Jyoti Gondek elected as Calgary's first female mayor
Jyoti Gondek has been declared as Calgary's next mayor, making her the first female to be elected to the office.
"My heart is full at the thought of how much love and support I have received, not only from the day I announced, but all the way up to today," she said in her victory speech. Gondek thanked her 1,200 volunteers, as well as her family.
"Please know all of your sacrifices did not go unnoticed, thank you for taking this journey with me, for caring about me and believing in me," she said.
"This election is also about my dad, who left us far too early. It was actually his unfinished community service that I picked up in 2003 that has brought me to this point in my life."
She served one terms as the Ward 3 councillor before running for mayor. Prior to her time on city council, Gondek volunteered with the Northern Hills Community Association and served as a citizen member on several municipal committees.
She holds a PhD in urban sociology and, before entering politics, worked at the Westman Centre for Real Estate Studies at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business.
Gondek said she looks forward to working with the newly elected council and other levels of government.
"Now we turn to that focus on the mission of service, to build a stronger city," she said.
"I'm very excited about this prospect of creating a new team, one that prioritizes the well-being of Calgarians, through ensuring that we understand our collective strength. Your new council will pull together around a common vision that makes us more resilient as a city. We will set the bar high to deliver on your expectation and we will remain accountable to all of you."
In his concession speech just after 9 p.m., Gondek's main rival, Jeromy Farkas said she had earned the trust of Calgarians.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.