There’s a new party in town, one that promises to shoot right from the hip at Calgary city council. The new municipal party, Communities First, is comprised of four sitting councillors, Andre Chabot, Dan McLean, Sonya Sharp and Terry Wong and one former councillor, John Mar. The party will eventually field 15 candidates running for council seats including the mayor's chair, in the next civic election on October 20, 2025. The party was formed to counter a left-leaning influence on council, says McLean. “Everyone knows there’s a political party that already exists at city hall,” he says. “There’s a majority that worked together to get elected and now vote together. They were masterminded by a far-left political operative who is now forming another far-left party. Let’s be more up-front with who we are, what we stand for, and actually represent our constituents.” This year has seen a number of contentious issues debated in council, from the single-use bylaw to the blanket upzoning public hearings that have drawn the ire of Calgarians, says Sharp. “Calgarians are fed up with this council. They’re tired of all the drama. They’re tired of not being listened to and being lectured,” says Sharp. “They’re tired of a council that seems to want to focus on anything but what matters to Calgarians. We want to offer Calgarians the chance to vote for people who are interested in representing them rather than an ideology.” Communities First will register as a municipal party for the October election, but will function differently from traditional provincial or federal parties, focusing on genuine community representation over strict party discipline, says Chabot. “We’re a party by necessity rather than desire,” says Chabot. “These are the rules the province has set down; this is where things are going, but we don’t have to behave like other parties do. For each of us, representing our constituents independently is the top priority, and it will always trump any party discipline.” Mar, the sitting councillor in Ward 8 from 2007 to 2013, who will throw his hat into Ward 6 in the fall election, says things have changed at city hall since he was there. “So many things need to be fixed at city hall,” says Mar. “When I left, things were running pretty smoothly. Now, there’s a ton of infighting, nobody working together. City administration feels like it’s a rudderless ship.” Wong agrees council is in a state of flux. “City hall is not as functional as it used to be. Quite frankly, it’s because of leadership. There should be collaboration, communication, cooperation,” says Wong. “In the last three years, we haven’t had that. We’ve had polarization more than anything else.” The Communities First party is the third to field candidates for the fall election, joining The Calgary Party and A Better Calgary Party. “There is a party popping up on the far left; there’s a party on the far right. I don’t believe Calgary will be served well by either of them,” says Sharp. “There’s no progressive way to fill a pothole or a conservative way to fill a pothole. Calgarians just want you to fill that pothole.” “Communities First — it says it right in the name. We’re responding to our communities first,” says McLean. “We’re not going to be beholden to any federal or provincial party. There’s no party whip telling us what to do. We’re going to vote with our conscience. We’re like-minded people that use common sense, working for their communities.”
