Harnirjodh "George" Chahal is a Canadian politician who is the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Calgary Skyview as a member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

. Before entering federal politics, he was a Councillor for Ward 5 on the

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

from 2017 to 2021.

Federal politics

On July 8, 2021, Chahal, who was originally slated to seek re-election to city council, announced that he was nominated to be the candidate for the Liberal Party in Calgary Skyview in the

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The writs of election were issued by Governor General Mary Simon on August 15, 2021, when Prime Minist ...

. On September 20, 2021, Chahal won the election, making him the only victorious Liberal candidate in Calgary (incumbent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MPs won in the city's other nine ridings) and only the seventh Liberal ever to represent a Calgary riding in the party's history.

Election flyer controversy

On September 24, 2021, the

Calgary Police Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Mo ...

's Anti-Corruption Unit announced that they were investigating George Chahal over a doorbell camera video that appeared to show Chahal removing a flyer for his Conservative opponent, Jag Sahota, from a constituent's door on the eve of the election. Chahal's campaign said that he removed the flyer supposedly because it identified an incorrect polling location for the voter's area; however, the homeowner said that Chahal's flyer was the one with the incorrect information, and that Sahota's matched the official information given to them by

Elections Canada Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electio ...

. In January 2022, Chahal accepted and paid a $500 administrative monetary penalty assessed by the

Commissioner of Canada Elections The Commissioner of Canada Elections (french: Commissaire aux élections fédérales) is responsible for enforcing the Canada Elections Act, the primary electoral law in Canada, and the regulation of canadian federal elections and referendums ...

in the matter, saying, "It’s just a late night on an election campaign. Call it a dumb mistake or brain fogit really doesn’t matter why I did what I did. I think what matters is I did it. And I acknowledged it fully, openly, publicly."

Electoral record

References

External links

* Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Liberal Party of Canada MPs 21st-century Canadian politicians Calgary city councillors Living people 1975 births {{Alberta-politician-stub