

The budget for the mega-project is set at $6.2 billion, but city administration warned it found an additional $1.2 billion in cost and risks not accounted for in the province’s assessments and said those costs would fall entirely on the city if no other financial support is provided.

Gondek expressed several concerns about the city taking on such financial and legal risks on its own.

“They will not take any responsibility for cost overruns, they will not take on any liability for property owners who come to us and say, ‘You have destroyed my business environment,’” Gondek told reporters.

“We are holding all of the risk and the risk is limitless.”

The mayor also noted an elevated alignment in the core was previously studied and determined to not be a feasible option.

A letter from several downtown business groups was recently sent to the province expressing concerns with the proposal. 

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“They could stand to destroy a downtown that is the energy headquarters of our nation,” Gondek said.

Council heard the city is now funding 46 per cent of the Green Line project, with the provincial share at 26 per cent and the federal government’s share at 27 per cent.

However, Ward 10 councillor Andre Chabot said moving forward with the project and a functional study in the downtown core would be an opportunity to work with the province on a solution.

“My objective was to try and preserve as much of our investment we made and to maximize on the opportunities with other orders of government,” he said following the vote.

“I believe that’s what is before us now, and how we move forward from here is another question.”

In a statement, Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said city council’s approval is a “historic step forward for Calgary commuters,” adding the province is pleased with the decision.

“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the City of Calgary and working with the federal government to finalize the updated business case,” Dreeshen said. “With this decision, we are ready to move forward and get shovels in the ground as early as this spring.”

City administration will now submit an updated business case for the project to the provincial government and the federal government by Feb. 14, with a deadline to continue federal funding of March 31.

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