canada – andrewng.media

November 15, 2025December 5, 2025

We’re really raising a stink about flag-raisings?

To be totally blunt, this “emergency” notice of motion to end the raising of foreign flags at Calgary’s city hall is peak white supremacy.

Yep, I said it. I don’t like to play that card and almost never do but I’m playing it for this one.

It’s also a giant waste of time but it’s the latest topic of faux outrage conjured up by conservative council members so we have to address it.

I can understand why the Jewish community is upset about the Palestinian flag being raised but this idea that it’s going to create further tension between the two communities is completely overblown.

October 12, 2025October 31, 2025

Calgary Needs Ranked Ballots for Better Elections

We’re one week from election day, various polls are showing a very close race for mayor and people are freaking out about the low turnout so far after advance voting week.

About the only outcome you can predict at this point is that almost every candidate will win without picking up a clear majority of the votes cast.

This will happen because of a known bug in the Canadian electoral system. It’s the person who gets the most votes who wins, not the person who crosses the majority-has-spoken threshold.

This is why a candidate – whether for mayor or council – should include election reform on their platform and set themselves apart from their opponents.

September 12, 2025December 5, 2025

Reject the municipal political parties and send them packing

If I was running in the municipal election as a candidate in a party, here’s what I’d say in my defence:

“I joined a party because I believed this was the new reality we would be living in after it was imposed on us by the provincial government. This gives me the best shot at winning a council seat to do work that I’m passionate about. At the same time, I am with a group of candidates who all believe in the same vision for Calgary. I’m glad there are still a large number of people running independently. At the end of the day, I will work hard to earn the respect and support of voters and I believe I will be elected based on my personal character, not because of the party I belong to.”

I thought about this because there were a couple of articles in the past month (CBC, Livewire) that interviewed several candidates about the addition of political parties in this year’s municipal elections in Calgary and Edmonton. It was so interesting to see the candidates who are running with a party dance around trying to defend the decision.

They’re in the party because they think it makes sense to work with like-minded people but they don’t like that they’re in the party or how it was imposed on them by the provincial government. Or they’re in a party now but they won’t necessarily vote alongside fellow party members once they’re sitting on the horseshoe in council chambers.

What? Seriously, that’s all bullshit.