Jeromy Farkas is officially Calgary’s 38th mayor after he and 14 members of council took their oath of office at a ceremony at city hall Wednesday evening.
In front of a full crowd inside council chambers, which included former mayors Dave Bronconnier and Al Duerr, Farkas shared his vision for a Calgary that is set to welcome its two millionth citizen sometime in the next decade.
“We will work together, we will balance the books, set clear priorities and focus on what matters most: safety, affordability, infrastructure and quality of life. We will make city hall more open and more efficient,” Farkas said in his first remarks as mayor. “Our work begins now.”
Farkas promised Calgarians the new city council will work together as “one team, one city council.”
“We work so that the two millionth Calgarian, when they arrive, they’re welcomed to a city that reflects our best selves as Calgarians,” he said.
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NEW: Jeromy Farkas has been sworn in as Calgary’s 38th mayor. pic.twitter.com/s1Yrm66cQk
— Adam MacVicar (@AdamMacVicar) October 30, 2025
Farkas was sworn in alongside a city council that includes the largest rookie class of councillors in more than 100 years: Ward 1 Coun. Kym Tyres, Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Yule, Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly, Ward 6 Coun. John Pantazopolous, Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson, Ward 8 Coun. Nathaniel Schmidt, Ward 9 Coun. Harrison Clark, Ward 11 Coun. Rob Ward, Ward 12 Coun. Mike Jamieson and Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston.
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Johnston, who was the head petitioner behind a recall attempt of former mayor Jyoti Gondek, said he hopes to restore trust in city hall, and “fix what’s broken,” alongside a group of councillors he’s optimistic about.
“My path here maybe was a little different than other people’s, but it’s just passion in my heart why I’m here. I love this city and I love Ward 14,” he told reporters following the ceremony. “It’s a great city, they do a lot of things well here, but for me it’s just the little things that are going to matter going forward.”
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Just four incumbents from the last council are returning: Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness, Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal, Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot and Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean.
The new council, including Farkas, features 13 men and two women.
“I don’t want to have a predetermined outcome of what my colleagues are going to act like and so we’re going to form and storm like a normal board of directors and tackle the problems that are before us,” Wyness said. “It wasn’t something I thought of, woman representation. As a woman, you just get out there and run your campaign.”
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For the last number of days, the new council has been going through rigorous orientation while simultaneously setting up their offices and winding down their campaign operations.
“That’s going to take a little bit of time, but we’re pretty ready to hit the ground running,” Kelly told reporters.
Council will meet again on Monday for an organizational meeting to determine which boards and committees they will serve and chair.
“I’m really digging into what each committee’s responsibilities are and working with my colleagues to see what my skills are best suited for,” Yule said.
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While many elected to council ran on a platform of repealing citywide rezoning right away, according to the new mayor and some council veterans, the first order of business will be tackling the budget in a few short weeks.
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Council will make adjustments to the final year of the four-year budget approved by the previous city council, which includes a 5.4 per cent property tax increase for the average residential property.
“We may be able to make some tweaks as a council but there’s not going to be wholesale change,” Chabot said. “That’s what we typically do in deliberations over a four-year budget cycle, so the next 12 months will be the opportunity to dig deep into the budget.”
However, Farkas said council will be coming into deliberations with some “sharpened pencils” and advocacy from what they heard from Calgarians on the campaign trail.
“We’re not going to wait,” Farkas told reporters. “We’re going to advocate for residents and we’re going to make sure that the spending is reasonable and the tax burden is reasonable.”
By taking the oath of office, Farkas completed his political comeback after a failed mayoral run in 2021.
He then hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters Calgary and Area, and raised more than $200,000 in the process.
Ken Lima-Coelho, the president of Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area, presents Mayor Jeromy Farkas with the Chain of Office. pic.twitter.com/Wq6432iQ2G
— Adam MacVicar (@AdamMacVicar) October 30, 2025
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Farkas chose Ken Lima-Coelho, the president of Big Brothers Big Sisters Calgary and Area, to place the chain of office around his neck in an emotional moment during the ceremony.
“What I told him in that moment is that this is the power of mentorship,” Farkas said. “There’s no failure that’s final if we have each other.”
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