Many have tried to pierce Danielle Smith’s political armour but few have succeeded; Jeromy Farkas may have just put a dent in it
Late Monday night, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas took to social media and called out Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for her bullshit.
His word. Not mine. It was a bravura performance that raises an interesting question: Will it work?
If it does, Mr. Farkas will be one of the few, if not the first, to actually put a dent in Ms. Smith’s political armour. Most who have failed or are failing have tried a variation of Michelle Obama’s when-they-go-low-we go-high strategy, to which Ms. Smith has proved impervious.
It’s a combination of her fake affability, tireless gaslighting, total lack of shame, and ruthless backroom authoritarianism that lets her get away with it, methinks. Whatever it is, up to now it’s been a formula that has confounded such political opponents as Rachel Notley, Jason Kenney, Naheed Nenshi, and Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Farkas didn’t exactly go low, but he certainly spoke the truth as he sees it, and in unvarnished terms. It wasn’t profane, quite, but his late-night social media video and its print version didn’t mince words about Premier Smith’s bizarre attack on a City of Calgary noise bylaw that has annoyed some obviously well connected music promoters who aren’t used to not getting their way at Stampede time.
“It’s time to cut through the bullshit about the Cowboys tent,” Mr. Farkas’s message began and thereafter repeated that Stampede-appropriate term four more times to describe the “co-ordinated smear campaign from out-of-town politicians” that Ms. Smith has ginned up against the noise bylaw – and him.
She probably would have gone south and solicited a few more attacks from Stateside MAGA pals like Kristi Noem, Tucker Carlson, or maybe the Trumpster himself if they weren’t all squabbling with one another down there.
The long list of federal and provincial conservative politicians, strategic advisors, family members and professional bloviators recruited by the premier “think you’re stupid and want you to believe that we’re somehow cancelling Stampede by asking the big tents to use the same rules in place at Coachella, Lollapooloza and all the other world class festivals,” the mayor posted. And that, he said, is just “the first piece of bullshit.”
He laid out the justifications for the city’s bylaw change clearly: Among them: the noise, the mess, the drunkenness, the social disorder; the lax rules that encouraged it; the complaints from thousands of Calgarians; the false claim by the premier that the change was done at the last minute. I recommend you read the whole thing.
“What isn’t bullshit is that as your mayor I’m fighting for you,” he told the residents whose windows have been rattled and their lawns besmeared. “I want you to know that a permit is not a licence to bully a neighbourhood. It is not a profit guarantee. I was elected to stand up for Calgarians, not to take orders from wealthy donors, lobbyists, or politicians protecting their friends.” Capiche?
Ms. Smith, as noted in this space yesterday, has implied in a letter to Calgary City Council that if councillors won’t roll over, she’ll make the decision for them.
That won’t likely hurt Mr. Farkas – who had a reputation as a Smith-style far-right ideologue before losing the 2021 municipal election to Jyoti Gondek but seems to have adopted strategy more attuned to the wishes of constituents since his election victory in 2025 over Ms. Gondek and the UCP’s favoured candidate, Sonya Sharp.
As one Calgarian with a familiar name – frequent social media commentator Les Stelmach – put it in a post on X yesterday, “I’ve been impressed with his evolution. I didn’t vote for him the first time because I saw too much ‘Manning Centre’ b.s. And I was hesitant the second time thinking there was potential it was just an act. But he’s off to a good start, imo”.
Observed retired Mount Royal University political science professor Keith Brownsey: “I had to be convinced about his transformation, but he has tackled some very sticky problems such as the deteriorating water system and kept Smith and the UCP at bay. Very credible job so far.”
In his column yesterday, Postmedia political commentator Don Braid suggested Ms. Smith was “laying on heavy pressure,” and would probably succeed. “Here’s an educated guess: The rules will shift by Stampede opening. The provincials already detect signs of compromise at city hall.”
His colleague Rick Bell, a commentator influential in conservative circles who is usually found in Ms. Smith’s corner, sided with Mayor Farkas. “The majority of city council, who say they believe all Calgarians should be treated equally and inner-city residents are not second-class citizens, back Farkas.”
