Our City
Our Organization Our city
Land acknowledgement
The Calgary area, where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, is a place of confluence where the sharing of ideas and opportunities naturally come together.
Indigenous peoples have their own names for this area that have been in use long before Scottish settlers named this place Calgary.
The Métis call the Calgary area Otos-kwunee. In the Blackfoot language, they call this place, Moh’kinstsis. The Îethka Nakoda Wîcastabi refer to the Calgary area as Wicispa Oyade and the people of the Tsuut’ina nation call this area Guts’ists’i.
We appreciate and acknowledge that we live, work, and play on the ancestral and traditional territories of the Blackfoot confederacy, made up of the Siksika, Piikani, Amskaapipiikani and Kainai First Nations; the Îethka Nakoda Wîcastabi First Nations, comprised of the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations; and the Tsuut’ina First Nation.
The City of Calgary is also homeland to the historic Northwest Métis and to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, Métis Nation Battle River Territory (Nose Hill Métis District 5 and Elbow Métis District 6). We acknowledge all Indigenous people who have made Calgary their home.
Big dreams, hard work, a resilient spirit
Throughout history, people have been drawn to this land. To hunt, to fish, to gather, to trade, to build community.
Our municipal history starts in the late 1800s with the construction of The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland (previously Fort Calgary) at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers.
Calgary is a place where diverse people and perspectives come to collaborate, to cooperate, and to build a better life.
Calgary, the Blue Sky City, is a city that is changing with the world — and helping to change the world.
By the numbers
We're the third largest municipality in Canada, serving 1.5 million people.
Calgary has:
- the highest personal income per capita of Canada’s major cities,
- the highest head office concentration in Canada,
- the second lowest cost of living in the country, and
- the highest GDP per capita of major Canadian cities.
Calgarians are:
- young with an average age of 37,
- diverse – the city is home to 41% visible minorities,
- active, with over 1000 km of pathways, and
- growing — we have thousands of new people arriving annually from across Canada and the world.
A great place to make a living, a great place to make a life
Calgary is one of the most liveable cities on the planet, recently ranking fifth most liveable by the Economist Intelligence Unit. We have an excellent quality of life, a vibrant arts and culture scene, low taxes and access to the best Mother Nature has to offer with the majestic Rocky Mountains only an hour’s drive away.
Doing business in Calgary is friendly and our entrepreneurial spirit runs deep. With affordable downtown office space, we aim to cut red tape, enable innovation and nurture our growing startup and small business economy, equipped with an educated and high tech workforce.
The City of Calgary is part of that success story; we're thousands of Calgarians serving the city we live in, the city we love.
Our City motto is “onward”; we're building Calgary's future by making smart decisions today.