Naheed Nenshi

Naheed Kurban Nenshi (born February 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician who was the 36th mayor of Calgary, Alberta.

He was educated at the University of Calgary, serving as President of the Students' Union and 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.

Nenshi worked for McKinsey & Company for several years before starting his own consulting firm 'Ascend Group' which advised non-profit, private and public sector organizations.

The firm also advised the United Nations on ways to encourage wealthy corporations to engage in Corporate Citizenship.

As a young professional, he developed his administrative capabilities by joining Canada25, a federal networking organization that mentored professionals under 35 of public policy and leadership.

Nenshi was a constant debate opponent of Toronto Sun journalist Ezra Levant; Levant later became a recurring critic of Nenshi's policies.

In 2002, Nenshi wrote about how cities can retain young professionals and use resources effectively in a publication entitled "Building Up: Making Canada's Cities Engines of Growth and Magnets of Development".

Nenshi first ventured into politics in 2004, running unsuccessfully for a seat on Calgary's city council.

In 2006, Nenshi was the chief author for "ImagineCalgary's 100-year plan".

He has co-founded two citizens' groups aimed at improving Calgary's civic government.

In 2009, Nenshi was invited to become a founding member of Civic Camp, an active citizenship forum that encourages and enables Calgarians to actively engage and collaborate ideas in civic affairs.

He co-founded city hall watch dog group "Better Calgary Campaign".

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.

He was elected in the 2010 municipal election with 39% of the vote, and is the first Muslim mayor of a large North American city.

His 2010 campaign for mayor, dubbed the "Purple Revolution", was uniquely a viral campaign which relied heavily on using social media to promote his platform and hyper-engage voters.

According to Nenshi's campaign I.T. specialist Richard Einarson, the name "Purple Revolution" was chosen because the campaign wanted broad appeal across the socio-economic spectrum of liberal red and conservative blue voters.

Beside viral campaigning, the volunteer body of "Team Nenshi" were given a great degree of autonomy to exercise creative talent.

The team promoted the cause through creative guerrilla marketing tactics such as "Operation Purple Dawn".

Nenshi's supporters converged on the city in a mass rally on the evening before election day.

They advertised Nenshi by posting signs and writing platform slogans with chalk graffiti on pavement of high traffic locations.

Supporters offered their homes as venues for coffee parties where Nenshi spoke to the gathered about his platform.

The coffee parties offered a friendly atmosphere for friends to discuss the volatile nature of sensitive political issues without risking their relationships.

About 40 parties were held during the campaign.

A late September poll showed that his campaign was generating interest as he sat third with eight per cent support, although well behind the leaders, alderman Ric McIver (42%) and local media personality Barb Higgins (28%).

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.

Days before the election, a Calgary Herald poll showed that Nenshi's grassroots campaign continued to gain momentum as he had 30 per cent 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.

Nenshi's surge in popularity carried through to the election, when he earned 40 per cent of the vote, finishing nearly 28,000 votes ahead of second-placed McIver.

Being a Shia Ismaili, Nenshi became the first Muslim to become mayor of a major Canadian city.

His win was viewed as a breakthrough for the use of social media as an election tool, and when considered with his faith and background, made international headlines.

His election is seen as major signal of the shift in Albertan politics and the demography of Calgary.

He engaged voters with a mutual two-way dialogue as "politics in full sentences".

On September 11, 2010, 20 of Nenshi's campaign advertisements in the city were vandalized or destroyed and a brick was thrown through one of his campaign office's windows.

The attacks, which commemorated the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York City, were accompanied by a series of racially antagonistic emails.

They were therefore widely assumed to be racially motivated.

He was re-elected in 2013 with 74% of the vote and again re-elected in 2017 to a third term with 51% of the vote.

After serving three terms as mayor, he did not seek re-election in the 2021 Calgary municipal election, and was succeeded by Jyoti Gondek.

On March 11, 2024, Nenshi announced his decision to stand for the leadership of the Alberta New Democratic Party.

Nenshi was born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Calgary.

His parents, Kurbanali Hussein and Noorjah, were Ismaili Muslims of Indian Gujarati origin who immigrated to Canada from Tanzania.