'Small distraction': Mayor Jyoti Gondek reacts to a chorus of boos from Flames fans
It's not the mayor's fault Johnny Hockey signed with Columbus, setting in motion an exodus of all-stars from the Calgary Flames, but Saturday night, it sounded as if a few thousand fans blamed her for it.
On a national broadcast ahead of puck drop on Saturday night, the Flames recognized several key members of the city’s South Asian community, including mayor Jyoti Gondek, who was received to a chorus of boos.
Thousands of fans booed the mayor as she walked to centre ice, and passed the Flames bench for a ceremonial puck drop.
Pollster Marc Henry, president of Think HQ public affairs, booed the decision to showcase a mayor stumbling in the polls and recovering from a recall petition.
“Why on earth would you send the mayor, who's sitting at 30 per cent approval or less to be in front of 18,000 anonymous hockey fans, when you know in hockey, booing and cheering is part of the deal?” asked Henry.
“Whoever the staffer was who thought this was a good idea, ought to be fired because they are completely tone deaf,” added Henry.
“You just put your boss in a very, very vulnerable and embarrassing situation.”
'SMALL DISTRACTION'
Gondek on Monday reacted to the event, shifting the focus to the meaning of why she was there.
“What may have happened was a small distraction,” she said.
“And I think it's important for us to remember that there was a bigger community that was being honoured and that was the goal of that game. I really appreciated the players showing up before the game wearing the jerseys proudly.”
The Flames hosted their first-ever South Asian Celebration Game unveiling a unique logo for the event designed by a local artist Zoe Harveen Kaur Sihota.
The logo included a peacock, which represents beauty and grace in many South Asian cultures, and the shapes on top of the flaming C invoking South Asian architecture.
Henry says that Gondek has seen the lowest approval ratings of any mayor in the city’s history, and although he admits the boos were distasteful, he wasn’t surprised.
“I think that it is very much indicative of the mood in the city and the challenge for the mayor is it seems to have transcended specific policies,” said Henry.
“It's now become more about her. The only saving grace is that it wasn't the Stamps (Stampeders) home opener because football crowds are even tougher than a hockey crowd.”
Gondek plans to leave the boos behind to continue managing municipal affairs in a city that will miss the NHL playoffs for the second consecutive season in 2024.
“I will continue to focus on the work at hand and get the job done,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he does not regret calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko,' and now his MPs are renewing calls for the House of Commons Speaker to resign, this time over ordering the Official Opposition leader to leave the chamber.
Is it cold, flu or norovirus? Symptoms explained
The highly contagious norovirus is spreading across Canada, with some symptoms overlapping with other viruses. CTVNews.ca spoke with a health expert to find out how you can tell you have norovirus, the most common form of stomach flu, and what to do if you have it.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Ontario's police watchdog continues probe of high-speed pursuit involving fatal crash
The investigation continues into a collision that killed two grandparents and their infant grandchild during a high-speed police chase on the wrong way of Highway 401 east of Toronto.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Search continues for 'armed man' in Dartmouth, N.S.
Police say they continue to search for an armed man who allegedly threatened people in Dartmouth, N.S.
Swarm of bees delays Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles game in Arizona. An 'MVP' beekeeper came to the rescue
Major League Baseball fans had an unexpected buzz on Tuesday after a swarm of bees delayed the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game for around two hours.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.