Mr. Bell concluded his column: “I talk to Farkas and he sounds like he’s rolling the credits on this movie. ‘The council has decided,’ he says, adding a final mention of the premier. ‘If she thinks she can do better she can run for mayor.’”
In the event, council voted 9-to-6 to stick with the rules that Premier Smith hates, but gave the promoters an extra half hour to clear the premises. We’ll see if that’s enough to get the premier to smarten up, channel Donald Trump, and call her defeat a victory.
One of them had to be wrong, but it’s said here that if you’re a Conservative politician and you lose Rick Bell, you’re losing Calgary.
IMHO….
Marlaina is probably trying to distract from the outrage of her BFF “ICE BARBIE ” being handed a job at the Canadian mining company Novared.
( for anyone interested see Charlie Angus’s post).
As for Pablum Pete….he’s been having an eventful week. Leaving his family 2 days before Father’s Day**, to go to Vancouver >>> where he met a woman at the airport who moved to Mexico because Vancouver isn’t safe <<<. He seems to meet alot of unusual people at airports. Maybe he'll run into Mustafa when he's back in Calgary.
**he did post on Sunday that he missed them, but you know, photo ops are very important, right? What's a few more taxpayers dollars.
Ironically, for him to be posting about the Stampede from Vancouver, when he hasn't been in his home riding since Remembrance Day. But apparently he has reopened his constituency office for anyone in the Tolfied, Camrose, Beaver County who needs help from the flooding and "he will work with all levels of government to ensure every needed resource is made available".
In the meantime he's having lunch with the new Con leader in BC, probably trying to score tickets to the Fifa game tomorrow, since the PM had such a good time there last week. We shall see..lol
Dave,
“but her certainly spoke the truth as he sees it” should be “but he certainly spoke the truth as he sees it.”
Farkas does not seem to be the type to suffer fools. Smith’s UCP seems at times to be a ship of fools, albeit it one often bolstered by strong communications and the hesitancy of a fairly weak local mainstream media to challenge it very much. This is also perhaps partly a legacy of being a one party petro state where provincial resource windfalls were regularly thrown at political problems in as many different ways as needed.
Well the $100 payments are likely still on the way, but unfortunately for Smith the latest bump in oil prices may be ending. In any event, this is now more about local politics than whatever corporate interests Smith, and interestingly some Federal conservatives, seem to be trying bolster here.
Smith still has the power to override local rules here and as a former libertarian she has already repeatedly used, or threatened to use, the heavy hand of her government to control or meddle in municipal and other matters. She may do so again, but now there is a lot more risk that she will pay a political price if she does.
Farkas has not backed down, so it will be up to Smith to decide where she wants to go with this. The UCP really does not like to have their power challenged, particularly by those they consider subservient to them, but even they must now realize continuing this battle is not a good idea.
Danielle Smith does have more dents in her armour. It won’t be long before something extremely damaging to the UCP shows up. This is why she is on the defensive, and is trying to shift focus away from herself and the UCP.
Looks to me like round 2 of this goes to Mr. Farkas. Farkas 2, Smith 0. Now that Dingy Smith has her feathers ruffled, the interesting part will be what will her response be, you know the “we the authoritarian UCP, will step in and take control” thing?
I wonder if the Legislature cafeteria has changed their menu, as Smith seems to be eating a lot crow lately?
@DJC
“but *her* (he) certainly spoke the truth as he sees it,”
There ya go for fixins.
I hope Olivia Chow will take lessons from Jeromy Farkas and stand up to Doug Ford.
If she called out Torontonians against him, he’d have a hard time stopping us, for sure.
Good on Jeromy Farkas. This is all that “spread your power limits at every possible opportunity and private business is more important than citizens”…to use Farkas’ word, “bullshit”
Para 5: her > he
Thanks, got it. Thanks to everyone who pointed out my her/he dilemma! DJC
We have until June 30 to see who is going to stick to their guns on this one and who blinks. Will Mr. Farkas be our Horatius at the gate? In a way, Smith must be loving this because as long as we are talking about the Stampede we are not talking about Smith privatizing health care, privatizing education, her gerrymandering. coalmines, transphobia, and Smith’s separating Alberta and joining the U.S. However, we also have to keep in mind that Smith can dissolve the City of Calgary as it exists with a snap of her fingers. Fortunately, living in Alberta we have a front row seat to this freak show of a government.
