What is Calgary's economic action plan?

The ambitious vision for Uplook; an action plan for Calgary’s economy, is to create Calgary as the place where bright minds and big ideas come together with an unmatched spirit to help solve global challenges. This community-owned and created strategy outlines interconnected focus areas and Transformational Initiatives to drive progress towards this vision. It guides how together we can collectively diversify our economy and create a city where all people can thrive.

Dig into the full strategy

An inclusive vision

Calgary is the place where bright minds and big ideas come together with an unmatched spirit to help solve global challenges. 

Every single civic organization, community organization, small business and large enterprise in Calgary plays a role in advancing this plan and shaping the economic future for Calgarians today and tomorrow.

What is the focus of Calgary's economic action plan?

Calgary's economic action plan is made of five connected focus areas that work to create a better economic future for all in our city. See progress to date.

By prioritizing innovation, livability, talent, business environment and brand, together we will drive progress towards the vision to create a more resilient economic future in our city.

Key focus areas

Talent

Home to bright minds.

Livability

The best place to build a life.

Business Environment

Top location for business.

Innovation

A creative hub.

Brand

An iconic city.

What is a transformational initiative?

As a community, we can achieve our vision and the priorities in each driver through tangible Transformational Initiatives.

These initiatives are not static – as we evolve and advance as a city there will be new, more initiatives to work on together. Transformational Initiatives are actionable tactics and intiatives that help us create a city where all people can thrive. What makes them distinct is:

  • Their impact can be seen across and/or involve multiple economic drivers within the strategy
  • These projects create a systems-level impact
  • These are collaborative projects (undertaken by multiple community partners)
  • These projects provide scalable solutions (can grow)

Talent driver

Calgary is a city where people can build and experience meaningful careers. With adaptive, future-focused learning environments and an innovative business community, we are a top choice for people who want to create solutions and change the world.

How?
(Transformational Initiatives)
See progress updates

Livability driver

By focusing on livability, we want everyone to feel welcome in Calgary. We inch closer to this reality when we build communities that are accessible to everyone, our city is enjoyable year-round and we are working towards a net-zero future.

How?
(Transformational Initiatives)
See progress updates

Business Environment driver

To realize a vibrant economic future, we want Calgary to be a globally and digitally relevant city. In our community, we encourage businesses to use technology and data to drive meaningful change, and we employ and champion policies to allow businesses to thrive and scale.

How?
(Transformational Initiatives)
See progress updates

Innovation driver

Calgary is building an environment where companies start, accelerate and scale to the global stage. By investing in development opportunities and accelerating the real-world application of research and development, Calgary is becoming a magnet for creative thinkers, organizations and institutions that champion new ideas.

How?
(Transformational Initiatives)
See progress updates

Brand driver

As the Blue Sky City, Calgary is a gathering place of diverse perspectives where peoples, ideas and lands converge to make a difference and create unexpected possibilities. Our city can become known globally as an inclusive place, when we share a coherent identity with the world around us through unified storytelling

How?
(Transformational Initiatives)
  • Calgary Film Commission
  • Collaborative brand initiatives 
  • Influencing reputation and perceptions 
  • Unified storytelling
See progress updates

Wondering how Uplook is driving progress in Calgary?

Read our full progress report

Your voice matters, Calgary

As the community’s economic strategy, Uplook evolves through continuous engagement with Calgarians. Share your insight and feedback on the right path forward for our city through this 5-minute survey.

How will you help transform Calgary for the future? 

Share your thoughts

Have questions? We have answers.

Here's a list of frequently asked questions at a glance. Not seeing what you are curious about? Send us a message here and we'll be happy to connect.

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