In the early 2000s, Calgary faced rising poverty and homelessness without a unified response. A 2003 City of Calgary report noted that about 12.5% of Calgarians lived below low-income thresholds in 2000, and the 2002 homeless count was 34% higher than in 2000. In response, the question emerged, “What if we could address poverty not at the surface, but at the source?”
This reframing underscored the need for a new approach, one focused on advancing policy change and improving systems and business practices to generate impact at both local and national levels.
In 2002, representatives from United Way of Calgary and Area and Momentum attended Tamarack Institute’s inaugural Vibrant Communities (now Networks for Change) meeting, a national initiative fostering local collaborative action on poverty reduction. Inspired by Tamarack’s framework, these partners co-convened Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) as a new platform to unite the community in collaborative poverty-reduction action. VCC was formally incorporated in 2005 as a non-profit and was uniquely structured to focus on advocacy, coordination, and awareness rather than service delivery. This structure, without charitable status but with a funder, enabled VCC to engage in unlimited advocacy on systemic issues.
WeACT pre-event workshop in September 2014
In 2011, newly elected Mayor Naheed Nenshi championed the creation of Calgary’s first poverty reduction strategy through the Calgary Poverty Reduction Initiative (CPRI). An 18-month community engagement process involving 18 community working groups, coordinated by an 18-member stewardship group, resulted in the strategy Enough for All (E4A), Calgary’s poverty reduction strategy and one of the first in Alberta. E4A was unanimously adopted by the City Council and United Way Calgary in 2013. By 2015, stewardship of E4A shifted from the City to the community: VCC was selected as the “backbone” steward of the strategy. The transition occurred because the strategy had matured to a point where community ownership, cross‑sector collaboration, and an independent convening body were essential for its next phase - roles well-suited to Vibrant Communities Calgary. Under VCC’s leadership, E4A has been the city’s community-owned strategy to reduce poverty, emphasizing root causes and the voices of lived experience.
In 2019, the City, United Way, VCC and partner, Momentum, renewed a multi-year Memorandum of Agreement to fund and govern E4A’s next phase. The strategy was refreshed as Enough for All 2.0, co-created with input from Indigenous elders and community members, identifying 10 “Levers of Change” to guide poverty reduction.
In 2022, VCC became a civic partner of the City of Calgary, moving from the Memorandum of Agreement to a more traditional funding arrangement with the City and United Way. VCC also separated from its charitable sponsor and fiscal agent, becoming a fully independent agency.
Notably, in 2023, the strategy was honoured with a Blackfoot name, iih kanii tai staiiwa (meaning “everything is there”), symbolizing Indigenous leadership and a holistic vision of well-being. In 2026, VCC is leading a process to refresh Enough for All for a third time, updating the strategy to fit community needs. Through Tamarack’s Vibrant Communities network and local partnerships, VCC has evolved into a catalyst for collaborative poverty reduction in Calgary.
Vibrant Communities Calgary Annual Champion Gathering
Over two decades, VCC and its partners have driven significant changes across policy, practice, and public awareness in Calgary’s fight against poverty. Key impact areas include:
VCC’s systems change work aligns with the six “conditions” of Waters of Systems Change, often referenced by Tamarack and FSG: policy, practice, resource flows, relationships, power, and mental models. Calgary’s experience shows that progress on all these fronts, not just program outcomes, is necessary for lasting equity.
Over time, VCC has evolved its collaborative leadership to meet the scale of the challenge. In the early years, VCC focused on building readiness by raising awareness, convening initial partners, and researching solutions. As the initiative matured (especially after adopting E4A), it shifted to mobilizing community-wide action, engaging a much broader coalition in implementation. Several developments illustrate this advancing leadership:
While VCC’s mandate is to reduce poverty, it has placed special focus on certain domains to drive change. Three notable domains where significant progress and innovation have occurred are: Reconciliation & Equity, Public Awareness & Measurement, and Financial Empowerment.
Several interconnected local conditions enabled Calgary’s poverty reduction efforts led by VCC to take root and endure. From the outset, key institutions shared a clear, unified vision of addressing the root causes of poverty. The formal partnership between the City of Calgary, United Way, Momentum, and VCC under the E4A strategy created a stable governance structure with clearly defined, complementary roles. This alignment helped insulate the work from political and economic shifts. Strong political leadership further legitimized poverty reduction as a non-partisan, city-wide priority tied to Calgary’s long-term economic and social health. Equally important was the presence of stable funding and operational infrastructure. Consistent multi-year funding from the City and United Way Calgary allowed VCC to build internal capacity, invest in research, and sustain momentum over time. Momentum’s role as fiscal sponsor provided administrative stability, while Calgary’s strong nonprofit ecosystem and existing collaborative culture, bolstered by institutions such as the Calgary Homeless Foundation, enabled coordinated implementation across sectors. Investments in shared data infrastructure, including the Community Data Hub, further strengthened collective action.
