Could Amarjeet Sohi have his sights set on a return to Ottawa? Rumours abound that Edmonton’s mayor is mulling a second go at federal politics.
There’s speculation Sohi is planning to run for the Liberal Party of Canada in the federal election being called this weekend, as first reported by CBC Radio-Canada.
For months, Sohi has been non-committal about his political future and if he will run for mayor again in the municipal election this upcoming October.
He continued to be mum on the subject Thursday, when holding a housing announcement news conference with Prime Minister Mark Carney in central Edmonton.
Reporters attempted to ask Sohi but he dodged the questions and departed with the prime minister’s entourage.
“He was probably caught off guard today,” said Alberta political analyst John Brennan, who added once the cat is out of the bag, it should be addressed.
“You know, having worked in media relations for several politicians federally, provincially, municipally: once the story is out there, you should respond to it rather than just duck and hide or say, you know, ‘I have no comment’ or something — like make the announcement.
“If you’re going to do it, make the announcement.”
Later in the day, Sohi released a statement saying he had a productive meeting with Carney.
“I have been asked if I would consider putting my name forward to run with the Liberal Party of Canada in the upcoming federal election. I will continue to stand up for Edmonton and serve my city, and I will have more to say about my political future in the coming days,” he said, adding he would not comment further on the topic at this time.
The rumours come as the federal party is experiencing a turnaround in public favor.
“If you had asked me at the beginning of January, ‘Would the mayor of Edmonton be considering running for the federal Liberals an upcoming federal election?’ I would have said, you’re crazy, because the prospects for the federal Liberal party — not just in Alberta, but across Canada at the beginning of January — were negligible,” Brennan said.
But then, President Donald Trump and his tariff threats happened. At the same time, after announcing he would step down, former prime minister Justin Trudeau spent his final weeks in office fighting back against various threats of tariffs and American annexation.
Carney’s Liberals are widening their lead over Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, according to .
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The poll, published Tuesday by Ipsos Public Affairs exclusively for Global News, found if a federal election were held now, the Liberals would secure 42 per cent of decided voter support, compared with 36 per cent for the Conservatives — widening their lead over the Tories by seven points in just three weeks.
This level of support would position the Liberals for a potential majority government.
“(The Liberals) were at 16 points in the polls and yet here we are, two months later — now, what a turnaround it has been,” Brennan said.
Sohi has served Edmonton both municipally and federally in several roles. The former ETS bus driver represented southeast Edmonton on city council for eight years after being elected in 2007.
In 2015, he made the move into federal politics as the MP for Edmonton Mill Woods. Sohi was minister of Infrastructure and Communities from 2015 to 2018 and Minister of Natural Resources from 2018 to 2019 in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet. He served one term before losing his seat during the 2019 federal election.
In 2021, he became Edmonton’s mayor.
All that experience works in Sohi’s favor, Brennan said.
“He’s very well-known. He has very high name recognition.”
What likely doesn’t work in Sohi’s favor, Brennan said, is running for mayor again: “If he stays as mayor and he runs for re-election against Tim Cartmell, he’ll be in a very tough fight.”
Polling last summer by Leger found the city’s current mayor would be hard-pressed to win another term.
“His calculation probably is, ‘I have a better chance of getting elected as a Liberal in Edmonton Mill Woods with a popular new leader than I do running for re-election in Edmonton as mayor in 2025,’” Brennan speculated.
Federal riding boundaries have changed since Sohi last ran, and his former riding of Edmonton Mill Woods is now split into two: Edmonton Gateway and Edmonton Southeast.
“The riding of Edmonton Southeast, which used to be Edmonton Mill Woods, is available. And this encompasses the part of Edmonton that Amarjeet Sohi represented on city council, it represents the part of Edmonton he represented federally from 2015 to 2019,” Brennan said.
“So I think if there’s any part of Edmonton where Amarjeet Sohi would be very competitive in a federal election, it would be in Edmonton Southeast.”
The prime minister will call the 45th federal election no later than Sunday, Global News has confirmed, so those wanting to run have very little time to make up their mind.
If he were to run, Sohi could step down as mayor to do so, or take a leave of absence from city council (although that isn’t required) — and if successful, potentially leave the mayor’s seat empty for more than half a year before the municipal election.
Brennan noted that has happened before in Edmonton: former mayor Laurence Decore stepped down to lead the provincial Liberals in 1988, and the council of the day picked an acting mayor from amongst themselves until an election was held a year later — not unlike when premier Alison Redford was forced out in 2011 and succeeded by deputy premier Dave Hancock on an interim basis.
“Until such time as he makes an announcement, it’s really hard to tell what he’s going to do,” Brennan said, adding he suspects the rumours were leaked by someone in the prime minister’s office who wanted to drum up talk over a major city mayor putting their name in the hat.
“They wanted it out there that Mark Carney got a big fish to run for the federal Liberals for the upcoming election campaign. But my guess is Sohi wasn’t ready for that, and that’s why he didn’t want to answer any questions about it today — because he probably hasn’t crossed all the T’s and dot all the I’s.”
There are currently two ridings held by Liberal MPs in Alberta: Edmonton Centre, held by former minister Randy Boissonnault, and Calgary Skyview, held by George Chahal. Neither are in cabinet.
Carney leading in the polls: Ipsos
Fresh Ipsos polling data released Thursday exclusively for Global News showed that Carney is the only leader of a major Canadian federal party who has a higher approval rating than disapproval rating.
According to the poll, 48 per cent of respondents approve of Carney’s leadership, while 30 per cent disapprove. In contrast, Poilievre has an approval rating of 35 per cent while more than half of Canadians (52 per cent) disapprove of his leadership.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had an approval rating of 33 per cent and a disapproval rating of 50 per cent.
Carney will make the election call on Sunday to avoid facing the required return of a prorogued Parliament on Monday — that’s the date the House of Commons is set to reconvene, with opposition parties vowing to vote non-confidence in the Liberals at the earliest opportunity.
The earliest a federal election can be held is 37 days after it is called, and no later than 51 days after.
Global News has been told by a senior Liberal campaign official that it is understood Carney has not yet settled on the actual election date, and he is considering May 5.
— with files from Uday Rana and David Akin, Global News
