George Chahal wins seat for Liberals in northeast Calgary

CALGARY – One of the biggest upsets in the federal election was right here in Calgary, as former City Councillor George Chahal claimed a seat for the federal Liberals.

It took a while, but Calgary-Skyview was finally called in Chahal’s favour after 11 p.m. Monday.

They can feel a victory here. #Elxn44 #yyc pic.twitter.com/104IeRrlSh

— Tom Ross (@Tommy_Slick) September 21, 2021

Ward 5’s former representative at City Hall emerged through a throng of supporters, elated at the news.

“We sent a strong voice Calgary to city hall to fight for equity and opportunity for northeast Calgary. We’re going to do the same thing in Ottawa,” he said.

“We need to make sure we are working together for the best interest of Calgarians, and we have to put partisanship to the side.”

Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist from the University of Toronto, says it may have been those party lines that helped him claim victory, adding that Premier Jason Kenney’s declining popularity helped significantly.

“It was just, I think, last week that your Mayor (Naheed) Nenshi said he’d never seen any government so incompetent — and that was very harsh words coming from a mayor,” said Wiseman.

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“Northeast Calgarians work hard. We work multiple jobs. We don’t take a day off. And that’s what we did. We have an amazing team of volunteers who worked day and night over the last 36 days committed to putting in the work to be successful. That’s the northeast Calgary story.”

Chahal waving to the supporters as they cheer on a possible victory. He continues to hold firm at 40% of the vote. #Elxn44 #yyc pic.twitter.com/9jgvwgIWNj

— Tom Ross (@Tommy_Slick) September 21, 2021

Chahal’s supporters cited his community involvement and background as the fuel behind their choice.

“During the hailstorm, he was pretty active and he was outspoken about insurance claims which were getting denied by the insurance companies,” said Gurminder Bath, a volunteer on Chahal’s campaign.

“He’s one of the immigrants. He’s like me. He’s given me hope that maybe we can do what he’s doing right now,” said Asila Ahsmawi, another volunteer on Chahal’s campaign.

Chahal doesn’t know if he will have a cabinet role with the liberals yet, but he says he’s ready for whatever is thrown his way.

“Any opportunity we get to serve the community, I’ll be there to make sure I fight for Calgary,” he said.

He says his focuses will be mainly on issues like childcare and transportation.

Chahal took the riding from incumbent Conservative Jag Sahota, who was first elected in 2019, returning the area to the Tories after it was turned red in 2015.

– With files from Stefani Lasuik