Vibrant Community Calgary in Community
Local philanthropy and private-sector engagement also played a critical enabling role. Organizations such as the Calgary Foundation supported public awareness and systems-change approaches, while corporate partners and financial institutions, such as First Calgary Financial (now Servus Credit Union), supported VCC’s work, seeing it as aligned with their community values, reinforcing the initiative’s legitimacy and reach. The integration of Indigenous principles also shaped the initiative in meaningful ways. Grounded in Calgary’s Treaty 7 context, VCC adopted relational, culturally respectful practices that improved trust, outreach, and inclusion, particularly for Indigenous communities disproportionately affected by poverty. Indigenous worldviews expanded how well-being and abundance were understood, enriching the strategy’s moral and practical foundations.
Finally, local economic cycles and crises shaped Calgary’s journey, and the initiative’s resilience in navigating them has been a factor in its success. The 2014 oil price crash and subsequent recession hit Calgary hard, increasing unemployment and demand for services. As VCC had built a collaborative network, the city was able to respond in a coordinated way (e.g. social agencies, guided by the strategy, scaled efforts for those affected by layoffs). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Calgary’s poverty strategy provided a ready framework for rapid response – whether it was disseminating information on emergency benefits in multiple languages, ensuring transit remained affordable for essential low-wage workers, or rallying donations for urgent needs. The ability to adapt the strategy to these shocks (for instance, adding a focus on digital access when schooling and services went online) kept it relevant. Community trust in VCC as a convener meant it could quickly gather stakeholders to address new challenges. Each crisis also reinforced to local leaders and the public why a systemic approach to poverty (one that builds resilience) is crucial. This understanding further entrenched support for VCC’s long-term work. Together, strong cross-sector governance, stable funding, engaged philanthropy, data-driven decision-making, cultural inclusivity, and adaptability to local conditions created fertile ground for Calgary’s poverty reduction efforts to flourish.
The collaboration between VCC and the Tamarack Institute has been foundational to Calgary’s success. Tamarack Institute, through its Vibrant Communities Canada program, provided the initial framework and inspiration that led to VCC’s creation in 2002. As a national convenor, Tamarack introduced the Cities Reducing Poverty (now, Communities Ending Poverty) model, emphasizing multi-sector collaboration and measurable poverty reduction, which Calgary eagerly adopted. VCC was one of the early members of this national network of cities, benefiting from Tamarack’s coaching, tools, and peer learning opportunities. For example, Tamarack’s guidance on the collective impact approach informed how VCC structured itself as a backbone and how it developed shared measurements. Regular communities of practice calls and annual summits hosted by Tamarack allowed Calgary’s team to exchange ideas with cities like Hamilton, Toronto, and Edmonton, accelerating innovation. Lessons from elsewhere (such as Hamilton’s experience with a living wage campaign or Toronto’s housing-first approaches) could be adapted to Calgary’s context through these knowledge exchanges.
A group of participants at Tamarack's 2015 Poverty Reduction Summit in Calgary.
Tamarack also helped document and evaluate Calgary’s progress. In 2018, Tamarack published a case study on E4A, highlighting Calgary’s progress and challenges, which validated the work and identified areas for growth. The national recognition helped maintain local momentum and attract additional partners. Furthermore, Tamarack’s Evaluation Frameworks and Systems Change tools (like the “Waters of Systems Change” model and Community Innovation indicators) were utilized by VCC to analyze and communicate its impact on deeper systemic conditions. This gave VCC and its stakeholders a common language and rigour for discussing change beyond program outputs, reinforcing the focus on policy, relationships, and mental models. Beyond intellectual contributions, Tamarack’s public policy advocacy at the federal level (e.g. contributing to Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy development) dovetailed with local advocacy by VCC, creating a multi-level push for action. For instance, when Tamarack and national partners advanced the idea of a federal poverty line and target, VCC could localize that conversation in Calgary, leading City Council to formally endorse poverty reduction targets in alignment with the national strategy.
In essence, Tamarack served as an incubator and amplifier. It incubated VCC by providing the initial spark and methodology, and it amplified VCC’s work by showcasing it nationally and connecting it to a movement of dozens of cities. The sense of being part of a broader national effort helped Calgary’s leaders and residents see their work as transformative and reinforced the belief that ending poverty is possible (by learning from success stories elsewhere). Tamarack’s Vibrant Communities network now includes over 80 cities, and Calgary’s experience has been both informed by and informative to that network. The journey of VCC stands as a flagship example of Tamarack’s model in action, demonstrating the power of place-based, community-driven change.
After 20 years, Calgary’s poverty reduction collaborative has accumulated a wealth of insights. Key lessons learned include:
VCC’s work has generated ripple effects that extend well beyond the city, shaping national conversations and influencing how other communities approach poverty reduction. What began as a locally grounded initiative has contributed to broader shifts in policy, practice, and public discourse across Canada.
