Sadness at the passing of Ralph Klein

Mayor Klein with a much younger Naheed

My colleagues at The City of Calgary and I are deeply saddened to learn of Ralph Klein’s passing. Our thoughts and condolences are with his wife, Colleen, and their family in this difficult time.

The many highlights of his career and political legacy will undoubtedly be shared over the coming days, and many Albertans will mourn him as a beloved former Premier. But Calgary was always the city he called home. A true born-and-raised Calgarian, he served as Mayor from 1980-1989 and, to me, he will always be Mayor Klein.

As mayor, he had a tremendous impact on Calgary as a city government, helping shape both our policy and our culture. Ralph Klein taught us, as Calgarians, that we don’t need to put on airs. We don’t need to pretend we’re something we are not in order to be a truly great city in this world.

His legacy surrounds us, and he will be sorely missed.

- Mayor Naheed Nenshi

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UPDATE: Much of Ralph Klein's Celebration of Life (including Mayor Nenshi's speech) can be viewed online here.