The city’s new citizen satisfaction survey has found millennials are happier living in Calgary than baby boomers.
Ipsos vice president Jamie Duncan said the 2017 survey results show that baby boomers are twice as likely to have an “unfavourable view” of Calgary than are millennials.
“Those who’ve lived here for more than 20 years are four times more likely to say that they have an unfavourable view of the city of Calgary than those who have lived here for less than 10 years,” he added.
The report, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the city, also found that those with higher incomes are more likely to be critical of Calgary than those with lower incomes.
Overall, though, the survey results suggest a majority of Calgarians are happy with city programs and services.
Of the Calgarians surveyed, 85 per cent said their quality of life was good. Thirty-five per cent said their quality of life had worsened in the past three years.
The city said this number has stabilized following a 17 percentage point increase between 2014 and 2016, when the percentage of those disappointed with their quality of life increased from 20 per cent to 37 per cent.
Seventy-nine per cent said they were satisfied with the quality of programs and services offered by the city.
“We live in a very resilient city,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi in a statement Monday. “As we enter a time of economic recovery, I am happy to hear Calgarians remain optimistic about the future and overall quality of life in Calgary.”
The number of Calgarians surveyed who said Calgary was a “great place to make a living,” however, was down from 90 per cent five years ago. That number now sits at 68 per cent.
The 2017 survey found infrastructure, traffic and roads remained at the top of Calgarians’ list of concerns, followed by transit and then crime, safety and policing.
Seventy-five per cent said they believe now is a good time to be investing in projects like roads, public transportation and facilities.
Another 60 per cent said they believed the city “provides good value for their property tax dollars.”
But, Calgarians remained split on whether they want tax cuts or more services from the city.
The city said in a statement Monday it would call on the survey results while discussing the 2019-2022 budget and business plans in November 2018.
The telephone survey was conducted with a random sample of 2,500 Calgarians aged 18 years and older between Aug. 16 and Sept. 10, 2017.
– With files from Aurelio Perri
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