Alberta Premier Danielle Smith isn’t on the ballot, but is coming up frequently in Calgary’s municipal election campaign with candidates running for mayor calling out the provincial government.
The bulk of the messaging against Alberta’s provincial government is coming from the Calgary Party, which has released more than 10 press releases and campaign statements about the province since last month.
That campaign messaging includes laying the blame on Smith for “derailing the Green Line,” and accuses the province of “playing politics” and interfering with city hall, as well as “gutting” public safety with the ban on photo radar for traffic enforcement.
“The reason we’re calling out the province is the province has been in our backyard,” the Calgary Party’s mayoral candidate, Brian Thiessen, told Global News.
“We think it’s important to establish barriers and if (Smith) wants to run Calgary city council, she should resign her seat and run for office.”
According to Thiessen, the campaign messaging is tapping into frustrations Calgarians are feeling around a number of issues, including an ongoing teachers’ strike.
It’s not just the Calgary Party calling out the province. Incumbent mayoral candidate Jyoti Gondek held a press conference Wednesday to announce a commitment to push back and demand accountability from the provincial government if she’s re-elected.
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Gondek also opened her office on Wednesday to canvassers for the Forever Canadian petition, which aims to secure a referendum question on if Alberta should stay in Canada.
“The province has walked away from its responsibilities, focusing on non-issues instead like bike lanes and separation,” Gondek said. “And Calgarians, we’re all paying the price.”
According to Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, campaigning against the provincial government isn’t a new strategy, and was employed by Gondek during her 2021 election campaign.
“Her campaign really targeted Jason Kenney, much more than it did Jeff Davison or Jeromy Farkas… We were still in COVID and Jason Kenney was incredibly unpopular in Calgary,” he said. “Now we have the Smith government, even more so than Kenney, has been intervening into municipal affairs.”
Meanwhile, other candidates in the mayor’s race are taking a different approach than Thiessen and Gondek.
In her platform, Communities First mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp is pledging a “fresh start” in the relationship with the provincial government by establishing a joint committee on municipal-provincial roles, responsibilities and resources.
Jeff Davison has also committed that he would work with the provincial government on issues like public safety if he’s elected.
Jeromy Farkas, also running as an independent, said he is pledging to be able to work with “a conservative premier and a Liberal prime minister.”
At a news conference on Wednesday, Farkas said his plan is “inspired” by his work at Glenbow Ranch, which was under consideration for an upstream reservoir. Farkas said he brought together a grassroots group to be assertive but work in partnership to find a solution.
“It’s about being strategic, it’s about being thoughtful,” Farkas said. “Our next mayor needs to be somebody who is independent, think critically about the issues, push back when it is necessary but also be willing to partner to get results for Calgarians.”
With a large number of voters still undecided just days before the election, Bratt said the campaigns are trying to set themselves apart.
“We’re in the stretch drive here of a very tight race,” Bratt said. “Anything they think could get them an edge, I think they’re going to use.”
Calgarians head to the polls on Oct. 20.
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