Where You Can Smoke and Vape in Calgary

Calgary has a single bylaw for this: the Smoking and Vaping Bylaw, number 23M2018. It sits on top of Alberta’s own law, which already bans smoking and vaping in workplaces, public places and public vehicles (see Alberta’s rules). What the city adds is outdoor distance rules.

Where the bylaw applies

Smoking and vaping are prohibited in, on or within 5 metres of:

• an outdoor pool
• an outdoor skating rink
• a playground
• a skate park
• a sports field
• transit property to which the public has access

The bylaw also names Olympic Plaza. Separately, it bans smoking or vaping within 5 metres of an entrance or exit to a public premises, and inside a public premises, a workplace or a public vehicle.

That list is the whole story for parks. Calgary’s bylaw does not make every park smoke-free. Sit on an ordinary lawn away from the facilities above and the bylaw does not reach you.

Fines

Schedule A lists a $50 minimum and a $100 specified penalty for smoking or vaping where prohibited. A person who permits it, such as an operator, faces a $50 minimum and a $200 specified penalty. These are the amounts in the bylaw as passed in 2018. Council can amend a schedule, so check the City Clerk’s current version before you rely on a figure.

How it fits with Alberta law

Alberta sets the minimum age at 18 for buying, possessing and consuming tobacco and vaping products, and the province’s law covers schools, child care and hospital property, vehicles with minors and common areas of multi-unit housing. See the full Alberta summary. The Calgary bylaw text is published by the City Clerk.

For a plain-language look at how door distances compare across Canada, read the 9-metre doorway rule. For penalties generally, see fines for smoking in prohibited places. Other cities are on the city bylaw hub.