The Sprawl's Ward 2 Last-Ditch Debate
Thursday, October 16, 2025
This ward hadn’t yet had a debate so The Sprawl organized one. Four out of five candidates participated: Trevor Cavanaugh (Independent), Shaukat Chaudhry (Independent), John Garden (A Better Calgary Party) and Candy Lam (The Calgary Party). Absent candidate: Jennifer Wyness (Independent).

After The Sprawl invited candidates last Friday to this debate, incumbent Jennifer Wyness took more than four days to respond with her availability. In a lengthy comment posted on the video after the debate ended, Wyness stated that “not one of the challengers were willing to meet at any of the times I was available; the Sprawl was not willing to push the ‘debate’ back 3 hours.”

The forum, freely available on YouTube, “is completely inaccessible” and “does a disservice to the community” because Ward 2 residents were not invited to attend in person, Wyness added.

Here's a timeline of the run-up to the Ward 2 debate:

FRIDAY: At 9:59 a.m., The Sprawl sends an invitation to all candidates with suggested debate times. Three confirm their participation with preferred times. No response from Wyness.

SATURDAY: With three of five candidates saying 12 p.m. Thursday works, and no response from Wyness, we tell all candidates to lock in that time for the debate. Wyness’s campaign replies at 8:50 a.m. that she has a previous police commission commitment “and as such will be unable to attend the forum unfortunately. She is disappointed she will be unable to participate in this important forum and sends her regrets.” We reply suggesting possible alternate times.

SUNDAY: No response from Wyness.

MONDAY: No response from Wyness.

TUESDAY: That morning, we book a venue for the Ward 2 debate. At 12:17 p.m., Wyness replies with alternate times. With less than 48 hours until the debate, we reach out to the other four candidates in a last-ditch effort to see if later Thursday might work. It doesn’t for multiple candidates. We tell everyone to proceed as originally planned.

THURSDAY: The debate goes ahead with four out of five candidates: Trevor Cavanaugh, Shaukat Chaudhry, John Garden and Candy Lam. Wyness comments on the video shortly after. “It disturbs me that this is being heralded as a Ward 2 debate when it is completely inaccessible to the Ward 2 community,” Wyness writes. “It is being held in the middle of the day, not open to the public to attend in person, and it is not even being held in Ward 2.”

This debate was livestreamed by The Sprawl: