The case against a farmers' market in downtown Calgary

The opening of a second Calgary Farmers' Market on the western edge of the city has some urbanists questioning why Calgary doesn't have a year-round farmers' market in our city centre.

One of the most frequent arguments that advocates for a central farmers' market make is that many cities in Canada and around the world have one — and they are popular gathering places. 

Calgary's urban market champions will be happy to know that included in the city's ambitious, $200-million Greater Downtown Plan (approved in April 2021) is a downtown public market initiative. The plan includes a $2.9-million budget request, excluding land costs, to make this happen. 

The plan states: "The Downtown Public Market is intended to advance the goal of downtown vibrancy and reinforce downtown as a unique community to live and visit, while creating a sustainable, versatile and dynamic public space."

However, I question the feasibility of a permanent farmers market in our city centre — at least a year-round one — for several reasons. 

Location, location

Many people seem to forget Calgary already has an inner-city market, Crossroads Market, four kilometres from the core. Unfortunately it is in the middle of an industrial area with no connection to a residential community. However, it will have its own LRT station on the Green Line in the future. 

Vancouver's Granville Island Market is about the same distance from the centre of Vancouver's downtown as Crossroads is from Calgary's.  

Montreal's two historic produce markets, Jean Talon and Atwater, are even farther from that city's core. Not many cities have year-round markets smack dab downtown, with exceptions like the century-old St. Lawrence Market in Toronto and Hamilton's Farmers' Market.  

Calgary did have a Central Public Market for the first half of the 20th century; however, the city sold the building in the 1940s and it burned down in 1954. 

There was also a City Hall Farmers' Market in a temporary post office building on the block where Olympic Plaza is today. It opened in 1920, boasting over 40 stalls and billed itself as "the largest all-food market in Western Canada." However, it closed in 1953 as it couldn't compete with the new suburban supermarkets.

Eau Claire Market, which opened in 1993, never really operated as a farmers' market, even if it was modelled somewhat after Granville Island's.

The biggest barrier to a year-round downtown farmers' market in downtown today is the plethora of existing grocery stores in and around our the downtown core. East Village has a large new Superstore; the Beltline has a Safeway, Midtown Co-op, Urban Fare, Sunterra and Community Natural Foods.

There are Safeways in Kensington and Mission, Bridgeland/Riverside has the Bridgeland Market, and Inglewood is home to Bite Grocer & Eatery. In addition, major new residential developments in Downtown West and West Hillhurst include plans for an urban grocer as part of their projects. And don't forget that Chinatown has several food merchants, too.

Another roadblock is Calgary doesn't have the diversity and quantity of small market garden farmers that southern Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia all have, and where most of Canada's major downtown markets are located. 

And let's not forget, over the past 10 years, there has been a proliferation of seasonal community farmers' markets across Calgary — 28 in total — including Bridgeland, Hillhurst and Marda Loop. Many of the local producers are maxed out working these markets. 

One of the keys to a successful farmers' market in Calgary is access to free surface parking. Shoppers love to load up their vehicles when they are at the market. Crossroads and both Calgary Farmers' Markets have lots, though parking is often a problem in peak season at the southeast CFM.

Let's experiment first 

Before the city invests millions in renovating a building to create a permanent year-round farmers' market in the greater downtown, let's encourage downtown stakeholders to experiment with a seasonal market. 

The Calgary Parking Authority could allow the use a downtown parkade on the weekend when the parkades are underutilized. The shiny new Platform Parkade in East Village would be a great place for such an experiment.

Ideally, the parking agency, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, City of Calgary's downtown revitalization team and Calgary Farmers' Market would partner up — each contributing their unique expertise in public programming and operating a market.

Another option would be for a summer market in the old Greyhound Bus station, which the city already owns.

One of the fundamental lessons of city building is, "what works in one city, doesn't always work in another city." Just because other cities have year-round downtown farmers' markets, some more successful than others, doesn't mean Calgary needs or would support one.