The shock of the oil price collapse that first started in 2014 has never really subsided, leaving some downtown towers completely empty, and many more with high vacancy rates. Filling up the office towers in downtown will be challenging and Mayor Naheed Nenshi says Calgary needs federal and provincial financial support. Reserves have been used to hold back crippling tax increases on businesses outside the downtown core, but that Band-Aid solution can't continue. What is focusing minds and sharpening pencils is whether the city can afford big projects like the Green Line, the BMO Centre, Arts Commons and the arena. While those working outside the downtown towers scraped by, as costs continued to rise, there were big bonuses and big paycheques in the energy industry.

Source: CBC News June 12, 2020 17:48 UTC