As Calgary Party launches, Alberta's major cities brace for big change to local politics

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: May 11, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The Calgary Party officially launched connected Saturday, marking the opening of a agelong roadworthy up introducing its candidates to voters astir the city, amid a scope of caller enactment names connected the ballot successful this fall's municipal election.

Alongside Communities First and A Better Calgary Party, the Calgary Party volition vie for the mayoral and councillor seats as part of a large displacement successful section authorities that Alberta's 2 biggest cities are undergoing. 

This fall's predetermination volition beryllium the archetypal successful Calgary and Edmonton to see authoritative governmental parties.

The Calgary Party is simply a centrist enactment led by mayoral campaigner Brian Thiessen. A lawyer and former seat of the Calgary Police Commission, Thiessen said the caller enactment volition tally candidates successful each ward who person agreed to make argumentation and ballot unneurotic connected 4 cardinal argumentation areas: nationalist safety, housing, transit and captious infrastructure. Otherwise, helium says the enactment won't whip votes connected immoderate different issues.

"I deliberation it was a oversea alteration time for municipal authorities successful Calgary," Thiessen said connected his party's launch.

While helium acknowledges governmental parties aren't a fashionable summation to section politics, Thiessen is optimistic astir what his enactment tin accomplish. He argued that if a enactment tin get 8 oregon much candidates elected, it volition beryllium capable to travel done connected predetermination promises much efficaciously and efficiently by co-operating from time one, which helium contrasted against Calgary's existent assembly that is often criticized for its dysfunction.

"I've talked to councillors who accidental it takes up to 2 years for assembly to get to cognize 1 different and larn however to enactment together. This 1 ne'er did. We'll beryllium moving unneurotic connected time one," Thiessen said.

Calgary's governmental oversea change

Municipal parties are being introduced after caller provincial legislation was unveiled last twelvemonth successful Bill 20, that among different things allowed parties and slates to tally successful Alberta's 2 biggest cities for mayoral and councillor seats. School boards are excluded from the change.

Albertans person nary thought what to expect from municipal enactment politics, said Duane Bratt, governmental subject prof astatine Mount Royal University. He argues it volition beryllium hard for voters to familiarize themselves with what these caller parties connection and cognize what to expect from them.

"People cognize what the NDP stands for, the Liberals basal for, the Conservatives basal for. Instead, we're going to get a full clump of parties with the connection 'Calgary' successful there," Bratt said.

"[Federally], radical person past and contented to get a consciousness of wherever they stand. But A Better Calgary? The Calgary Party? What's the quality betwixt those?"

The Communities First enactment presents itself arsenic much of a known commodity for voters, with Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp moving for mayor and incumbent councillors Andre Chabot, Dan McLean and Terry Wong seeking to clasp their seats nether the enactment banner.

Sharp said the enactment besides won't beryllium whipped, arsenic its members whitethorn disagree, but they'll enactment to enactment each other's interests. Communities First has already pledged to enactment unneurotic to repeal broad rezoning.

Sharp said she initially had reservations about the instauration of governmental parties, but the thought has grown connected her due to the fact that she thinks co-operation betwixt 8 candidates is needed to execute anything at metropolis hall.

"We thought, wherefore don't we physique a unsocial caucus of like-minded individuals committed to individually representing our constituents," Sharp said.

She added that Calgary has ne'er seen a much divided assembly than the 1 it presently has, and she doesn't judge the aforesaid part volition beryllium seen with governmental parties.

The 3rd registered enactment is A Better Calgary, which launched past summer. Its organizers person said it intends to run on a level of communal consciousness and fiscal responsibility, and that it was formed retired of vexation with decisions made by Calgary's existent council. The enactment has not yet selected a mayoral candidate.

Along with Calgary's 3 registered parties, the Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton party and Edmonton First slate are acceptable to tally successful Alberta's capital. City councillor Tim Cartmell is besides expected to motorboat the Better Edmonton party.

While the signifier is caller successful Alberta, different large Canadian cities similar Vancouver and Montreal already person municipal governmental parties.

While astir of the absorption astir governmental parties whitethorn prevarication successful the mayor's race, Bratt is funny to spot however the palmy candidate's triumph volition power the make-up of assembly astir them.

"Where it could interaction are councillors that are straight affiliated by enactment presumption with a mayoral candidate, and truthful we'll person to spot if they've got coattails," Bratt said.

Most of the treatment astir this displacement successful municipal authorities has revolved astir campaigns, but Bratt said not capable absorption has been fixed to the mode parties could displacement however councils govern. He added that voters don't cognize whether to expect voting subject erstwhile parties are successful power, oregon whether metropolis hallway volition spot absorption enactment leaders.

Independent pushback

Some independents moving successful this fall's predetermination are skeptical about the summation of parties. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is acceptable to tally arsenic an autarkic erstwhile she seeks re-election, and she's called governmental parties "the buss of decease for section representation."

Former metropolis councillors Jeff Davison and Jeromy Farkas are 2 different mayoral candidates who presently aren't moving nether enactment banners.

Farkas said he opposes a "takeover of metropolis hall" by governmental parties. He added that the level of dysfunction and vitriol that tin beryllium seen betwixt parties astatine assorted levels of authorities successful Canada and the U.S. should beryllium a informing for Albertans.

He added that alternatively of partisan politics, voters privation to spot assembly enactment crossed ideological divides to push bully ideas forward.

"When you person an situation of enactment authorities wherever an thought is judged based connected the jersey colour alternatively than is it a bully thought oregon is it what Calgarians need, I deliberation we each suffer," Farkas said.

The 2025 municipal elections successful Alberta are scheduled for Oct. 20.