Calgary's mayor congratulates returning provincial government, cautions over divisive rhetoric
Mayor Jyoti Gondek says she's looking forward to working with the re-elected UCP government on Calgary's priorities, while also appealing to people to reflect on the often cruel tone of a tough campaign.
Gondek says she messaged Premier Danielle Smith late Monday night to offer her congratulations.
"And my office will be seeking a meeting with the premier's office as quickly as possible," Gondek said Tuesday.
Many familiar UCP ministers will not be at the table following resignations and defeats but Gondek says the city looks forward to sitting down with them all.
"We will be working with whichever folks are appointed to ministries," she said.
"There's going to be some places where we're going to pick up where we left off and in others, we will be getting acquainted with new ministers."
"The good news is the administration of the provincial government will remain the same, so there is a lot of institutional knowledge."
The biggest project impacted by the election is the long-awaited new-arena deal, which the previous provincial government agreed to put $330 million toward in infrastructure.
The project will replace the aging Scotiabank Saddledome as the home of the Flames.
Gondek did not give a timeline for the release of further details of the $1.2-billion-dollar project, saying the province would need time to work out details on its portion.
"We presented a very good opportunity to our partners by going through a 16-month exercise of bringing experts on board to structure a deal that works well for Calgarians," Gondek said.
"One of the first things we need to recognize is that we have a brand-new provincial government, which will need to form its cabinet and then ultimately have a treasury board meeting, so that one partner needs a little bit of time."
Gondek also had strong words about some of the at-times violent and hateful rhetoric floated in public forums and on social media by candidates and their supporters.
"The level of hate and the implied violence in some of those comments is incredibly disturbing," Gondek said.
"I would ask people to think long and hard about the consequences of their words.
"Words are something that should be used with great care. We are privileged to live in a democracy and we need to act like civilized human beings and we need to recognize the values that we must maintain."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.