As we continue to grow as a city, how can we make sure we’re supporting everyone who calls Airdrie home?

The City of Airdrie invests in social services to support our residents. We wish to recognize our strengths, understand the needs of our community, and identify any gaps we may have in social programs and services.

A Social Needs Assessment will help us determine the best way to direct our support to close identified gaps, and to respond to both opportunities and challenges within our community. This will help us ensure that our investments provide the greatest benefits to you, the residents of Airdrie. You will have a number of opportunities to have your say about social services and issues in our community.

We want to hear what you have to say about community social strengths, challenges and needs. The feedback you provide, along with what we've heard from social service providers and those they serve, will help shape the future of social service provision in our community.


Next Engagement Opportunity

We'd love to connect! Want to chat with City Staff about Social Needs in Airdrie? Come meet us for these kitchen-table-style informal conversations about social issues, needs, and strengths in Airdrie.

  • Coffee Chats

    Here's where you can find us:

    • Tim Hortons
      • #101 - 204 Veterans Blvd NE
      • June 12, 2025, 1:00-3:00pm
    • Ground Press Coffee & Books
      • #111 - 106 Sierra Springs Dr SE
      • June 14, 2025, 1:00-3:00pm
    • Starbucks
      • 2100 Market St SE
      • June 16, 2025, 1:00-3:00pm
    • Airdrie Public Library
      • 304 Main St S
      • June 18, 2025, 1:00-3:00pm
    • Tim Hortons
      • #300 - 2649 Main St S
      • June 19, 2025, 9:00-11:00am
    • Genesis Place
      • 800 East Lake Boulevard NE (Near the Aquatics Entrance)
      • June 23, 2025, 9:30am-12:30pm


Future Engagement Opportunities

Additional details will be released closer to the dates of these opportunities.

We will work with specific focus groups to dive deeper into the issues and needs of selected subpopulations.


Completed Engagement Opportunities

The survey is now closed. Preliminary results are shared on this project page. Thank you for providing your input on social issues, needs, and services in Airdrie.

We worked with youth to understand their thoughts on social needs, issues, and services in Airdrie. Engagement opportunities included in-school activities, working with a youth-serving social service provider, and working with the Airdrie Board of Youth Affairs (ABYA).

Our Open House was held on May 21, 2025 to help ensure that survey results reflected residents' understanding and hear their input on whether anything was missed by the survey.


Results and Reports

Preliminary Survey Results

Below is a high-level overview of the preliminary survey results which will help inform the remainder of our Social Needs Assessment engagement opportunities. Residents had a chance to share their thoughts about these results (and more) at our Open House May 21, 2025. Additional opportunities to provide input will be available through our Coffee Chats with Social Planners (Coming in June).

In regards to what residents like most about Airdrie, the following key themes emerged from the preliminary analysis of responses:

  • Safe, clean, quiet – residents feel safe when out walking, there’s less traffic than a big city, and Airdrie is good place for raising a family.
  • Great natural and recreational amenities – we have great walking and biking paths, green spaces, canals, playgrounds, prairie views.
  • Small town feel with big city amenities – the majority of services are close-by; it is “a 10-min city” with very little more than a 10 min drive away; friendly, helpful people; family-oriented; easy to get everywhere; and great sense of community.
  • Great proximity and access – to work, Calgary, HWY 2, YYC International Airport, Banff, etc.
  • Many festivals, community celebrations, sporting events – help foster a sense of belonging.

More residents had concerns about affordability than any other social issue in Airdrie. Residents also recognized challenges facing our youth.

This affordability trend continued when we asked residents to identify the three social issues they were most concerned about in Airdrie. Crime, mental health, and challenges to youth well-being were also top of mind.

Healthcare services were identified by the highest number of respondents as a social need in Airdrie along with affordable market housing and opportunities for youth after graduating high school.

When asked about the top three most pressing social needs in Airdrie, respondents indicated healthcare services, mental health services, services for youth, and affordable market housing.

Awareness and usage of social services vary greatly depending on the service in question. This is not entirely surprising as residents tend to look for services to meet specific needs.

However, there are a good number of services that residents are aware of and using.

Just over half of survey respondents reported encountering barriers to accessing social services in Airdrie.

The most common barriers to accessing social services in Airdrie are wait times or lists, that the services are not available here, or that residents needed to leave the city to access certain services.

Barriers were encountered across almost the entire spectrum of services.

Report Back to the Community (Coming Soon)

We will share a final report that incorporates what we heard across the various engagement opportunities with the community.