Calgary’s upcoming city council will consist of a diverse group, featuring members from different political affiliations, independents, and a number of newcomers, making it the least politically seasoned council in over a century.
In the recent elections, voters removed two incumbents, Terry Wong from Ward 7 and Kourtney Penner from Ward 11, while electing 10 newcomers across all quadrants, from the inner city to the outer suburbs.
“People were seeking change and were open to new approaches,” Penner shared with CBC News.
A number of her fellow council members opted out of running again, choosing not to engage with the public due to frustrations regarding the leadership of former mayor Jyoti Gondek, who ended up in third place.
The fresh faces on council were revealed Tuesday as election teams concluded counting the results from Monday’s municipal elections.
The new members come from various backgrounds, including a constituency aide, a vintage furniture shop owner, a lawyer, and a junior oil company executive.
Also included is Landon Johnston, a heating contractor who previously spearheaded an unsuccessful petition to recall Gondek last year, later deciding to pursue change himself as the councillor for Ward 14.
Landon Johnston, who led the petition drive to recall Jyoti Gondek as mayor last year, will now join council himself. (CBC News)
With former councillor Jeromy Farkas assuming the role of mayor and four incumbents remaining, approximately two-thirds of Calgary’s council will consist of newcomers.
This level of turnover in Calgary’s civic political landscape hasn’t been seen since 1915, when then-mayor Michael Copps Costello and three returning council members welcomed nine new members amid a global conflict.
“The initial period is bound to be challenging as everyone navigates the learning curve,” noted Andre Chabot, who was re-elected for a sixth term as the representative for Ward 10.
With over 16 years of experience on council, he possesses more tenure than the rest of the council combined.
The other returning members will be starting their second terms: Jennifer Wyness (Ward 2), Raj Dhaliwal (Ward 5), and Dan McLean (Ward 13), along with Farkas, who served on council from 2017 until his unsuccessful mayoral bid in 2021 against Gondek.
Chabot and McLean were both part of the Communities First party alongside first-time winners Kim Tyers (Ward 1) and Rob Ward (Ward 11), as well as mayoral contender Sonya Sharp, who finished just under 0.2 percent behind Farkas and has announced plans to request a recount.
One candidate from the progressive Calgary Party slate succeeded: D.J. Kelly in Ward 4.
In Ward 12, candidate Mike Jamieson from A Better Calgary won by a slim margin of 29 votes, becoming the only representative from that conservative party, possibly leading to another recount.
The majority of the successful candidates, including the new mayor, campaigned as independents. Some, like Myke Atkinson (Ward 7) and Harrison Clark (Ward 9), emphasized their non-partisan status in their campaign materials.
Ward 3 council winner Andrew Yule’s brochures touted his independence from civic political parties. (Andrew Yule/Instagram)
“Not being linked to a party was advantageous for many,” said Andrew Yule, who won in Ward 3.
“Many voters were opposed to the idea of parties. When it comes to a councillor, non-partisan representation is preferred — the focus should be on accomplishing the tasks at hand.”
Chabot indicated that he and his fellow Communities First representatives share numerous core beliefs and will seek to collaborate with like-minded colleagues, although he will not be obliged to vote along party lines if it does not serve the interests of his ward or the city.
Chabot anticipates a significant amount of mentoring will be necessary, encouraging the enthusiastic newcomers to understand that effecting change at city hall requires patience and cooperation.
Is he bracing for a challenging start with this new council?
“It really hinges on how much power influences people’s behavior,” Chabot remarked.
Yule expressed that newcomers could help navigate past stalemates created by the outgoing group, injecting fresh ideas and optimism into council discussions.
During his victory speech on Tuesday afternoon, Farkas likened the initiation into council to “drinking from a fire hose” and assured his support for the new cohort.
“I see a significant part of my role as facilitating theirs.”
Calgary mayor-elect Jeromy Farkas spoke to the media after unofficial results from the municipal election were made public. He promised to work with both progressive and conservative Calgarians and thanked his supporters over the last decade. Farkas served on city council from 2017 to 2021, and unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the last election.
The city council is set to be officially sworn in on October 29. A month later, they will confront one of their initial major tasks: deliberating the city budget and determining next year’s property tax rate increases.
They will also need to consider the repeal of the blanket rezoning that permits row houses and multiplexes in all neighborhoods, a proposal advocated by Farkas and several other candidates.
Calgary’s newly elected council includes:
- Ward 1: Kim Tyers, constituency assistant for MP (Communities First).
- Ward 2: Jennifer Wyness, incumbent councillor.
- Ward 3: Andrew Yule, vice-president of a footwear company.
- Ward 4: D.J. Kelly, director of community partnerships at the University of Calgary (Calgary Party).
- Ward 5: Raj Dhaliwal, incumbent councillor.
- Ward 6: John Pantazopoulos, CEO of Lucky Strike Energy.
- Ward 7: Myke Atkinson, former service design lead at the Calgary Public Library.
- Ward 8: Nathaniel Schmidt, criminal defence lawyer.
- Ward 9: Harrison Clark, owner of Murphy’s Mid-Century in Inglewood.
- Ward 10: Andre Chabot, incumbent councillor (Communities First).
- Ward 11: Rob Ward, marketing specialist (Communities First).
- Ward 12: Mike Jamieson, construction project manager (A Better Calgary).
- Ward 13: Dan McLean, incumbent councillor.
- Ward 14: Landon Johnston, HVAC company owner.
