Mayor Naheed Nenshi announced Calgary's population increased 2.62 per cent between April 2012 and April 2013 with the release of the City's Civic Census July 25.

Calgary's population is now at 1,149,552, an increase of 29,327 residents, a similar level of growth seen at the same time last year.

It appears the $52 million question has yet to be answered.

With infrastructure damage from Calgary's recent floods projected to be two or three times the initial estimate of $256 million, the debate on what to do with the city's $52 million tax surplus continues.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was in Vancouver representing one of 22 cities at Canada's Big City Mayors' Caucus (BCMC) May 30.

In a release, the BCMC said it is calling on its provincial, territorial and federal partners to confront the growing housing crisis across the country.

The City of Calgary has $52 million of provincial tax room kicking around and is asking local residents how best to spend it.

"This is a significant amount of unbudgeted money," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. "We've debated five options in council—all of which reflect the priorities of Calgarians— and this is our opportunity to engage citizens to hear what they think before council makes a decision in July."