Calgary Chamber of Commerce hosts mayoral candidates’ debate

Buildings in downtown Calgary are seen in reflection on Dec. 29, 2024. (Damien Wood / CTV Calgary)

It was a full house at the Jack Singer Concert Hall on Wednesday night, where the Calgary Chamber of Commerce hosted a mayoral candidates’ debate.

The debate featured the current top five polling candidates: Jeff Davison, Jeromy Farkas, Jyoti Gondek, Sonya Sharp and Brian Thiessen.

The chamber’s president and CEO, Deborah Yedlin, moderated the 90-minute debate, which focused on four key areas: safety, particularly in downtown; sustaining Calgary’s vibrant arts and culture scene, which contributes $3 billion to the city’s economy; supporting small businesses; and keeping up with housing and infrastructure while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Downtown safety

Sharp noted her party “just got endorsed by the Calgary Police Association on our pledge for 500 police officers and a downtown police station that will operate 24-7.”

“If you don’t have a safe city, you have nothing,” said Sharp.

Davison said we “need to get together and agree that we have the same problem—that’s where we bring all three orders of government together.”

He suggested the province for mental health and addiction, the feds for bail reform and local for policing and community agencies.

Gondek, the incumbent, pointed to her council’s shift toward an “integrated response model.”

“We started to see improvement in public safety downtown,” she said.

She also said, “There’s still work to be done.”

Farkas said we’ve “seen a bit of a competition of two different ideologies, pitting compassion versus enforcement.”

“My safety plan marries the two,” he said.

Thiessen pointed to a need for housing first and 24-7 mental-health and addiction specialists integrated with police.

Arts and culture

Thiessen noted the importance of “the funding that keeps artists supported and allows companies to produce the shows that go into these centres.”

“I’m committed to providing stable, dependable operational funding,” he said.

Gondek said it was “a privilege in my last term on council to be a champion for the arts.”

“We continue to provide that funding now, into this term,” she said. “I think you all know my investment is true and my support is real.”

Farkas said the arts “need to be relevant in every community, in every single corner of the city.”

Davison said, “You do not have vibrancy without the arts (and) you are not a world-class city without the arts.”

“We fail to remember that the arts contribute back to the economy of Calgary,” he said.

Sharp pointed out a thriving arts community “brings so much investment into our city” and then brought talk back to safety.

“If we don’t have a safe city, everyone suffers,” she said, noting the artist making their way downtown on transit, instrument in hand.

Small business

Farkas said his policy “calls for respect for every dollar,” so that “we’re not burdening those small businesses needlessly.”

Thiessen said there is a need for an increase in funding and support for small businesses, the creative industry included.

He said there is a need to “provide financial supports and start-up costs for them as well,” along with mentorship opportunities.

Davison suggested, “It starts by actually partnering with the Chamber and listening to what’s actually going on.”

Sharp called for a return to prominence of the business and local economy team.

“During COVID, we were trailblazers in removing red tape so that businesses like restaurants could have patios on the street,” she said.

Gondek pointed to growth in the tech sector during her council’s time.

“We are doing something right here,” she said, also noting the need to remove red tape, put a focus on local procurement and lower property taxes.

Housing and infrastructure

Gondek said, “The first thing you have to do is recognize that you’ve got this kind of a deficit and what brought it about.”

“It was years of cuts to the budget,” she said. “We have reinvested as a council over the last four years.”

Farkas pointed out it’s “not just how we procure, but also what we build.”

“We’re really falling short when it comes to the community street-level infrastructure,” he said, also noting the need for local procurement.

Sharp said a Calgary council needs to have “a bit of a fix-it-first mentality before we throw good money after bad.”

She also noted she’s “pledged to open an infrastructure planning office.”

Thiessen said, “We’re looking at investing in infrastructure. We’re looking at fixing the potholes. We’re the only party that’s proposing a comprehensive water utility.”

Davison pointed out there’s “a lot going on in our city” and “a lot is held back because of bad timing, poor decisions at city hall.”

“What we actually need to do is put forward a plan to build faster,” he said.

The municipal election is Oct. 20.