Calgary's new municipal party is formed with 4 city councillors as founding members.
(L-R) Councillors Dan McLean, André Chabot, Terry Wong, Sonya Sharp and former councillor John Mar, all members of the new municipal party Communities First. (YYC Community First)
(L-R) Councillors Dan McLean, André Chabot, Terry Wong, Sonya Sharp and former councillor John Mar, all members of the new municipal party Communities First. (YYC Community First) John Mar, all members of the new municipal party Communities First. (Community First YYC)
By Lauryn Heintz
Published December 10, 2024 at 11:11 am.
Last updated December 10, 2024 at 12:30 pm.
A group of Calgary city councilors have formed a new municipal political party, the city's second.
Communities First says it is seeking to restore trust in Calgary's government. The group consists of current councilors André Chabot, Dan McLean, Sonya Sharp, Terry Wong and former councilor John Mar.
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In an announcement made Tuesday, the party said it expects to have a full slate of candidates for all elected positions in the city — 14 councilors and a mayor.
"Calgarians are tired of this council. They are tired of all this drama. "We are tired of not being listened to and being lectured. We are tired of a council that seems to want to focus on everything but what matters to Calgarians," Sharp said in a statement. "We want to give Calgarians the opportunity to vote for the people they want to represent them instead of an ideology. .
Councillor Wong says the council's functionality has diminished due to leadership.
"There has to be cooperation, communication, cooperation," he said. "We haven't had this in three years. We've had polarization more than anything else."
Councillor McLean says there's already a political party working together in the municipality.
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"They were orchestrated by a far-left political operative who created another left-wing party," he said. "We're more open about who we are, what we stand for and truly represent our constituents."
Communities First says it will register as a municipal party in the upcoming election, but will run differently from other traditional provincial or federal parties, emphasizing "true community representation rather than strict community discipline."
Despite his membership in the group, Wong says he doesn't believe in joint political parties. "I believe that as individuals we represent our constituents," she said. "However, with Bill 20, running as an independent doesn't necessarily serve Calgarians.
"So we look to the communities first to do that, it allows us to represent our constituents in the way that we need and want, and it allows us to work with each other and find common ground."
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Sharp agrees, saying she doesn't believe Calgarians would be well served by a left-wing or right-wing party.
"There's no progressive way to fill a well or a conservative way to fill a well," she said. "Calgarians want you to fill that hole."
I was a councilor Mar says he doesn't like the idea and feels like they were forced into it.
Alberta's next municipal election will be held in October 2025. This will be the first election in the province to allow the formation of municipal political parties, thanks to the provisions of Bill 20.
President Jyoti Gondek has already announced that she will run again for president, but as an independent. MixCollage-10-Dec-2024-11-02-AM-874-1024x576.jpg
Communities First is joined by A Better Calgary (ABC), which describes itself as centre-right.
As for the other mayoral candidates, former councillor and 2021 mayoral candidate Jeff Davison has also announced his intention to run for the city's top job. He finished third behind Gondek and current Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation CEO Jeromy Farkas in the 2021 race.
Farkas has not ruled out running for mayor again. He served one term on council from 2017 to 2021 alongside Gondek and Davison. Former Calgary Police Commission chair Brian Thiessen has also said he will run for mayor in 2025.