Liberal Amarjeet Sohi projected to lose Edmonton Southeast riding
Amarjeet Sohi is expected to return to Edmonton city hall to finish his time as mayor, with projections indicating his bid to return to federal politics failed on Monday.
Nearly a decade after his successful run for the Liberals, and time as a cabinet minister under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Sohi is expected to lose the newly redrawn riding of Edmonton Southeast to Conservative Jagsharan Singh Mahal.
It's a blow to the Liberal Party, which hoped to pick up several seats in Alberta, including Sohi's.
The Liberals are projected to win a fourth consecutive government.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney made one of his final appearances of the federal election campaign in Edmonton, stopping for a rally outside Sohi's headquarters on Sunday.
Shortly before 10 p.m. Monday, Sohi was trailing Conservative Jagsharan Singh Mahal, with 38 per cent of the vote to nearly 54 per cent for Mahal.
After months of speculation about whether he'd seek re-election as mayor, when Sohi launched his federal candidacy in March, he said it meant he wouldn't be back for this fall's municipal race. But he would return to mayoral duties for the rest of his term in the event of a loss.
Sohi started an unpaid leave of absence from city council in March when he announced his federal run. Councillors have been rotating through deputy mayor duties ever since.
Edmonton's municipal election is set for Oct. 20.
Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson, the current deputy mayor, said Monday that she'll be disappointed to see Sohi exit municipal office later this year.
"Amarjeet is the least self-serving person that I think I've ever met and had the privilege to work with," she said.
"I think Amarjeet's style of leadership, the kindness, the humility he brings to the role is something that this country and this world needs more of right now."
Unsuccessful attempt at second round in federal politics
Sohi successfully jumped from council chambers to the House of Commons in 2015, after eight years as an Edmonton city councillor.
At the time, he narrowly defeated Conservative Tim Uppal by fewer than 100 votes in the former riding of Edmonton Mill Woods, going on to serve as minister of natural resources and minister of infrastructure.
Monday's loss is Sohi's second federal defeat — in 2019, Uppal came back to defeat him, and Sohi returned to the municipal realm, winning Edmonton's mayoral race in 2021.
This federal election, an electoral distribution split parts of the old Mill Woods riding, putting Sohi up against Mahal, instead of his former rival, Uppal, who's running for the Conservatives in the new Edmonton Gateway riding.
Election result means Sohi returns to mayor's chair
Sohi's time as mayor has sometimes been rocky, with high-profile debates over crime and safety on public transit and in core neighbourhoods, as well as contentious discussions around the city's police budget.
He's also led council through recent conflicts with the provincial government over provincial funding for infrastructure, social support programs and housing.
And he was at Edmonton city hall the day an armed gunman shot bullets and threw Molotov cocktails inside the building on a January morning in 2024. It was an unprecedented event that prompted new discussions about safety for city workers and elected officials, and led to a security overhaul in the public building.
Stevenson said the past council term hasn't been easy to navigate, but with Sohi's final days as mayor still ahead, she sees him having a positive impact, from steering he city through the end of the pandemic to handling economic challenges.
"Not having him in the mayoral role or in a federal position is definitely a loss, but I also know he's the kind of person that will find a way to contribute in whatever role that might be in the future."
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