A new poll that shows a tight race to be Calgary’s next mayor has some candidates raising concerns, with accusations of a connection between the pollster and the Communities First party.
The poll, conducted by ThinkHQ Public Affairs, shows Jeromy Farkas leading with 20 per cent, followed by Communities First mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp at 17 per cent, incumbent candidate. Jyoti Gondek rounds out the top three at 16 per cent, with Jeff Davison sitting at nine per cent support and The Calgary Party’s Brian Thiessen at six per cent.
Twenty-seven per cent of Calgarians remain undecided with just over two weeks left in the race, according to the survey.
“It’s been a sleepy campaign so far and the numbers haven’t really shifted very much,” said ThinkHQ’s president Marc Henry. “Basically three of the mayoral candidates are the ones in contention.”
However, some of Calgary’s mayoral candidates are crying foul over the poll due to a connection between Henry, the Communities First party and Sharp’s campaign.
Henry confirmed to Global News he is volunteering with Communities First and helping out some of their candidates in various capacities.
Disclosure documents released by Elections Calgary also shows Henry donated $5,000, the individual maximum, to Sharp’s mayoral bid in May. He also donated $1,000 to Sharp’s campaign in December.
“Desperation often has a scent and this one reeks,” Davison told Global News. “I think it’s dirty, I think it’s lies, and I think it’s underhanded, but let’s face it, that’s the Communities First party.”
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Thiessen, the Calgary Party’s mayoral candidate, said the situation appears to be a conflict of interest that should’ve been disclosed in the polling data.
“I believe Calgarians deserve integrity on how campaigns are run,” he said. “If a pollster is working with a candidate, they should say so clearly, otherwise it’s not credible, it’s misleading and it hurts democracy.”
Gondek, meanwhile, said polls are snapshots of public sentiment in time and noted sometimes there are connections between pollsters and parties.
“I think the bigger thing that this poll shows is that people aren’t engaged yet,” she said. “I can tell you I’m talking to Calgarians who are incredibly stressed about what they’re going to do in the face of a teachers strike.”
Both Sharp and Farkas’ campaigns declined to comment.
According to Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount-Royal University, ThinkHQ is a reputable polling firm that has focused on municipal politics in Calgary for years.
However, Bratt questioned whether Henry’s connection to the campaign impacted the results, and said it’s up to voters to decide.
“The numbers aren’t that much different to other polls we have seen, but there’s also ties to Communities First,” Bratt said.
“What is a bit different about this poll, but not too far different, is it’s moving Sonya Sharp into a much more competitive race.”
Henry, who used to serve as chief of staff for former mayor Dave Bronconnier, is defending the poll and his volunteering on the Communities First campaign, calling the criticism “inside baseball.”
“I’ve spent over a decade building up a company, doing polling, and building a reputation. I’m certainly not going to put that at risk for some municipal campaign,” Henry told Global News.
“I’m helping out some people who I think are good candidates, so that’s why I’m helping, in my private life.”
The online poll was conducted by ThinkHQ with 1,200 voting aged Calgarians between Sept. 22 and 29. It has a margin of error of ±2.8% (19 times out of 20)
Advance voting for Calgary’s 2025 municipal election begins on Monday and runs until Oct. 11.
Election day is on Oct. 20.
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