{"id":565251,"date":"2026-03-27T22:17:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T22:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/565251\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T22:17:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T22:17:19","slug":"jon-cornish-growth-can-lead-to-a-systems-upgrade-if-we-as-calgarians-are-clear-about-what-we-want-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/565251\/","title":{"rendered":"Jon Cornish: Growth can lead to a systems upgrade, if we as Calgarians are clear about what we want | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: This op-ed, written by Jon Cornish<\/a>, 15th chancellor of the University of Calgary, was originally published in the Calgary Herald on Feb. 11. You can read the original here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Calgary is on a clear trajectory toward two million people, and there are feelings around this, as there are with any change we experience. Regardless of how we feel about our growing city, our feelings are really the output of the systems we\u2019ve established. And systems don\u2019t respond to vibes or feelings. They respond to clarity.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve spent my life inside systems that either worked or failed under pressure, on the football field, in financial markets, and in civic institutions. The lesson is consistent: growth doesn\u2019t break systems. Misaligned systems break under growth.<\/p>\n

Calgary\u2019s advantage isn\u2019t land, energy, or affordability. Those are inputs. Our real edge is rationality.<\/p>\n

This city has a proven habit of deciding what needs to be done, agreeing on it quickly, and then acting. We saw it after the 2013 floods and during our water crisis(es). We see it in how Calgary repeatedly punches above its weight in sport, energy, and applied research.<\/p>\n

When that alignment exists, Calgary doesn\u2019t argue; we move forward. When it breaks, everything slows. Not because we lack ideas, money, or ambition, but because our shared reality fractures. If Calgary is serious about becoming the best place in the world to live, work, and play (my goal for the city), being rational isn\u2019t simply a value. It\u2019s why we\u2019ve been so successful.<\/p>\n

Two million people will not change who we are, but they will amplify it.<\/p>\n

If we are fragmented, growth will magnify friction via housing shortages, infrastructure strain, polarization, and institutional distrust. If we are aligned, growth compounds our advantages in productivity, cultural depth, economic resilience, and upward mobility.<\/p>\n

Take housing. We can debate density, aesthetics, zoning, and neighbourhood character endlessly. But the underlying truth is mechanical: more people require more places to live, and delay converts scarcity into suffering. Pretending otherwise doesn\u2019t preserve character. It just offloads the costs onto the next generation.<\/p>\n

The same applies to infrastructure, transit, health care, and education. These are not ideological battlegrounds. They are load-bearing systems. They respond to engineering, timelines, and incentives; not outrage or wishful thinking.<\/p>\n

One of Calgary\u2019s quiet strengths has always been its relationship with risk. Home to Canada\u2019s leadership in energy, entrepreneurship, and elite sport, Calgarians know this: uncertainty is not something you eliminate. It\u2019s something you price, prepare for, and move through decisively.<\/p>\n

As Calgary grows, volatility is inevitable. \u2026 That\u2019s not the threat. The threat is mistaking comfort for stability and narrative for reality. Our city will mature, certainly, but we citizens need to adapt to keep up.<\/p>\n

This is where institutions matter.<\/p>\n

Universities, the arts, media, financial, and community organizations aren\u2019t just there to inform a city; they are the core of it. When we trust our institutions to anchor debate in evidence, trust compounds. When they fail, every problem becomes unsolvable because every fact becomes optional.<\/p>\n

A city of two million cannot function on feels.<\/p>\n

What gives me confidence is that Calgarians expect truth to exist; we expect arguments to land somewhere tethered to reality. We disagree loudly, but we still believe disagreement should converge toward something real. That cultural reflex is rare and fragile, but it makes our great city what it is.<\/p>\n

And two million people will test it.<\/p>\n

Our opportunity is enormous. A larger Calgary can be more globally connected, more economically diverse, and more culturally relevant than ever. But only if we treat growth like what it is: a systems upgrade, not a grand exercise in NIMBY-ism.<\/p>\n

The best Calgary isn\u2019t louder. It\u2019s clearer.<\/p>\n

Clear about what works. Clear about what doesn\u2019t. Clear about what we\u2019re willing to change and what we\u2019re no longer willing to pretend away.<\/p>\n

If we get that right, two million won\u2019t feel like pressure. It will feel like momentum.<\/p>\n

And momentum, when aligned, is very hard to stop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s note: This op-ed, written by Jon Cornish, 15th chancellor of the University of Calgary, was originally published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-565251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-calgary","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-calgary","10":"tag-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}