Police have declared a fatal stabbing at a small house party in the northeast as Calgary's first homicide this year.

Police arrived at a home on Taradale Close just before 6 a.m. on Jan. 5 after getting a call that a man had been stabbed. The man, later identified as Matthew John Brown, was taken to hospital where he died.

Only one person was with Brown when paramedics arrived, said Staff Sgt. Grant Miller, but police believe he was hosting a small house party when an altercation broke out that ended with the stabbing.

"We have spoken to some people who were present with him during the evening. And to this point, we feel they've been co-operative. Our challenge here is he was with a group of people that went to a few locations during the evening that ended up at his residence," said Miller.

Police are also investigating where Brown was before returning to his home that morning and the people he'd spent time with.

"It kind of sounds like they went to a few different places throughout the city," Miller said. "Some of the people he was with he knew – he was friends with – but we aren't sure about everyone."