Mayor Jeromy Farkas has the rare gift of squeezing results out of other governments without grovelling.
It’s a simple strategy, but not so easy to implement.
Fight on issues, not politics. Give credit where due, even to a government you blasted yesterday.
Stay as far away from partisan bias as you possibly can.
That’s how Farkas operates. It’s working for the city.
His approach brought a sizable win Wednesday when he announced a deal with Ottawa to secure housing accelerator funding.
A new payment of $64 million is in the bank, he says, along with $128 million already received.
A further $64 million will depend on the new zoning bylaw, but Farkas doesn’t expect Ottawa will have any trouble with that.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals had tied this cash to blanket rezoning. They bribed cities to remake themselves in an image invented by federal bureaucrats.
Ex-mayor Jyoti Gondek and her council happily approved.
But the great majority of Calgarians didn’t like it.
In the civic election, Farkas promised to get rid of the plan that approved multiplex dwellings everywhere, without council oversight.
He succeeded with the support of his new council.
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But what about that federal cash?
“There was always some consistent debate over whether the housing accelerator money was contingent on that decision,” the mayor said in an interview.
“It’s good to finally put that question to bed.
“Now we’re not limited to one blunt tool like the blanket rezoning. This is really about more homes and fewer barriers, not more fights with the feds or the community or the provincial government.”
Farkas says Premier Danielle Smith and Assisted Living Minister Jason Nixon were a big help in dealing with Ottawa.
“This is certainly a validation of their approach with the federal government — asserting ourselves but also wanting to partner.”
“Ottawa, to their credit, showed flexibility. They focused on results. That’s what good partnership looks like. This is respect for the will of Calgarians.
“I had a good opportunity to meet with Minister (Gregor) Robertson and Prime Minister (Mark) Carney on a recent trip to Ottawa to make the case, and now the results are there for us.
“Calgary isn’t just talking about housing. We’re building it. While others are debating this, we’re building the needed housing.”
Rows of new homes under construction are shown on the northeast edge of Calgary on April 15, 2024.
The best example of Farkas’ style came in February when the province levied a huge increase in education property tax on Calgary, after council had kept the city increase to 1.2 per cent.
The mayor was furious. He called the increase “another version of equalization” aimed at using Calgarians’ taxes to benefit the rest of the province.
“If we’re going to rail against equalization at the federal level, then we can’t keep doing the same thing to our municipalities,” he fumed.
“The UCP has hiked property taxes by 57 per cent in four years.
“Their latest 21 per cent increase represents about $339 more per Calgary household.
“By contrast, Edmonton homeowners will only pay $154 more.”
The province pushed back hard, noting huge amounts spent in the city. Smith said the tax will be directly invested in schools and infrastructure.
That was a major blow-up. You’d think blood would boil in both camps for months.
Less than a month later, the province appointed a special investigator to probe Calgary’s water main ruptures and the city’s performance.
That looked like revenge for the tax eruption.
But Farkas welcomed the inquiry. He promised full co-operation and access to all information.
No complaint would have stopped Smith. And the city will need copious provincial funds to cover the huge expense of rebuilding major water pipes.
The two episodes showed Farkas is what he promised to be — a mayor focused strictly on solving Calgary problems, one by one, rather than scoring political points.
Common sense finally rules at city hall. It’s welcome after the years of virtue-signalling and goofy projects.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald