Political parties bring clarity to Calgary politics, say members. Here's what we know so far

It's a Monday night — a full nine months before the next municipal election — and Denis Perron is at a political pub night.

For decades, he was happy to just vote. That was all the politics he needed. But now?

"The freaking cost of living is just, like, insane," Perron said. "I just got fed up last year. The straw was the 8.6% tax hike. That broke me.… So when I heard that there is a political party where you can at least expose the way they're doing things for the city, I said I need to vote for change."

Municipal parties are a pilot project this year. Only Alberta's two largest cities are allowed to have them on the ballot. In Calgary, so far, three parties have said they'll register: The Calgary Party, A Better Calgary Party and Communities First.

A Better Calgary Party is using pub nights across the city to gather its 1,000 required signatures. That's where Perron came to chat politics — at Brewsters in McKenzie Towne with a dozen other new members and a few regulars.

CBC News dropped by to find out what's attracting people to the party concept. 

Several of them said they're excited to have more clarity in the campaigns — obvious lines to illustrate where each candidate stands.

"Like within the city, we get a whole bunch of names thrown at us. We usually know nothing about any of the candidates," said Loretta Leonhardt, joking that she might join all three new parties to get more informed.

Several people at A Better Calgary Party's meetup said they got more politically active during the pandemic when they were upset by COVID restrictions and how quickly people who disagreed were labelled conspiracists. Others mentioned specific actions from council, such as the declaration of a climate change emergency or new bike lanes.

There's camaraderie among people who are frustrated, added new member Dean Stuart. "People are like, you know what, I'm tired of these people telling me what to do." 

Municipal parties could significantly change the campaign this fall because, under the new provincial rules, parties can raise money beyond what donors can give individual candidates. A Better Calgary was the only one with member events we could attend at this time. But CBC News also reached out to organizers with the other parties. 

So if you don't want to join all three parties, here's a cheat sheet with what we know so far.

The Calgary Party

This was the first party officially registered, and yes — a very similar name to the party with the pub nights. Recognize this party by the pink arrow (versus a yellow sun for A Better Calgary Party). 

Voters might find there's quite a difference in their platforms.

Pat Cochrane is campaign chair for The Calgary Party. She's also a former chair of the board of trustees for the Calgary Board of Education, and she sat on the provincial board for the Alberta Party.

She said the effort started in 2023 when a group of concerned residents got together to start talking about how to make Calgary a better place.

"A lot of it started with a general dissatisfaction with the current council," she said. "There were so many reports of people that couldn't get along with each other and they didn't seem to have a really sharp focus on improving things in Calgary."

"The housing issue was massive because some people can't afford a house, some people can't afford an apartment, some people have nowhere to live in this city," she added. "Then there was the sense of fear that a lot of people had about being in downtown Calgary.… So what do we do about that as a city without demonizing the people who are down there living their lives?"

She said the group is in favour of the blanket rezoning as a way to decrease the cost of housing. 

Cochrane said they gathered their 1,000 signatures in 15 days after the province announced the rules, just by sending volunteers out to collect signatures from friends, family and by door-knocking. They were the first party registered with Elections Calgary and are now focused on fundraising and building teams for the campaign.

The Calgary Party has six candidates officially registered so far. Brian Thiessen, a lawyer and former chair of the Calgary Police Commission, is running for mayor. 

Running for councillor are DJ Kelly (Ward 4), Heather McRae (Ward 7), Alex Williams (Ward 11), Inam Teja (Ward 6) and Elliot Weinstein (Ward 13).

She said their candidates are approved by an internal panel. They have to sign on to the general principles of the party but, if elected, will have the freedom to vote as they see fit.

The party's principles include: building an effective city by doing basics like snow removal better, investing in crime prevention and community policing, reducing the cost of housing and improving transportation.

Communities First

This is the "non-party party," as Coun. Dan McLean told the CBC's Rob Brown. In December, four sitting councillors announced they were creating the Communities First party. 

But Coun. Sonya Sharp said they're forming "out of necessity" because this is the only way they can compete on an even footing with candidates supported by other parties.

"You look at the rules … and a strong party could wipe out all incumbents on this current council," Sharp said on CBC's Calgary Eyeopener. "[We] got together and said, 'let's look at this in the right way. How can we form a party that's not a traditional party but more a caucus with like-minded individuals?'"

She said if re-elected, there might be times when the group doesn't vote together and that's OK. All four incumbents voted against blanket rezoning.

CBC News asked for an interview with party organizers, but they declined. That means we don't know yet what role their members play and who else is behind the scenes.

There are six candidates publicly aligned so far, including the four incumbent councillors: McLean, Sharp, Andre Chabot and Terry Wong, plus Rob Ward and John Mar. They have not said who will run for mayor for their party.

The party's principles include: a priority on listening to citizens rather than lecturing, keeping taxes affordable, increasing density without impacting community character, and funding basic services. 

A Better Calgary Party (ABC)

This is the party with the pub nights all over the city. 

Gord Elliott is president of the board. He's 75 and came out of retirement to help, still ticked by one of Mayor Jyoti Gondek's first moves in office — the declaration of a climate emergency — and the blanket rezoning.

Elliott has decades of experience in politics, including seven years as the Alberta representative on the board for the Conservative Party of Canada and then sat as a member of the executive committee with the provincial Wildrose Party.

This party has no affiliation with either of those. But Kerry George, vice-president of communications, says they're trying for a similar upwelling of popular support. That's why they're focusing on strengthening their membership, getting people to connect and enjoy a beer together. 

To prevent vote-splitting, the ABC party is putting its candidates through an internal nomination race first. They have 25 potential candidates signed up, said George, and the mayoral candidate will be announced March 3, followed by councillor nominations. 

"We've been watching these grassroots movements and that's what we need to do to drive this new municipal movement," said George. "We need to have the people who live in the communities helping make these decisions … and take a part in municipal politics."

Each candidate is expected to sign on to the party's principles but decide for themselves how to apply them if they land a seat on council.

The party principles include: transparency, decision-making as locally as possible, focusing on essential services, supporting the family as the fundamental unit of society, and defending the rights and freedoms of all Calgarians.

Independent — or a 4th party? 

Other candidates have announced they're running without aligning themselves with a new party. 

That includes two people running for mayor — current mayor Jyoti Gondek and Jeff Davison, a former councillor who ran against Gondek in 2021.

When Gondek announced she would run for re-election as an independent, she called parties "the kiss of death for local representation" and said she believes Calgary residents will pick candidates who will stand up for their interests rather than represent a party.

But Davison said he's still talking with other candidates and still deciding whether to run as an independent, join one of these parties or create a fourth. 

A party can start fundraising as soon as it's registered and can accept up to $5,000 per individual, union or business, in addition to the $5,000 total donors can give between mayoral or council candidates they support.

"Financially, it would make sense to [join or create a party]," he said. "But the only thing that matters, whether you're running as an independent or you're running as part of a party, is that Calgarians have clarity and choice in what you're delivering. That's the most important thing to me."

Davison said a party could help build trust between candidates and citizens if the people forming it can agree on a clear agenda.

The full list of people who have announced they intend to run in the October 2025 election is posted at Elections Calgary.