Thiessen is the first candidate to sign on with a political party
On Thursday evening, Calgary lawyer Brian Thiessen revealed he’ll run with a party for the 2025 mayoral race.
He’ll be the mayoral candidate and leader of the Calgary Party, the first such municipal political entity out of the gate with candidates in the city following recent legislation allowing such partisan civic entries.
Thiessen is a former chair of the police commission, served on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta board of directors, and was recognized as Calgary’s citizen of the year in 2020.
Thursday’s announcement makes him the first of those who have tossed their hat in the ring to become Calgary’s next mayor to be part of a political party.
“I’m kind of excited to start something new in Calgary,” Thiessen said ahead of the announcement. “Obviously daunting, but, we have a pretty great team.”
They introduced four candidates for councillor positions during an evening event at Platform Calgary. Thiessen noted none of them are councillors that are currently holding a position at city hall.
“Obviously, we have to follow all the rules of the province, which they just released last Friday,” he said. “So we’re going to have to do some work on all those pieces.”
Those candidates are DJ Kelly in Ward 4 who narrowly lost to Coun. Sean Chu in the same district in 2021 and Heather McRae, who has worked with the Calgary Downtown Association, in Ward 7.
Contesting Ward 11 is podcast editor and public transit advocate Alex Williams and running in Ward 13 is entrepreneur Elliot Weinstein.
Serving as strategist for the Calgary Party’s campaign is Stephen Carter, well-known for delivering election victories to Mayor Jyoti Gondek and her predecessor Naheed Nenshi.
Co-chairing the campaign is Chima Nkemdirim, chief of staff to then-mayor Naheed Nenshi.
Calgary Party looking to run full slate of candidates
Carter said the party will run a full slate of 15 candidates and will announce several more in the coming winter and next spring.
“It gives people a real clear choice. It’ll be interesting how that plays with independents running in different roles as well,” he said.
“If you’re planning on building, ‘fixing’ city hall and working together with fellow councillors, what better way to do it than have a common platform and run as a team.”
Thiessen believes there is always common ground on the right and left.
“I am experienced at sitting in rooms and hammering out deals to find that common ground. I don’t say it idealistically, I say it from 30 years of practical experience.”
Municipal political parties controversial
AB Munis, an association that represents more than 250 of Alberta’s cities, towns and villages, criticized the new rules as unfair and costly shortly after they were unveiled.
“Albertans have repeatedly said they want less money, not more, in local politics,” read an AB Munis media release. “They have also said they do not want political parties in local elections.”
Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams says partisanship at the provincial and federal levels is often associated with further polarization.
“People are complaining about a dysfunctional council today, if there is (yet) another reason for dividing, and that is membership in this or that, party, partisanship, further ideological considerations,” she said.
“If those become additional excuses not to work together or to fight against one another, then you’re not going to increase functionality.”
‘It’s time for action’
Thiessen says he shares some of the concerns about parties.
“The province introduced parties. Nobody asked them for it. Lots of people said don’t do it, but they’re here,” he said.
“For this election in Calgary there will be parties,” Thiessen said. “If we can take advantage of that to build a team, clearly outline for people what our policies are, and take some positive out of the situation . . . I’m always for the glass is half full.”
At his campaign kickoff in the downtown Thursday, Theissen lamented homelessness and social disorder in the city and vowed to coordinate affordable housing, mental health, addictions and public safety efforts to address them.
“We don’t need one more study . . . it’s time for action,” he said, clad in a T-shirt with the new party’s logo of a pink arrow shooting upwards.
— With files from Scott Strasser