A new high-profile investigation involving city officials is underway in Calgary. The RCMP has officially confirmed that it is conducting an active investigation following a referral received from the Calgary Police Service in October 2025. The police are not disclosing the nature of the allegations, but they have explicitly stated that the case is active and are withholding further details to avoid compromising the investigation. The Calgary Police Service has separately confirmed that the complaint was indeed forwarded to the RCMP.
It is publicly known that the investigation has already involved current and former city officials. Ward 10 Councilor Andre Chabot stated that last Thursday, March 19, he was served with a warrant, asked to hand over electronic devices for evidence collection, and was not questioned about the substance of the case. According to him, he is cooperating with the investigation and does not know himself what exactly is being investigated.
Separate investigative actions have also taken place regarding former officials. LiveWire Calgary published a statement from attorney Sean Chu, who confirmed that court orders were also executed on his client’s property, and that Chu himself is cooperating with the investigation. The same report includes a direct statement from former Mayor Jyoti Gondek: a search warrant was executed at her home, her cell phone was seized, and she described the procedure as very invasive, adding that she and her lawyer would be reviewing whether it was properly justified.
Attorney Sean Chu explicitly stated that no charges have been filed and that he expects the case to be resolved quickly. Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said that the police have not contacted him, so he will not comment on the situation. The City of Calgary also limited itself to a brief statement: city officials are aware of the issue, are looking into it, but are saying nothing further.
It is also important to note that neither the specific business—which, according to media reports, may be linked to the allegations—nor the sections of the Criminal Code under which the investigation is being conducted have been officially named. For this reason, any conclusions regarding the subject of the investigation would be premature at this stage. The only confirmed facts are the investigation itself, the fact that the complaint was referred from the Calgary Police Service to the RCMP, and the execution of search warrants and seizure of devices from a number of individuals.
For Calgary, this story is politically sensitive also because the city has already experienced public scandals surrounding the expenses of city officials. For example, in 2021, a city council committee officially determined that a portion of the hosting expenses claimed by Councillor Joe Magliocca was unacceptable and demanded reimbursement from him. Prior to that, in 2020, PwC conducted a separate forensic investigation into his expenses under the supervision of the city auditor. This context does not prove a connection to the current investigation, but it explains why any news of potential corruption at Calgary City Hall generates such a strong public reaction.