The Bearspaw South feeder main break in Calgary last year was a catastrophic event for Calgarians and citizens in surrounding communities, but in retrospect, it may have been a lucky break for Mayor Jeromy Farkas. Farkas was front and centre, giving daily updates on repairs to the system — a problem that requires a common-sense approach, not an ideological one, to get it fixed. He was much like a parent caring for a child with a broken leg. After the Calgary civic election in 2025, Western Standard published a list of the new city councillors and our estimation of where they each stood politically. Of Farkas, we wrote, “(he) has travelled both the left and the right side, but from where we sit, he has moved to the middle ground. Farkas says he’s made some mistakes in his previous journeys that he wouldn’t repeat, and Western Standard is taking his word for it and unless he proves otherwise, then, we won’t hesitate to put his feet to the fire.” Pass the matches; it's time to light the fire. Perhaps the water main break kept the real Farkas under wraps. Have the pressures of being the mayor of Canada’s third-largest English-speaking city diminished his demeanour? We ask because lately, the mayor has shown he is prone to faux pas, his ideological thinking is increasing, and there’s been a swing to the left..On October 6, at a city council meeting, Farkas acknowledged October as Canadian Islamic History Month, saying, "We have the opportunity to mark Canadian Islamic History Month, which is observed each October to celebrate the rich histories, cultures, and meaningful contributions that Muslim communities (make) all across Canada." He encouraged fostering greater understanding, inclusion, and respect. There was more, but this is enough. His speech came the day before the third anniversary of the Hamas-led Islamic extremist terrorist attack on Israel, which left 1,200 people dead. October has 31 days; his proclamation could have waited or, better still, been cancelled. In an October 7 op-ed for Postmedia, Farkas said, “these are the most dangerous days to be a Jew,” then turned it into a plea for more money. “Calgary needs a dedicated effort to combat antisemitism … it is time to put serious money behind it. Council will face hard decisions in our upcoming budget.” In his op-ed, he made no mention of the terrorist attack. Last week, a city employee took down a pro-independence referendum sign but left an anti-independence sign standing. The city acknowledged it was unlawful, and Farkas offered an apology. .But the employee was not charged for breaking the law. Speaking of the referendum, Farkas brought a notice of motion to council that essentially forced council to oppose independence, using carefully couched wording that Calgary was an important city. Speaking about independence supporters on CBC TV, Farkas said, “The problem is you're going to have a very small minority of folks who are so deranged on this topic, they assume that Justin Trudeau is around. They'll blame him for everything from why we lose our socks in the dryer, why we sell hot dog buns in packages of 12, but we sell hot dogs in packages of eight. It's absolutely ridiculous." That certainly sounds like a defence of Trudeau. Of independence supporters, Farkas said, "To see the amount of useful idiots that exist here, it's not representative of us more generally. The vast majority of us want to work together with the rest of the country."Well, I’d rather be a useful idiot than a useless idiot. On hearing that some pro-independence leaders had met with US officials, Farkas said, "Well, it's such disingenuous bullcrap. Look, if you want to live in the United States, move to the United States.” .Now that’s a problem-solving skill. In an interview with the ultra-left-wing Rosemary Barton on CBC TV on September 27, Farkas said businesses could leave Alberta if independence was achieved. “Why do you think the Bank of Montreal is no longer headquartered in the city of Montreal?” he said, suggesting that BMO left because of the separatists in Quebec. However, bank officials said the move was to centralize its corporate management closer to Canada’s main financial markets in Toronto.Take that to the bank. Of the leaders of the independence movement in Alberta, Farkas told Barton, “There's an extremely great amount of racist, transphobic, homophobic, xenophobic views that many of these leaders have.” The left wing believes insulting people will make them change their minds. To close the circle, Farkas, who served as a city councillor from 2017 to 2021, told attendees at Calgary Economic Development’s Economic Outlook event that both the city and he had postponed repairs to Calgary’s ageing infrastructure, which led to the Bearspaw break. He said he now believes decisions made back then contributed to the break. The upcoming budget deliberations appear likely to bring an increase of nearly $90 per month in Calgarians’ water bills. The World Series is being played right now. In baseball, three strikes and you’re out. Farkas should be glad he’s not under the same rules.
