Edmonton Mayor and a Former Vancouver Mayor to Run as Candidates for Liberals

Former federal cabinet minister and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and former Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson are joining the federal Liberals to run as candidates in the upcoming election.

Sohi announced he will run in a newly formed riding within the city, Edmonton Southeast. The 61-year-old was a Liberal MP from 2015 to 2019 and served as a cabinet minister during the first term of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Robertson will be running in Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby, another newly established electoral district that will predominantly take the place of Vancouver South, which is currently held by outgoing Liberal MP Harjit Sajjan.

The former minister of emergency preparedness announced in January he would not seek re-election and has expressed support for Robertson’s candidacy.

The federal election was called by Prime Minister Mark Carney on March 23. Canadians will go to the polls on April 28, six months ahead of the predetermined date.

Amarjeet Sohi

Sohi is taking an unpaid leave of absence from his mayoral duties to launch his federal campaign.

He said he was making the switch back to federal politics to help respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign against Canada.

“This is the most consequential election of our lifetime — we must fight to defend our sovereignty, economy, and workers against President Trump,” he said in a March 23 announcement posted to his social media.

Sohi announced last week that he had been asked by the Liberal party to put his name forward to run in the upcoming election.

The former cabinet minister worked as a city transit driver before his foray into politics. He was elected to Edmonton city council in 2007 and served as a councillor until 2015 when he was elected as MP. From 2015 to 2018 he served as the minister of infrastructure and communities, and from 2018 to 2019 as the minister of natural resources.

He lost his seat in the 2019 election to Conservative candidate Tim Uppal and became mayor two years later, in 2021.

The other candidates vying for office in Sohi’s riding are Jagsharan Singh Mahal from the Conservative Party, Harpreet Grewal representing the NDP, Carrie McLaren from the Green Party, and Martin Schuetza of the PPC.

The city of Edmonton is made up of nine federal ridings, with one seat currently held by Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson shake hands after a news conference in Vancouver on Dec. 17, 2015. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Gregor Robertson

The 60-year-old Robertson is set to re-enter the political landscape with his federal campaign, having previously served as Vancouver’s mayor from 2008 to 2018. He also served as an MLA with the B.C. NDP for three years prior to that.

He said he was approached by Carney about running.

“I was honoured when he asked me to serve Vancouver Fraserview–South Burnaby where I’m focused on what matters most,” he said in a video posted to Facebook. “I’m ready to serve our community and our country with everything I’ve got.”

After his tenure at Vancouver City Hall, Robertson took on several appointed positions within the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy to focus on what he called “the most difficult challenge of our time: the climate crisis.”

Robertson will compete against Conservative candidate Edward Wong, a 33-year-old accountant, and NDP candidate Manoj Bhangu, a small-business owner and community activist.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.