EXCLUSIVE: Farkas pushes “hate-tracking”, other woke policies in Calgary

In an “ask me anything” thread on Reddit, Calgary mayoral candidate Jeromy Farkas advocated for “hate-tracking programs,” opposed Alberta’s efforts to enforce its ban on child gender transitions.

Source: Reddit

Author: Isaac Lamoureux

In an “ask me anything” thread on Reddit, Calgary mayoral candidate Jeromy Farkas advocated for “hate-tracking programs,” opposed Alberta’s efforts to enforce its ban on child gender transitions and other woke policies.

As part of scheduled AMA sessions by municipal election candidates on the Calgary subreddit, Farkas fielded questions from users on September 22.

When asked about being a fiscal conservative and his support for vulnerable populations, Farkas said his platform included a “hate-tracking” program.

Farkas pointed to how his platform “includes hate-tracking and education programs, culturally competent training for first responders, and the Housing Equity Roadmap to ensure our housing system works for racialized, newcomer, Indigenous, disabled, and 2SLGBTQI residents.”

A policy brief put out by Farkas’ campaign includes a commitment to invest in “community-led education and hate tracking.”

Farkas also said that Mayor Jyoti Gondek “deserves real credit for Reconciliation.” He pledged to keep the momentum going through partnerships in housing and land use.

True North reached out to Farkas’ campaign to give him an opportunity to further clarify his remarks but did not receive a response.

On other issues like the provincial government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to enforce its bans on medical gender transitions for youth and requiring schools to inform parents when their child uses a different pronoun at school, Farkas expressed disagreement.

“I do not support that use of the notwithstanding clause,” said Farkas.

He elaborated by saying it should be up to municipalities.

In a separate comment, Farkas was asked for his response to “all of the racism, bigotry and xenophobia you’ve associated yourself with within conservative circles.”

“I’ve never associated myself with that kind of garbage,” said Farkas. He then pointed to an article highlighting how he organized a parade with “the Wildrose logo enhanced with the Pride rainbow symbol to show support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community” while he was the president of the Wildrose Calgary-Elbow constituency association.

In a different response, Farkas also pointed to how he “put forward a pro-immigration message” for Calgary.

To make transit more affordable, Farkas pledged to hire more “safety ambassadors” and implement “better lighting and visibility at stations.”

Farkas also celebrated supporting former mayor Naheed Nenshi’s Mental Health and Addiction Strategy.

“I’ve backed efforts like culturally competent safety training and restoring liaison officers so BIPOC and newcomer communities feel represented and protected,” said Farkas.

True North’s exclusive polling highlighted that Farkas has the most support among those who voted Conservative in the 2025 federal election, at 39.4 per cent, followed by Sonya Sharp with 22.5 per cent. He also led polling in general, with 31.08 per cent support, trailed by Sharp at 16.67 per cent.

While previously starting at the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education as a student intern, Farkas clarified that this work ended in 2015.

Despite the province taking a stand against bike lanes and Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen celebrating Gondek for calling the bike lanes “temporary,” Farkas might take a different approach.

“If the provincial government wants us to stay out of their lane, they should stay out of ours,” he said.

Also, in terms of transportation, Farkas advocated for lowering speed limits.

One person asked Farkas what he would do if he were given $100 million to spend on Calgary tomorrow.

“I’d launch a social sector surge by partnering with nonprofits, governments, and donors to stretch every dollar,” he said. Farkas highlighted his years of support for the Pride community, citing “the challenges facing the gender and sexually diverse community here.”

He also discussed his stance on pandemic lockdowns, advocating for masking and saying he required his team to do so.