Live in Acadia
A 1960 southeast community of curving streets and cul-de-sacs, anchored by a ten-sheet curling rink the community association built and still owns.
Acadia was annexed to the City of Calgary in 1956 and established in 1960, on the curving streets and cul-de-sacs typical of the era. It sits close to the core by this site's standards, bounded by Macleod Trail on the west and the Bow River on the east, with the Heritage CTrain station just across Macleod Trail from its northwest corner. At the 2021 census it held 9,915 residents in 5,053 dwellings, of which 4,755 were occupied private households, and the City's own civic census had counted 10,518 residents here two years earlier. This is one of the few communities on this site where the count has fallen rather than grown.
A 1960s community that built its own recreation complex
Bordered west by Macleod Trail, east by the Bow River, north by Heritage Drive and south by Southland Drive. Ward 11.
Acadia was annexed to Calgary in 1956 and established in 1960, on the curving streets and cul-de-sacs typical of the era. It sits close to the city's core by this site's standards, bounded by Macleod Trail on the west and the Bow River on the east.
Housing and population. At the 2021 census Acadia held 9,915 residents in 5,053 dwellings, 4,755 of them occupied private households. The City's own civic census had counted 10,518 residents here in 2019, so this is one of the few communities on this site where the count has fallen rather than grown. 44% of households rent, and 36% of occupied dwellings are apartments in buildings under five storeys, both well above the newer suburbs. Median household income was $72,500 in 2020, against $98,000 across Calgary.
The recreation complex. The Acadia Community Association built its own recreation complex in 1981: a ten-sheet curling rink, the largest in the city, a hockey arena and courts for squash, racquetball, handball, wallyball and pickleball, still owned and run by the association rather than the city. The adjacent Acadia Aquatic & Fitness Centre at 9009 Fairmount Drive SE is city-run and sits next to Lord Beaverbrook High School, which had an enrolment of 1,552 in 2022.
Getting around. The Heritage CTrain station on the Red Line sits at 12 Haddon Road SW, just across Macleod Trail from the community's northwest corner and 7.9 km south of City Hall. It has been there since 25 May 1981. Direct rail access downtown is something most communities on this site do not have, and it shows in the commute: 33% of Acadia's employed residents get to work in under fifteen minutes, against 21% across Calgary.
- 70% of occupied dwellings date from 1961 to 1980 and 13% from 1960 or before. Original roofs, windows, furnaces and panels are well past design life
- Nothing in the occupied stock was built after 2010, so a renovated house is the only new interior on offer
- The count has fallen, not grown: 10,518 at the 2019 civic census, 9,915 at the 2021 federal one. Factor that into any resale assumptions
- Renters are 44% of households, well above most communities on this site
- The Recreation Complex and curling rink are community-association property, not city recreation: check membership terms
- Downtown is about fifteen minutes by car and one of the shortest CTrain commutes of any community here
How Acadia got here
- 1956The land is annexed to the City of Calgary as part of the postwar southward expansion.
- 1960Acadia is established, on the curving streets and cul-de-sacs typical of the era.
- 1968Lord Beaverbrook High School, founded in 1967, takes its first students on Fairmount Drive.
- 1981Two things open within a few months of each other: Heritage station on the CTrain's first line, on 25 May, and the Acadia Recreation Complex, which the community association built and still owns.
- 2019The City's last civic census counts 10,518 residents in 5,046 dwellings, 4,763 of them occupied and 2,577 owner-occupied.
- 2021The federal census counts 9,915 residents in 5,053 dwellings, with a median household income of $72,500 in 2020, well under the city's $98,000, and 44 per cent of households renting.
- 2020sWith no new land left to build on, change comes as infill and redevelopment rather than expansion. Nothing in the community's occupied stock was built after 2010.
The Bow River on one side, Fish Creek a few minutes south
Acadia's own eastern boundary is the Bow River, with regional pathway access along it, and Fish Creek Provincial Park (one of the largest urban parks in Canada) is about ten minutes south. Heritage Park Historical Village and the Glenmore Reservoir, with its sailing and rowing clubs, sit a similar distance west.
What the map does not show: Acadia has no park of its own beyond the community's internal green space: what it has instead is a river on one boundary and two of the city's larger regional parks within a ten-to-fifteen-minute drive, a genuinely good position without owning any of them outright.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Acadia
22 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 22 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the centre of the community to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. Acadia's numbers are close-in by this site's standards: the recreation complex, both high schools and the CTrain station are all within a few minutes, and even downtown and the mountains are shorter drives than most southeast communities get.
Every gym within reach
Acadia is unusual on this site for having built its own recreation complex rather than relying on a citywide anchor facility: plus the pool next door, both a very short drive or walk from anywhere in the community.
