Naheed Nenshi has a history in Alberta and much of it isn’t good. He’s trying to hide from his own political baggage as he chases the premiership and is resorting to lies to do so. Being disingenuous is nothing new for Nenshi. He initially got elected as the mayor of Calgary on a platform of being business-friendly, but was anything but. His relentless tax increases on city businesses drove owners to an unprecedented protest outside Calgary’s city hall where they had to beg for relief. He quickly earned the moniker "Spendshi."Nenshi’s frequent departures from the truth have even landed him in legal hot water. When Nenshi implied Calgary businessman and philanthropist Cal Wenzel was an organized crime figure, the resulting lawsuit left Calgarian taxpayers with a legal bill of nearly $300,000 until Nenshi could convince enough friends to pitch in and cover it for him. He apologized and retracted his statement but not until it was clear he was going to lose the lawsuit anyway.Nenshi also shared a bunch of bizarre fabrications about Uber while he was riding in a Lyft car in Boston. He lied and claimed the city of Calgary had tested the security screening of Uber by getting sex offenders through the process. It was utter BS and when the video surfaced, it looked like Nenshi was about to get his arse sued again. Uber had been trying for years to get into the city of Calgary but had been experiencing strong resistance from Nenshi who appeared beholden to the city’s taxi company cartel. When it appeared Uber was going to be suing the mayor however, Uber was suddenly approved as a service in the city and talk of a lawsuit dropped. Funny how negotiations change when you are about to be sued into oblivion.Now, Nenshi has taken to lying about his own history. Nenshi’s biggest personal legacy and vanity project during his time as mayor is the LRT expansion called the Green Line. The problem is, the Green Line has turned into a black hole. The project's size has shrunk to a small fraction of the original scope, while the price tag has risen from $4.5 billion to $6 billion. Meanwhile, $1.5 billion has been spent and not an inch of track has been laid. At this rate, it will be another decade before the Green Line even gets out of the city’s downtown and the cost will likely double. It’s an unmitigated disaster.Nenshi is trying to distance himself from the mess of his own making through historical revisionism. In 2015 when MP Jason Kenney announced $1.53 billion federal dollars for the Green Line, Nenshi said construction would begin in 2017 and be completed by 2024. Nenshi is now absurdly claiming the funding was unexpected in 2015 and that led to the delays in construction. The province kicked in $1.5 billion as well. Despite having all that money to play with, nothing got done under Nenshi’s management and while he is trying to blame other levels of government for the mess, it’s simply BS.Jason Kenney didn’t beat around the bush on Nenshi’s claims saying, “This is a broader problem Naheed has. He just makes stuff up. I think people call it gaslighting.”Nenshi will say whatever he thinks he needs to say and pretend to be whatever he thinks he needs to be if he thinks it will bring him closer to power. He lies without hesitation and refuses to take responsibility for anything that happened or didn’t happen during his near decade as Calgary’s mayor.Nenshi is a known quantity to Calgarian voters. Unfortunately for him, he is known for massive tax hikes, a dysfunctional city council, millions spent on a failed Olympic bid, a downtown with massive commercial vacancy that’s overrun with addicts, and a Green Line project that may prove to be the biggest municipal boondoggle in Canadian history. Instead of trying to explain or wear his legacy, Nenshi is trying to lie his way out of it. He is counting on the short memory of voters to try and win his way into the premiership of Alberta.Let’s make sure we don’t let Albertans forget what Nenshi’s tenure as mayor was like. It reflects how well he would govern if he were to become premier..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
Naheed Nenshi has a history in Alberta and much of it isn’t good. He’s trying to hide from his own political baggage as he chases the premiership and is resorting to lies to do so. Being disingenuous is nothing new for Nenshi. He initially got elected as the mayor of Calgary on a platform of being business-friendly, but was anything but. His relentless tax increases on city businesses drove owners to an unprecedented protest outside Calgary’s city hall where they had to beg for relief. He quickly earned the moniker "Spendshi."Nenshi’s frequent departures from the truth have even landed him in legal hot water. When Nenshi implied Calgary businessman and philanthropist Cal Wenzel was an organized crime figure, the resulting lawsuit left Calgarian taxpayers with a legal bill of nearly $300,000 until Nenshi could convince enough friends to pitch in and cover it for him. He apologized and retracted his statement but not until it was clear he was going to lose the lawsuit anyway.Nenshi also shared a bunch of bizarre fabrications about Uber while he was riding in a Lyft car in Boston. He lied and claimed the city of Calgary had tested the security screening of Uber by getting sex offenders through the process. It was utter BS and when the video surfaced, it looked like Nenshi was about to get his arse sued again. Uber had been trying for years to get into the city of Calgary but had been experiencing strong resistance from Nenshi who appeared beholden to the city’s taxi company cartel. When it appeared Uber was going to be suing the mayor however, Uber was suddenly approved as a service in the city and talk of a lawsuit dropped. Funny how negotiations change when you are about to be sued into oblivion.Now, Nenshi has taken to lying about his own history. Nenshi’s biggest personal legacy and vanity project during his time as mayor is the LRT expansion called the Green Line. The problem is, the Green Line has turned into a black hole. The project's size has shrunk to a small fraction of the original scope, while the price tag has risen from $4.5 billion to $6 billion. Meanwhile, $1.5 billion has been spent and not an inch of track has been laid. At this rate, it will be another decade before the Green Line even gets out of the city’s downtown and the cost will likely double. It’s an unmitigated disaster.Nenshi is trying to distance himself from the mess of his own making through historical revisionism. In 2015 when MP Jason Kenney announced $1.53 billion federal dollars for the Green Line, Nenshi said construction would begin in 2017 and be completed by 2024. Nenshi is now absurdly claiming the funding was unexpected in 2015 and that led to the delays in construction. The province kicked in $1.5 billion as well. Despite having all that money to play with, nothing got done under Nenshi’s management and while he is trying to blame other levels of government for the mess, it’s simply BS.Jason Kenney didn’t beat around the bush on Nenshi’s claims saying, “This is a broader problem Naheed has. He just makes stuff up. I think people call it gaslighting.”Nenshi will say whatever he thinks he needs to say and pretend to be whatever he thinks he needs to be if he thinks it will bring him closer to power. He lies without hesitation and refuses to take responsibility for anything that happened or didn’t happen during his near decade as Calgary’s mayor.Nenshi is a known quantity to Calgarian voters. Unfortunately for him, he is known for massive tax hikes, a dysfunctional city council, millions spent on a failed Olympic bid, a downtown with massive commercial vacancy that’s overrun with addicts, and a Green Line project that may prove to be the biggest municipal boondoggle in Canadian history. Instead of trying to explain or wear his legacy, Nenshi is trying to lie his way out of it. He is counting on the short memory of voters to try and win his way into the premiership of Alberta.Let’s make sure we don’t let Albertans forget what Nenshi’s tenure as mayor was like. It reflects how well he would govern if he were to become premier..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
