Ward 3 Profile
This week’s ward profile brings us to Northeast Calgary’s Ward 3 and Alderman Jim Stevenson.
Ward 3 is best known as the home of the Calgary International Airport, but it’s also the most populated ward in Calgary.
When discussing Ward 3’s demographics and issues, it’s good to know that the ward is essentially divided in two by its major artery: Deerfoot Trail.
On the east side of Deerfoot, Ward 3 is a ward of new communities, with rapid growth and typical “new community” needs such as new rec facilities and better access to public transit. On the west, Ward 3 is a ward of established communities, with little growth and typical “established community” needs such as traffic congestion solutions.
Ward 3 contains the existing communities of Country Hills Village, Coventry Hills, Harvest Hills, Horizon, Martindale, Pegasus, Stonegate Landing, Taradale and the new communities of Panorama Hills, Saddle Ridge, Skyview Ranch and Redstone.
The Alderman | Jim Stevenson
Jim Stevenson has been serving Ward 3 as its Alderman since 2007. He won his second term in the 2010 general election with over 60% of the vote, one of the largest margins in the city.
Before getting into politics, Jim was a businessman for over 35 years, including building and running his own international company. Over the past 15 years he has actively participated in many projects in Northeast Calgary from interchanges to LRT extensions to the Chair of the N.E. Centre of Communities Fund Development Committee. From 2000 to 2007, he was the president of the N.E. Calgary District for the Conservative Party of Canada.
As Alderman, Jim has been focused on increasing public transit and reducing traffic congestion in the communities. He has also been one of the most vocal supporters of the controversial Airport Tunnel. Understandable, as Ward 3 will arguably be most affected by the multi-million dollar project.
Jim currently serves on:
Ward Details
Ward 3 is the most populated ward in Calgary. In 2010, it accounted for over 22% of the City’s growth, second only to Ward 12. The communities of Skyview Ranch and Panorama Hills were largely responsible for the ward’s growth. In fact, the vast majority of communities in the ward actually maintained a relatively stable population.
Much of the ward’s population expansion over the past several years can be attributed to Asian countries. In 2006, the Canadian Census attributed 29.9% of the Recent Immigrant Population to India, with the other four leading nationalities coming from Pakistan, Philippines, Afghanistan and China.
Ward 3 has the second highest employment rate in Calgary, the highest average number of residents per dwelling and by far the highest number of carpoolers in the city. In 2011, there were 27,309 occupied dwellings in Ward 3. Of these, 84% were owner-occupied.
Explore more Ward 3 Demongraphics here.
As new census data is published over the coming months, check back at VoteCalgary.ca to keep up to date.
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