Arts and Culture Take the Stage at Mayoral Debate

Last week’s mayoral debate at the Jack Singer Concert Hall placed Calgary’s arts and culture sector squarely in the spotlight. Co-presented by Creative Calgary, the Downtown Calgary Association, the Calgary Construction Association, and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by the Rozsa Foundation and the Werklund Centre, the event drew a capacity crowd eager to hear how the five leading mayoral candidates would shape Calgary’s creative future, and approach city issues such as support for small business, infrastructure development, and safety on Calgary streets.

As the Rozsa Foundation leads the Creative Calgary steering committee, we were proud to see the creative economy, a sector valued at nearly $3 billion annually¹, given equal consideration in this city-wide conversation. Moderator Deborah Yedlin guided a spirited and sometimes pointed exchange that revealed distinct visions for how arts and culture can drive Calgary’s next chapter of growth, belonging, and renewal. Here is a run-down of how each candidate responded to the question "Calgary’s vibrancy, including the arts and culture sector, plays a central role in attracting talent, investment, and visitors, and is an economic driver contributing over $3 billion annually to our economy. Yet many organizations face chronic underfunding and rising operating costs. If elected, how will you support Calgary’s vibrancy—including arts and culture—and ensure Calgary continues to build a globally recognized creative economy that anchors our city’s vibrancy long term?" The candidates are listed in the order they were called upon to respond.

Brian Thiessen emphasized that “artists can’t live on ribbon cuttings,” calling for multi-year, predictable operating support to stabilize organizations and attract talent. He proposed increasing Calgary Arts Development’s budget, expanding the Meanwhile Lease program to turn vacant commercial spaces into temporary studios, and creating a Creative Industries Investment Fund modelled after the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund to help creative entrepreneurs build sustainable livelihoods. Thiessen also advocated for more cross-sector partnerships between cultural and non-arts organizations, ensuring artists are embedded in education, health, and community projects. His message: culture is both community and strategy, a driver of jobs, innovation, and civic cohesion.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek pointed to her record as an “arts champion,” noting that her council delivered the largest increase in municipal arts funding in Calgary’s history. She positioned cultural investment as essential infrastructure, connecting it to early-childhood development, newcomer integration, and city vibrancy. Gondek pledged to streamline event-permit and venue bylaws, reduce costs for festivals, and rebuild corporate philanthropy to complement public funding. She underscored that projects like Arts Commons Transformation and the new Event Centre are catalysts for economic recovery and tourism, generating ripple effects in hospitality and small business. Her framing of arts and culture as core city-building tools drew one of the night’s warmest responses.

Jeromy Farkas offered a more personal narrative, recalling that as a child in East Calgary “the arts felt like something that happened somewhere else.” Acknowledging earlier opposition to arts budgets, he said leadership means “admitting when you’re wrong.” His platform focuses on decentralizing access by funding community-level spaces such as the National Access Arts Centre and Evergreen Theatre, and supporting youth and equity-seeking groups. Farkas’s broader vision casts the arts as an essential public service, creating safety, belonging, and opportunity while bridging divides between downtown and the suburbs.

Jeff Davison, a former councillor and film-industry advocate, tied creativity directly to Calgary’s economic diversification. “You don’t have vibrancy without the arts,” he said, citing his leadership on the Entertainment and Cultural District and the purchase of the Calgary Film Centre, which helped attract The Last of Us and other productions. Davison’s platform calls for expanding film incentives, enhancing cultural tourism, and ensuring artists have affordable live–work spaces. He framed arts investment as a high-return economic strategy: for every municipal dollar invested, Calgary sees roughly seven in return.

Sonya Sharp connected culture to civic safety and everyday experience. “If you don’t have a safe city, you have nothing,” she said, arguing that Calgarians must feel secure walking to performances and festivals. Sharp highlighted her work on the Film Friendly initiative and her support for Contemporary Calgary funding, emphasizing that art should extend beyond downtown to every neighbourhood. Her approach combines red-tape reduction with neighbourhood revitalization, helping small businesses and local artists animate streets, cafés, and community halls.

Five candidates, five routes, but one shared destination: a city where creativity drives community, economy, and civic pride. On October 20, Calgarians will decide which vision will guide that journey, and we urge you to keep civic support for arts and culture top of mind when making your choice.

¹ Source: Statistics Canada, Provincial and Territorial Culture Indicators, 2023 (Table 36-10-0453-01), adjusted to Calgary’s metropolitan share using Hill Strategies Research and City of Calgary Cultural Plan data, 2019–2023