| Naheed Nenshi | |
|---|---|
| 36th Mayor of Calgary | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 25, 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Dave Bronconnier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 2, 1972 Toronto, Ontario[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Calgary Harvard University |
| Profession | Associate professor |
| Religion | Muslim |
Naheed Kurban Nenshi (born February 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to succeed Dave Bronconnier as mayor of Calgary, Alberta in the 2010 Calgary municipal election.
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Nenshi was born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Calgary, Alberta.[1] His parents, Noorjah and Kurban, were South-Asian-origin immigrants to Canada from Tanzania, and he has a sister.[2]
He was educated at the University of Calgary, receiving a Bachelor of Commerce in 1993, and completed a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1998.[2] Nenshi worked for McKinsey & Company for several years before starting his own consulting business.[1]
Nenshi has written about how cities can retain young professionals and co-founded two citizen's groups aimed at improving Calgary's civic government.[3] He was an instructor in non-profit management in the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University and wrote a regular municipal affairs column for the Calgary Herald.[1]
Nenshi first ventured into politics in 2004, running unsuccessfully for a seat on Calgary's city council.[1] His 2010 campaign for mayor placed an emphasis on using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to promote his platform and engage voters.[4] A late September poll showed that his campaign was generating interest as he sat third with 8% support, but well behind the leaders, Alderman Ric McIver (42%) and local media personality Barb Higgins (28%).[5] His growing popularity led to greater scrutiny of his views, including a public dispute with Calgary Police Service chief Rick Hanson over the cost of policing the city.[6]
Days before the election, a Calgary Herald poll showed that Nenshi's grassroots campaign continued to gain momentum as he was shown to have 30% support among decided voters, placing him in a statistical tie with McIver and Higgins. He polled the strongest amongst younger voters, believed to be the result of his social media campaign.[7] Nenshi's surge in popularity carried through to the election itself, as earned 40% of the vote, nearly 28,000 votes ahead of second-place finisher McIver.[8]
Being Ismaili,[9] Nenshi became the first Muslim to become mayor of a major Canadian city.[10] His win was viewed as a breakthrough for the use of social media as an election tool,[3] and when considered with his faith and background, made international headlines.[11] Eastern Canada was particularly surprised given Calgary's conservative image.[12] His election is seen as major signal of the shift in Albertan politics and the make up of Calgary.[13]
Immediately following his win, Nenshi set out four priorities: reforming how city council is run, eliminating the city's deficit, constructing a planned tunnel under a proposed new runway at the Calgary International Airport, and secure funding for the proposed south-east leg of the city's C-train system.[14]