SalishSea

I would definitely *recommend* that you take out student membership whether or not your department pays for it. Why? Firstly, the fees are usually cheap relative to other members (so it's possibly to pay out of pocket). Secondly, beyond the conference, with ICA/NCA you are usually going to find out about other opportunities (workshops, regional conferences, publications, calls for papers) via conference divisions/interest groups. Finally, you can start to network with people outside of your PhD program and more specifically in your area of research. If you are at all interested in job and/or publication outcomes, graduate membership is very much worthwhile.

Calgary is the obvious choice in your situation given the funding picture. I don't know about your field specifically, but Calgary's PhD placement record is pretty strong in several areas -- and I suspect the university as a whole is enjoying an upward trajectory. I know of several outstanding scholars who did their PhDs at Calgary.

This is great advice. I'm dealing with the same issue. A compelling admission offer from one of my top choices, but I still want to hear back from the other schools, even though I'm not sure I would accept their offer. I like the advice here to be patient... because you never know what may come up.