City of Calgary achievements and awards

The City of Calgary’s commitment to excellence has earned recognition both nationally and internationally. Awards for City operations highlight the vibrancy, efficiency and innovative nature of both our corporation and the city we serve.

Quality of life

A great place to make a living, a great place to make a life.

Year	Recipient	Award	Conferring Body
2024	Calgary	World's 5th most livable City	The Economist
2023	Calgary	Friendliest city in the world	Condé Nast 2023 Readers Choice Awards
2023	Calgary	World's 7th most livable City	The Economist
2022	Calgary	World's 3rd most livable City	The Economist
2021	Calgary	47th Best City in the world	Resonance Consultancy
2020	Calgary	47th Best City in the world	Forbes
2020	The City of Calgary	Canada's Best Employers	Forbes
2020	Calgary	Honorary Recognition: Reader Rock Garden	World Urban Parks
2019	Calgary	World's 5th most livable City	The Economist
2019	Calgary	Most Livable City in North America	The Economist
2019	The City of Calgary	Youth Employment Centre - Community Choice Award for Best Recruiter	Star Metro
2019	Calgary	Canada's 4th most Youthful City	YouthfulCities Canadian Urban Work Index
2019	The City of Calgary	Climate Leader of the Year	Dive Awards
2018	The City of Calgary	Canada's Best Employers	Forbes
2018	The City of Calgary	4th Most Livable City in North America	The Economist
2018	Calgary	World's 5th most livable City	The Economist
2017	The City of Calgary	Canada's Top Employers for Young People	Forbes
2017	The City of Calgary	Canada's Top Employers for Young People	Mediacorp Canada
2017	The City of Calgary	Canada's Greenest Employers	Mediacorp Canada

Planning, development and architecture

Planning, building and developing great communities for everyone.

Year	Recipient	Award	Conferring Body
2021	City of Calgary	Award of Excellence, Jury's Award of Excellence: Dale Hodges Park	Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Association
2021	City of Calgary	Award of Excellence, Planning & Analysis: The Future of Stephen Ave	Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Association
2021	City of Calgary	Heritage Calgary Award, Resource Conversation: Historic City Hall	Heritage Calgary
2021	Calgary Parking	Best Design/Implementation of a Surface Lot	International Parking & Mobility Institute
2021	Calgary	Bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community	Share the Road Cycling Coalition
2020	City of Calgary	Award of Planning Merit: Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan	Alberta Professional Planners Institute
2020	City of Calgary	Canadian Award for Financial Reporting	Government Finance Officers Association
2020	City of Calgary	Distinguished Budget Presentation Award	Government Finance Officers Association
2020	City of Calgary	Award for Outstanding Planning for the climate emergency: Biodiverse Communities Initiative	Commonwealth Association of Planners
2020	City of Calgary	Award for Outstanding Planning for cities and human settlements: Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Strategy	Commonwealth Association of Planners
2020	City of Calgary	3rd best overall planning features, government charges and approvals times in Canada	Canadian Home Builders' Association
2020	City of Calgary	Award for Planning Excellence: Biodiverse Communities Initiative	Canadian Institute of Planners
2019	International Ave Development Plan	Award for Planning Excellence	Canadian Institute of Planners
2018	The 4th Ave Flyover	National Urban Design Awards - Community Initiative	Royal Architectural Institue of Canada
2018	East Village Junction	Best Small Project	Canadian Urban Institute's Brownie Award
2018	Csquare	Award of Merit	Prairie Design
2018	Crossroads Garden Shed	People’s Choice Award	Architizer A+
2017	The City of Calgary	Canada's Best Employers	Forbes
2017	The City of Calgary	Canada's Top Employers for Young People	Mediacorp Canada
2017	The City of Calgary	Canada's Greenest Employers	Mediacorp Canada

Technology and innovation

We're harnessing our resilient prairie spirit and going high-tech.

Year	Recipient	Award	Conferring Body
2023	Calgary	Most dynamic growing tech community	2023 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome
2020	City of Calgary	4th best Open Cities Index in North America	Public Sector Data
2020	The City of Calgary	Best Geospatial Program Maturity in North America	PSD Citywide
2019	Stoney CNG Bus Storage and Transit Facility	National Award for Innovation and Excellence	The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships
2019	Internet of Things	Smart 50 Award	Smart Cities Connect
2019	Live Maps	Larger municipalities award	Minister's Awards for Municipal Excellence
2018	The City of Calgary	Award of Excellence for GIS use	ESRI Canada
2018	The City of Calgary	Top 25 GIS Programs in Canada	Public Sector Digest
2018	Internet of Things Network	Award for Municipal Excellence	Minister's Awards for Municipal Excellence

Additional awards and recognition

Other noteworthy awards and recognition.

Year	Recipient	Award	Conferring Body
2022	City of Calgary	Environment and Sustainability Award: Biosolids and Willow Trees for a Low Carbon Economy	Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta
2021	City of Calgary	Canadian Project of the Year Award (Up to $100M CAD): the Rangeview Sanitary Trunk Phase 1	Tunnelling Association of Canada
2021	City of Calgary	Social Procurement Champion – City of Calgary for the Benefit Driven Procurement Policy	Buy Social Canada
2020	City of Calgary	Environment and Sustainability Award: The Bioengineering Demonstration and Education Project	Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta
2020	City of Calgary	Best Social Media Campaign Runner Up: #SupportLocalYYC	Marketing News Canada
2020	Calgary	3rd best scorecard on prosperity	Toronto Region Board of Trade
2020	City of Calgary	Gold Quill Award: This is not an Ashtray	International Association of Business Communicators
2020	City of Calgary	Award of Excellence: Archeology and Calgary Parks Uncovering Human History	Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Association
2019	City of Calgary	Canadian Award for Financial Reporting	Government Finance Officers Association
2019	City of Calgary	Distinguished Budget Presentation Award	Government Finance Officers Association
2019	Shepard Waste Management Facility	Exceptional Municipal Water/Wastewater Project Award	Western Canada Water
2019	City of Calgary	Gold Quill Award: The City's approach to Cannabis Legalization	International Association of Business Communicators
2019	This is My Neighbourhood	Core Values Award for Contribution & Innovation in the Field	International Association of Business Communicators
2019	Calgary Police Service Marine Unit	Canadian Safe Boating Award: Special Recognition	Canadian Safe Boating Council
2019	Traffic Calming Curbs	2019 Road Safety Engineering Award	Transportation Association of Canada
2019	Current Budget	Distinguished Budget Presentation Award	Government Finance Officers Association
2019	Too Good to Waste	Award of Distinction - Top Municipal Video	Municipal World
2018	City of Calgary Cab Driver with Checker	International Driver of the Year	International Association of Transportation Regulators
2018	Green Cart Program	2018 Municipal Program Award: Green Cart Program – City of Calgary	Recycling Council of Alberta
2016	Calgary	3rd most diverse in Canada	Statistics Canada, Census 2016

Recognizing outstanding achievements and contributions

Calgary Awards

Honouring outstanding citizen achievements in 13 categories including; Citizen of the Year, arts, education, accessibility and youth; this program gives The City the opportunity to acknowledge these contributions.

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Mayor's Urban Design Awards

The Mayor’s Urban Design Awards (MUDA) recognizes the contribution of Calgary urban designers, architects, landscape architects, and artists to the livability of our city.

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