Calgary mayor, councillor remain at odds over leaked documents
Posted Sep 9, 2026 1:22 am.
A Calgary city councillor is doubling down after admitting he leaked confidential budget preview documents, insisting he broke the rules for the right reasons as tensions at City Hall continue to escalate.
Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston defended his actions on Tuesday, saying he shared preliminary budget information because taxpayers “deserve to know what’s being discussed behind closed doors.”
“I broke a rule but sometimes breaking rules is the right thing to do,” Johnston said, adding he would make the same decision again.
Mayor Jeromy Farkas called a special council meeting to seek legal advice on how to respond to the breach, saying the leak went beyond early budget numbers and may have exposed sensitive information.
“I don’t think any of us are above the law, especially when it comes to violating the private information of Calgarians and otherwise jeopardizing law enforcement actions,” Farkas said.
Johnston rejected that characterization outright.
“That’s a lie. No personal information was leaked, it was purely proposed budget information,” he said.
Council briefly discussed whether Johnston could be barred from future in‑camera sessions involving confidential material, but City Solicitor Jill Floen told councillors they no longer have that authority.
“The province has repealed or prohibited the authority of council to control the conduct of its members,” she said.
Council ultimately voted to send a letter to Alberta’s minister of municipal affairs requesting guidance on how to handle confidentiality breaches. Johnston said he sent his own letter to the minister, asking for an investigation into what is shared during closed‑door meetings.
“Going forward, I would hope that this council, and all councils within Alberta, think twice about what they’re talking about in‑camera,” Johnston said. “It’s the taxpayers who have the voice — I was just trying to give it back to them.”
Johnston says he will recuse himself from future in‑camera discussions if he believes the conversations become “unethical.”
