Loyola to challenge Sohi in Edmonton Southeast after Liberals ditch him

Former Alberta NDP MLA Rod Loyola has announced his intention to run as an independent candidate for Parliament in Edmonton Southeast against Edmonton Mayor.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Former Alberta NDP MLA Rod Loyola has announced his intention to run as an independent candidate for Parliament in Edmonton Southeast against Edmonton Mayor and former Liberal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi.

The decision comes after the federal Liberals dropped him from the Edmonton Gateway race due to a controversial resurfaced 2009 video.

In the video, Loyola, while at an anti-NATO rally, is seen praising Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are designated terrorist organizations in Canada.

Despite the controversy, he declared his intention to run as an independent candidate in Edmonton Southeast against former Liberal cabinet member and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

Conservative candidate Jagsharan Singh Mahal is also contesting the riding. The poll aggregator 338Canada projects the Liberals ahead of the Conservatives by 4 per cent in Edmonton Southeast.

The Liberals have not issued a public statement explaining their decision. In response, Loyola took to social media, expressing surprise at the backlash and defending his past comments and claiming he was “cancelled.” Loyola also said he condemns terrorism in his statement.

“A video from 16 years ago surfaced in which I made comments about Hamas and Hezbollah during a hip hop segment introduction at an anti-war rally,” wrote Loyola in a statement.

“I am announcing that this is not the end of our campaign, I will continue as an Independent in the original riding I intended to run, Edmonton Southeast.”

If Sohi wins his bid for federal office it would also trigger a by-election for the mayoral seat, potentially making it the most expensive by-election in Edmonton’s history.

Sohi’s tenure as mayor has been marked by several controversies, including property tax hikes—6.1% in 2025 and a projected 6.8% increase for 2026—along with a $100 million bike lane project that has drawn criticism. A 2023 Maru Public Opinion poll revealed that only 25% of Edmontonians felt Sohi deserved re-election, while 60% indicated they wanted a new mayor.

In addition to his mayoral challenges, Sohi’s past federal political career is also shadowed by controversy. In 2018, during a high-profile trip to India with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sohi was photographed with Jaspal Atwal, a convicted attempted assassin.