diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240403-133936.yaml b/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240403-133936.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c76e64316
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240403-133936.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+kind: Dependencies
+body: Add `dbt-core` as a dependency to preserve backwards compatibility for installation
+time: 2024-04-03T13:39:36.783478-04:00
+custom:
+  Author: mikealfare
+  PR: "964"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 9cfe8c32a..aa5517c67 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ def _get_plugin_version_dict():
         "dbt-common>=0.1.0a1,<2.0",
         "dbt-adapters>=0.1.0a1,<2.0",
         "snowflake-connector-python[secure-local-storage]~=3.0",
+        # add dbt-core to ensure backwards compatibility of installation, this is not a functional dependency
+        "dbt-core>=1.8.0a1",
         # installed via dbt-core but referenced directly; don't pin to avoid version conflicts with dbt-core
         "agate",
     ],