Former Calgary mayor Nenshi denounces alleged plot to entrap him with illegal Russian money
CBC
Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is calling a purported plot to entrap him into accepting illegal Russian money "disappointing," after a report surfaced Monday that several people were involved in a plan to taint his reputation and remove him from office.
Canadaland, the news site that reported on the alleged scheme, said "Operation Peacock'' was an attempt by a political fixer, backed by local business interests and arranged by political strategists.
Nenshi took no money and the plan was foiled.
"How disappointing to read about this alleged plot against me. It appears that there are people that seem to think that their money and their connections make them more important or powerful than everyday citizens," Nenshi said in a statement to CBC News on Monday.
"As a community, we should never stand for the kind of assault on our democracy and on our society that is alleged in this article."
According to Canadaland, the plan involved a political operative who says he was hired by developers and conservatives in 2019. The operative says he was responsible for setting up a scenario that would put politicians in a compromising position and then record them accepting favours.
Political scientist Lori Williams says that if the story is true, it shows how some people couldn't accept the outcome of Calgary elections.
Nenshi was first elected in 2010 and won two more times before not seeking re-election last year.
"Present a better alternative to voters in the next election … that's usually the way that democratic processes work," said Williams, an associate professor at MRU.
"In this case, they decided that since elections weren't yielding the results that they wanted, that they would try to expose a suspicion they had about the corruption in mayor Nenshi and ended up exposing corruption in themselves."
The former mayor called for all levels of government to denounce these alleged actions and asked law enforcement to investigate the alleged scheme.
"I have faith that the appropriate authorities, including the Calgary Police Service and the RCMP, will investigate this story deeply, and if any laws have been broken, appropriate action will be taken," Nenshi said.
The new year will be bringing with it Toronto’s first traffic czar.
For the first time in 111 years, items once belonging to the late Albert Mullins were back in the hands of his family members thanks to the detective work of one Montreal historian.
The year that saw the remains of two First Nations women brought home from a Manitoba landfill and a search get underway for the remains of a third showed how far reconciliation efforts have come — and how far they still need to go, the families say
The RCMP has just released a warning stating there are dangerous, armed individuals on Big Island Cree Nation, near Meadow Lake.
A new land-use plan that Alberta’s government has for the province’s Upper Smoky region is drawing criticism from environmentalists who say they believe it lacks sufficient environmental safeguards, which poses a significant threat to the endangered southern woodland caribou.
Canadian officials made pains to show they were cracking down on illicit drug production in the country in 2025.
A year after the City of Hamilton cancelled its overnight warming bus, it is funding a new all-night warming centre for men at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church on James Street S.
This year has, without a doubt, been a turbulent one for the Canadian auto industry. Uncertainty dominated the sector — both for auto workers hit with job changes and companies trying to manage a mix of tariffs and changing market conditions.
A woman died at a ski resort in the Canadian Rockies over the weekend, after falling into deep snow.
Two pregnant women who would otherwise be living in a cold tent. A man whose leg wound was so bad it required intravenous medication. Two young people who no longer need to couch surf to get by.
The province has added 12 kilometres of designated trails for all-terrain vehicles in western Prince Edward Island that will connect existing routes in O’Leary and Tignish.
Every year, CBC North publishes hundreds of stories online — breaking news, investigative reporting, political coverage, community features, longform storytelling, and much more.
After a wild year in Canadian politics that began with Justin Trudeau's resignation and ended with Conservative MPs crossing the floor to join Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government, 2026 is shaping up to be just as action-packed.