MONTREAL - Naheed Nenshi made history as the first Muslim elected as mayor of a major Canadian city.
His election didn't fit the stereotype held by central Canadians, but according to Nenshi, those Canadians were just out of touch with the West.
"In Calgary people generally shrugged their shoulders and went 'He's from Calgary. We don't care what his skin colour is or what his faith is. We care about what he's going to do about public transit,'" said Nenshi.
The mayor of Canada's third-largest city (fifth largest metropolitan area) says Alberta has been welcoming change and diversity for decades.
"It was changing long before I was mayor, heck it was changing long before I was born," said Nenshi.
Currently on a tour of eastern cities, Nenshi is promoting Calgary as a place to do business, including, but not limited to, the oil sands.
"We're happy to be the wealth engine [of Canada]," said Nenshi. "We're sitting on a natural resource which is vast... and which can be managed in an environmentally sustainable way and that's what we're working very, very hard to do."
For the full interview, click the video to the right.