“exactly go low, but her certainly spoke the truth”… gender error?
John: Thanks. Fixed. My intended pronoun was he, which became her … he/her. DJC
Separatist Smith plays many roles depending on the situation. Glad handing is usually her first approach. Failing that, she turns to attack mode, invoking rhetoric and half-truths, smearing her opponents with their time tested tactic of anti-Ottawa/anti-Liberal demagoguery.
But Smith’s actions are usually so egregious, such as the latest violation of the Canadian Health Act, that the opposition party is morally right to call on the Feds, in this case, to save public health care in Alberta, just as Calgarians have every right to call on Farkas to protect them from the egregious behavior of the hucksters of the Stampede and their mob.
I’m sorry, Rick Bell said what?! How interesting, he’s turning against his keeper. I wasn’t sure about Farkas, I would have put money down, that he would’ve fallen in-line with Smith and her rule the world agenda. How wrong was that line of thinking. Farkas has surprised me and he deserves credit for everything he has accomplished so far. I think he’ll go down as a good mayor. And Bell …., will wonders never cease.
Danielle Smith shouldn’t have Rick rolled Bell with that paltry $100 payout hype. Now his fog has lifted.
I’m hearing the same thing about Jeromy Farkas. People who didn’t vote for him for mayor are seeing him in a different light now. Wisdom is knowing when to change your mind. The B.S. video was lit.
Perhaps Danielle Smith will do some polling and find out that she made a big mistake. Perhaps she won’t and she’ll blow up Calgary City Council along with its bylaws just as Stampede puts Mayor Farkas on centre stage. Either way, she has lost this battle in the eyes of the public. Does she think the entire IDU will come to her defence?
Danielle Smith has backed herself into a corner and she’ll bite her own tail. Maybe a Beer Hall Putsch looked like a good idea at the time, but times are different. The treason accusations came first this time around. Alternate history has a different ending.
Rickrolled Rick. Excellent! DJC
This sorry saga has a Smith-imposed deadline of June 30. So Danielle Smith intends to invoke her Reich — I mean rights — on Canada Day? Seppies do what seppies do. Another profoundly bad choice in a Jenga tower of bad choices. Standing up for public drunkenness and disorder: that’s our premier. No doubt the booze that fuelled her ire is American. For all you do, Premier, this Bud’s on you.
Abs: You know what they say about drinking American beer and making love in a canoe. They’re both %$#@in’ close to water! DJC
If you tried Dogfish Head Piercing Pils, you wouldn’t say that.
I’ll check it out next time I’m in Delaware. DJC
It’s Calgary, and the plutocrats clued in after Nenshi that they need Kon candidates of a different sort to manage Hustlertown. Gondek loved her some developers, and was mayor when a number of privatization schemes (scams?) went down, including garbage and streetlights. Fracas and/or his handlers understand how to manage the mayor’s social media in a much more effective manner than did Gondek. The central tenet of the state religion in Calgary remains “earning passive income” but the drift away from Amway, Three Hills Bible School and Aryan Nations cannot be ignored. If one casually follows the mayor’s Sosh, there is still an underlying old-timey Manning flavour. The man’s behaviour at the time of the MAX/BRT work on 14 Street SW will forever be part of City lore. We’re still watching the first act.
The plot thickens. They’ve brought in the big guns to do what the premier dares not do. Frankly, my dear…
https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/country-thunder-cancels-festival-blames-calgarys-safety-and-operational-barriers/
Jeromy Farkas has only said what everyone else already knows about the political game and how it is generally played, that is, prudent self interest dictates that in order to survive and thrive politically it is only natural that one should “take orders from wealthy donors, lobbyists, or politicians protecting their friends” and “answer to the money”.
A lobbyist Premier should be well acquainted with both that reality and also with this reality, “They dealt with property damage, public disorder, and excessive intoxication outside their homes.”, because ““We have to have zero tolerance for social disorder. It’s too dangerous,” says the premier.”
Except when the importance of entertaining the masses is meant to act as a pressure relief valve redirecting public frustration away from intractable systemic issues in society and towards what is deemed socially acceptable, i.e., mass entertainment, civic spectacles, and the consumerism that accompanies them.