Calgary’s new mayor began his term today, with youth engagement, traffic efficiency and government transparency at the top of his agenda.  

Kamran Shukoor, a student at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir school, won the Mayor’s Youth Council ‘Mayor for a Day’ essay contest.  

The contest is a partnership between Youth Central and the City of Calgary that allows students to write an essay, submit photographs or create visual art for the chance to spend the day with Mayor Jyoti Gondek and City of Calgary administration.  

The winning student would act as Calgary’s “Mayor for a Day”, allowing them to discuss one of their ideas with City of Calgary staff, according to Youth Central’s website.  

The Grade 12 student’s submission included a written piece focused on youth engagement, traffic efficiancy and government transparency issues.  

Shukoor’s “day as mayor”, is not his first run in politics, having previously won his student council election with a 96 per cent margin. 

Shukoor believes that municipal politics aren’t discussed enough throughout his classroom experience. Shukoor also mentioned an overall lack of conversation around municipal decisions and changes. 

“I believe there are things we can improve, communication channels we can leverage, and more news that we can get to you,” Shukoor said.  

Shukoor said that being Mayor of Calgary could be in his future cards, guaranteeing his mayoral victory in a hypothetical future candidacy. 

“If I have to give Calgarians the best leadership there is, and if I must go out of my way to do that, I will absolutely do that,” he said. 

Along with Shukoor stood Mayor Jyoti Gondek. Gondek said she “couldn’t agree more” with Shukoor’s emphasis on youth involvement in government. 

Providing platforms and encouraging participation were among Gondek’s goals for youth involvement. 

“Young people are the future of our city, and we must listen to them,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek said.  

Gondek called the contest an important reminder to young people of their voice and place in government, alongside the individual achievement for Shukoor. 

“This contest offers young people a direct platform to share their thoughts,” she said. 

“It’s an opportunity for all of us to be able to reflect on how we build the Calgary that serves everyone, especially upcoming generations.” 

The mayor spoke highly of Shukoor’s character, platform and actions. 

“I’m excited to see how his vision can shape decisions of tomorrow,” she said.  

Calgary’s tenth mayor for a day

Youth Central, a Calgary based not for profit organization, created the Mayor for a Day program 11 years ago. The contest has run annually, except for 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“We help kids understand, pull back the curtain, give them that glimpse behind the scenes, so they understand how those systems work,” said Lisa Litz, director of engagement with Youth Central.  

Litz said that Youth Central finds that generally, youth want their voices to be heard, want to participate and want to contribute, but cannot find the means to get involved in government. 

The organization’s use of social media and word of mouth are their main forms of advertising, according to Litz. 

“We have a really strong network of amazing guidance counselors and teachers who also spread the word about our programs,” she said.  

Throughout his speech, Shukoor’s biggest movement was the creation of a Calgary-specific branch of youth government. He cited Ottawa’s federal mock parliament, and Alberta’s has a mock youth legislature for the apparent lack of municipal youth government opportunities. 

“My question was, ‘why should we not allow you to participate equally, learn the mechanisms of change in government and then use those skills in their post-secondary world?’” he said. 

“Youth are the cornerstone of this world, of this province and of this city.”