- Calgary's largest curling rink, plus a hockey arena and pickleball courts
- The Acadia Aquatic & Fitness Centre next door adds a city-run pool, weight room and cardio
- Southcentre and Chinook Centre both carry chain gyms and studios within about ten minutes
- The Bow River pathway is the free option, right along the community's eastern edge
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Acadia Aquatic & Fitness Centre open | City-run pool at 9009 Fairmount Drive SE, listed by the City with weights and cardio and a fitness studio, next to Lord Beaverbrook High School. | 3–4 min |
| Acadia Recreation Complex open | Owned and operated by the community association since it built the place in 1981: a 10-sheet curling rink, the largest in Calgary, a hockey arena, and squash, racquetball, four-wall handball, wallyball and pickleball courts. | 3–5 min |
| Bow River pathway open | Free option: the regional pathway network along the community's eastern edge. | 1–3 min |
| Southcentre Mall fitness clubs open | Chain gym options in the Southcentre retail district. | 6–9 min |
| Chinook Centre fitness clubs open | Additional chain and studio options around Chinook Centre. | 7–11 min |
| Glenmore Athletic Park open | Reservoir-based rowing, canoe and sailing clubs, plus the Glenmore pathway loop, west of the community. | 9–14 min |
Check membership terms. The Recreation Complex is community-association property, not a City of Calgary facility: confirm current rates and whether they differ for residents versus non-residents before you count on it.
Three public schools inside the community, and a Catholic pair
Acadia School covers public elementary inside the community and David Thompson handles junior high on Arbour Crescent. Lord Beaverbrook, with an enrolment of 1,552 in 2022, sits on Fairmount Drive for grades 10 to 12. On the Catholic side, the two schools Wikipedia places in Acadia are École St. Cecilia Bilingual Elementary and École St. Matthew Elementary and Junior High.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Acadia School | Calgary Board of Education | Public elementary inside the community, with its own site under the CBE. |
| David Thompson School | Calgary Board of Education | Public junior high inside the community, on Arbour Crescent. |
| Lord Beaverbrook High School | Calgary Board of Education | Public grades 10 to 12 on Fairmount Drive. Founded 1967, first students 1968, enrolment 1,552 in 2022. |
| École St. Cecilia Bilingual Elementary and École St. Matthew Elementary and Junior High | Calgary Catholic | The two Catholic schools Wikipedia places in Acadia. The district's own site refuses automated clients, so confirm the designation for a specific address with the district. |
| École de la Source | Francophone | Wikipedia lists it among the schools located in Acadia and describes it as francophone. This guide has not confirmed which board runs it. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. Confirm the current attendance area for a specific address with the board before you buy. The Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated clients, so nothing on the Catholic side here was read from the district itself.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Curling league play is in full swing on Calgary's largest rink at the Recreation Complex
- The Aquatic & Fitness Centre's indoor pool carries the swim season
- Macleod Trail and Heritage Drive get priority snow clearing
- Being well inside the ring road, chinooks reach Acadia faster than the city's outer edges
- Family Day programming runs at the Recreation Complex
- Bonspiel season continues on the curling rink
- Coldest stretches usually break with a chinook within a day or two
- Indoor recreation at its busiest
- Melt and refreeze along Fairmount Drive and the community's side streets
- Heritage Park is still closed for the season: it reopens in May
- The Bow River pathway starts to clear
- Spring break quiets Lord Beaverbrook and the community's other schools
- Fish Creek Provincial Park's trails dry out to the south
- Recreation Complex program registration opens for spring and summer
- Glenmore Reservoir's sailing and rowing clubs start gearing up for the season
- Last hard frosts before the long weekend
- Heritage Park Historical Village opens for its regular season
- Glenmore Reservoir's sailing season begins in earnest
- Fairmount Drive patios open
- Long evenings: sunset past 9pm by month end
- School year ends at Acadia, David Thompson and Lord Beaverbrook
- Fish Creek Provincial Park at its greenest
- Pickleball at the Recreation Complex moves into full summer swing
- Peak daylight at the solstice: over 16 hours
- Calgary Stampede, about fifteen minutes north on Macleod Trail
- Glenmore Reservoir at its busiest for sailing and rowing
- Heritage Park runs its full summer programming, including the steam train
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Heritage Park and Fish Creek both at peak visitation
- Hottest month of the year
- Southcentre and Chinook Centre ramp up for back-to-school
- Quiet weeks in the community before school returns
- School year restarts at all four of the community's schools
- Heritage Park winds toward the end of its regular season
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- Bow River pathway colour turns
- Heritage Park closes for its regular season in early October
- Curling league play resumes at the Recreation Complex
- Snow tires go on
- Halloween prep picks up through the community's cul-de-sacs
- Dark by 5pm
- Curling league play is in full swing
- Glenmore Reservoir's sailing season ends and the docks come out
- The Aquatic & Fitness Centre's pool is at its busiest
- The Recreation Complex hosts holiday curling bonspiels
- Heritage Station and Macleod Trail carry the holiday commute downtown
- Chinooks can swing temperatures widely and quickly this close to downtown
- Quiet holiday stretch across the community
6 more photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed, via Wikimedia Commons. Filter by category.
Showing 1–6 of 6 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Acadia, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared Calgary library.