Proposal to increase number of city councillors in Calgary stalls out, but will see further consideration

Tuesday night, councillors debated a proposal that could have seen their numbers grow by as many as six before the end of the decade.

Calgary city council has decided to keep the number of seats at the table to 14 -- for now.

Tuesday night, councillors debated a proposal that could have seen their numbers grow by as many as six before the end of the decade.

In the end, they voted 10-3 to keep the number to 14, but also to create a ward boundary commission to study the effectiveness of the current setup and report back in the fall of 2024.

The option to up the number is included within a ward boundary realignment review that was mandated to happen after the 2021 election.

Calgary has had 14 councillors since 1976.

The population then was 472,000 -- that number has since tripled.

Some councillors now say the size of their wards has become unwieldy and are asking for help.