diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240403-135436.yaml b/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240403-135436.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..345b70740
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240403-135436.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+kind: Dependencies
+body: Add `dbt-core` as a dependency to preserve backwards compatibility for installation
+time: 2024-04-03T13:54:36.667724-04:00
+custom:
+  Author: mikealfare
+  PR: "1002"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 48339e7c0..325d31ccd 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ def _get_plugin_version_dict():
         "sqlparams>=3.0.0",
         "dbt-common>=0.1.0a1,<2.0",
         "dbt-adapters>=0.1.0a1,<2.0",
+        # add dbt-core to ensure backwards compatibility of installation, this is not a functional dependency
+        "dbt-core>=1.8.0a1",
     ],
     extras_require={
         "ODBC": odbc_extras,