Amarjeet Sohi

Amarjeet Sohi PC (born March 8, 1964) is a Canadian politician serving as the 36th and current mayor of Edmonton since October 26th, 2021. Sohi previously sat as a Liberal member of Parliament (MP) and served in the federal Cabinet from 2015 to 2018 as the minister of infrastructure and communities, and from 2018 to 2019 as the minister of natural resources.

Sohi was born in India and immigrated to Canada in 1981, initially working as a taxi driver in Edmonton. He returned to India in 1988, where he was detained and accused of terrorism. While in prison, he was subject to harsh treatment and solitary confinement. After spending 21 months in prison, Sohi was released due to a lack of evidence. Returning to Edmonton, he worked as a bus driver before entering politics.

Sohi was elected to the Edmonton City Council in the 2007 municipal election representing Ward 12, gaining his seat after finishing 4th place in the previous election. Following the 2015 federal election, he represented Edmonton Mill Woods in the House of Commons until his defeat in the 2019 election. During that time, he served as minister of natural resources from 2018 to 2019 and minister of infrastructure and communities from 2015 to 2018.

After his federal defeat, Sohi announced his candidacy for mayor of Edmonton in the 2021 Edmonton municipal election. He was elected as Edmonton's 36th mayor on October 18, 2021, becoming the first visible minority to serve as mayor. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor of Calgary on the same day, with both Sohi and Gondek jointly sharing status as Canada's first Punjabi mayors of major cities.