Rob Ford certainly made Canadian politics interesting for a while but the real hero of Canadian leaders is Calgary’s 36th mayor, Naheed Nenshi, who’s now the proud recipient of the 2014’s World Mayor Prize.
Not a bad title if you ask us.
An unlikely candidate for mayor in 2010, with less than 10% of the city’s decided votes just six weeks from the ballots, the Mount Royal University Professor used his social media know-how and Harvard smarts to engage and inspire the city with his ‘Purple Revolution’.
Since his 2010 win, Nenshi has changed Calgary for the better and won respect of citizens, politicians, and policy makers around the world. He was even named Maclean’s ‘Second Most Interesting Person In Canada’ in 2013 (only second to Prime Minister Stephen Harper).
Known for his forward thinking revitalization projects and advocacy for keeping young professionals in the city, the mayor has helped turn Calgary into a cultural hub with a vibrant downtown city life. He’s also a regular at city events and the parade marshal for Calgary’s Pride parade.
With a quick wit and a propensity for Twitter, Nenshi is also respected for speaking his mind, and is well known for challenging long-standing conservative views that have no place in Alberta legislature.
And yes, we’re talking about the recent Bill 10 debate and his comment about Alberta looking like ‘hillbillies’ for denying gay students the same access to school alliances as straight students.
Most notably, during the floods that left Southern Alberta in shambles in 2013, Nenshi was on the scene to help pick up morale and inspire people to work together to re-build their communities.
Depicted in one of local artist Mandy Stobo’s Bad Portraits, t-shirts of Nenshi in scuba gear were sold to raise over $20,000 for the Red Cross during the weeks that followed the floods and thanks to the mayor we now have Neighbour Day to commemorate that time.
Nenshi, we salute you.
Thanks for making Calgary – and Canada – a better place.
#NOTABLE
Cover image from: Naheed Nenshi Facebook page
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