Canada didn't get the Hate Muslim Memo: Calgary elects Muslim to be next mayor

[zulchzulu]

What's it with those damn Canadians! Their socialist healthcare! They play too much hockey! Now they have a new Muslim mayor in a province (Alberta) that's considered conservative!

Political newcomer Naheed Nenshi won a dramatic see-saw battle to become Calgary's mayor Monday night, capping a stunning rise that saw the business professor climb from the pack's fringes to the city's top job.

Nenshi, 38, originally considered a long shot, defeated longtime alderman Ric McIver and former TV anchor Barb Higgins in a race that attracted voters in droves.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Calgary+chooses+Naheed+Nenshi+mayor/3692699/story.html?cid=megadrop_story#ixzz12pSXo5uq

[Deep13]

1. He really hosed the Conservatives, ay? nt

[Lucy Goosey]

2. Ahem, it's "eh"

Excellent use of "hosed," though. ;)

[Deep13]

6. I wasn't sure if it was the same as the British "eh."

:7

[sharp_stick]

3. Keep in mind this is Calgary

it's a pretty big deal as this is the absolute center of the right wing in Canada.

Calgary is politically a lot closer to Dallas than it is to say Toronto. Good for them, I'm happy to see that the fear of all things Muslim doesn't seem to be infecting them.

[Lucy Goosey]

4. Yup, this is a Big Freakin' Deal!

Calgary is the home of our douchey neo-con Prime Minister, who lent his best election goons to his sanctioned candidate...and lost! 27 of the 28 Alberta members of Parliament are from the Conservative Party. I really hope this is just the start of a major sea change up here - I think there are people looking at the Tea Party and thinking, uh, we don't want that here.

[zulchzulu]

5. No surprise on the comments from the article posted

It's not as though there isn't the usual anti-Muslim claptrap that has creeped up North from the Yanks (as evident in some of the comments), but it certainly sends a signal that strong grassroots support and even social media tools can get someone elected who otherwise would be deemed too "dangerous"...

[AspenRose]

8. One of my friends calls Calgary Houston North

This is good news!

[Monk06]

7. I think the average age in Calgary is 29. The town is much more developed and

educated than it used to be. The tech savvy youth
have taken over from the red neck cattle culture
of the past. My BIL visited my niece when she was
at SAIT and he said the city made him feel like an
old man and he was only fifty. That was in 2003