Nearly 20 per cent of police officers in Calgary are currently on leave or sidelined from their normal duties, according to the Calgary Police Service.
The figure was revealed in a memo from the Calgary Police Commission to city councillors included in Thursday’s preview of the 2026 budget adjustments.
According to the memo, 19 per cent of police officers are “currently on leave or accommodations, many due to physical or mental injuries.”
The Calgary Police Service said 13 per cent of officers are in accommodated roles “and continue to contribute meaningfully,” while six per cent are on leave.
“We are committed to the health, wellness and continued engagement of our members, including those on leave or requiring workplace accommodations,” Calgary police chief Katie McLellan said in a statement.
“We recognize the importance of supporting our people through every stage of their career, especially when facing personal or medical challenges.”
Calgary Police Commission chair Amtul Siddiqui said the trend is concerning, but not uncommon amongst first responders across the country.
“It’s not only the Calgary Police Service alone, Canada is seeing this trend with officers and first responders,” she said in an interview with Global News.
“Are we concerned? Are the numbers higher than we would like? Of course they are.”
As part of its 2026 budget proposal, the commission is requesting back-to-work coordinators in an effort to reintegrate officers coming back from leave and to get officers “back to work more quickly.”
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Those experts include Doug King, a justice studies professor at Mount-Royal University. King said he was surprised by the 19 per cent figure.
King is concerned the absentee rate could become “a real vicious cycle” that could eventually impact public safety if the strain is left unaddressed.
“The burden it puts on other officers and other people in the organization is significant. They have to pick up the load and that will likely be through overtime,” King said. “Any organization can’t run on overtime, it burns those people out.”
According to McLellen, the service is working to “strengthen and evolve” its processes, including the navigation of ripple effects caused by leaves and accommodations have on staffing levels and operational capacity.
She said supports and plans are in place to help manage workload to ensure public safety isn’t compromised.
Staffing levels at the Calgary Police Service are expected to be discussed by the next city council during budget deliberations in November.
Calgary has operated for decades with fewer police officers per capita than most cities across Canada, said John Orr, president of the Calgary Police Association.
“We would need an additional 500 officers just to get to the national average,” Orr said. “We’ve already operated at a very low number, and this 19 per cent, the service can’t bear it. We need more people.”
The proposed net operating budget for the Calgary Police Service is set to grow by 13 per cent to $613 million in 2026, which would increase staffing to 3,209 uniformed members and 3,242 civilian members.
135 new officers will be recruited in 2026, including 21 net new officers, according to the commission, but more cannot be requested due to constraints on training capacity, training space and trainers.
“The service is doing incredible work to keep us safe,” Siddiqui said. “What we’re hoping for is that council realizes we have put a very realistic ask in front of them for resourcing that we need and that they will fulfil that request.”
According to Siddiqui, Calgarians can expect the commission to make a larger request in the next four-year budget cycle in 2027 for resourcing to recruit and train more officers.
“There is a human behind that badge and behind that uniform,” said Mo Shaukat, president of Boots on the Ground Alberta.
“A normal person faces three to four traumatic events during their lifetime. A police officer or first responder, they face up to 600 in their 25 year career.”
Boots on the Ground Alberta is a peer-support organization tailored for first responders with an anonymous helpline 24 hours per day.
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Nearly 20% of Calgary police on ‘leave or accommodations’ due to mental, physical impact