One of the clearest impacts has been Calgary’s influence on other cities pursuing coordinated, place-based approaches to poverty reduction. Through Tamarack’s Cities Reducing Poverty network, Calgary’s collective impact model, anchored by a backbone organization and a shared community strategy, has been widely studied and adapted. Communities such as Winnipeg, Regina, and Halifax have drawn on Calgary’s experience, often citing E4A as an early template. Calgary’s leadership in initiatives like the living wage and low-income transit pass further reinforced its role as a practical example, with cities including Edmonton and Ottawa implementing similar transit subsidy programs. VCC also helped shift the economic narrative around poverty. Its Poverty Costs research reframed poverty as not only a social issue but a significant economic one, prompting policymakers to ask not whether poverty reduction was affordable, but whether inaction was. This framing has since been adopted in federal and provincial policy discussions, including Canada’s national poverty reduction strategy, contributing to a broader understanding of poverty reduction as a long-term social and economic investment.
Locally, VCC played a key role in normalizing poverty as a central civic issue. Once minimized in public dialogue, poverty is now a routine topic in media, political debate, and community engagement in Calgary. Consistent media outreach and data-driven commentary increased public awareness and support for action, with poverty and inclusive growth now commonly addressed by civic leaders, educators, and business groups. Calgary’s policy innovations have also informed efforts elsewhere. Initiatives such as the sliding-scale transit pass and the Fair Entry system demonstrated the feasibility of more integrated, income-responsive service models, influencing experimentation in other municipalities. Advocacy for indexed income supports and regulatory reforms to expand secondary suites similarly informed provincial and national discussions. Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, Calgary’s experience provided transferable lessons, shared openly through networks like Tamarack, that expanded the national poverty reduction toolkit.
Finally, VCC’s emphasis on equity, reconciliation, and lived experience left a lasting institutional imprint. The inclusion of Indigenous leadership and equity language in Enough for All influenced local policies, including the City of Calgary’s Social Wellbeing Policy and the 2024 Housing Strategy, Home is Here, which reflects VCC’s data and equity-focused approach. This represents a deeper systems-level shift toward addressing structural inequities, not only alleviating poverty. Taken together, these ripple effects show that while VCC’s mandate was local, its influence has been national. By shaping practice, reframing narratives, and embedding equity into policy conversations, VCC has contributed meaningfully to a broader movement for inclusive prosperity, one that continues to guide communities striving for “enough for all.”
As VCC celebrates two decades of impact, its mission remains as urgent as ever: to reduce poverty by keeping it top of mind, help evolve systems, and keep the community at the centre of this work. Calgary has not yet ended poverty – significant challenges like an affordability crisis, a rise in food insecurity, and gaps in mental health support persist. However, the foundation built is strong. Going forward, VCC and its partners are charting the next chapter of E4A. This involves a strategic refresh for 2026 and beyond, setting new targets and priorities based on current realities (for example, responding to the post-pandemic landscape and the city’s growth). The Well-Being Dashboard and reports like Beneath the Surface will guide these adjustments by highlighting where needs are greatest.
One focus will be to deepen systems transformation: moving upstream to address not only the symptoms of poverty but the structural drivers. That could mean continued advocacy for living wages and basic income guarantees, further integration of services to prevent people from falling through cracks and pushing for more affordable housing supply via innovative models. Another focus is sustaining and expanding the inclusion of voices – ensuring youth, Indigenous, immigrant, and other communities facing unique barriers are leading solutions that affect them. Crucially, VCC plans to nurture the next generation of leaders and champions. Many of the original architects of Calgary’s strategy (in government and community) have retired or moved on; the mantle is being passed to new hands, and VCC will invest in capacity-building to equip new champions to drive the work with the same passion and knowledge.
Finally, VCC will continue to emphasize that poverty reduction is everyone’s business. The call is out for more champions – whether they are businesses adopting equity hiring practices, faith groups supporting affordable housing, or neighbourhood associations creating inclusive communities. The ethos is that enough for all will only be achieved when all contribute.
In conclusion, the story of VCC illustrates that complex issues like poverty can be tackled through sustained, collaborative effort that marries vision with pragmatism. From its Tamarack-inspired beginnings to its current role as a community backbone, VCC has shown the power of convening diverse players around a common agenda. Calgary has moved the needle in meaningful ways: thousands have better incomes, better access to services, and a stronger voice in the community as a result of these efforts. Equally important, Calgary has changed the conversation, proving that poverty is not an inevitable fact of life, but a problem that can be solved through justice-minded action. As the initiative moves into its next phase, it does so grounded in two decades of learning and fueled by a community that increasingly believes in the vision of a city where there is “enough for all.”