Former federal politician who once faked radio interview looks to re-enter politics

EDMONTON — Decades after making headlines for faking a radio interview, driving under the influence, and breaking federal lobbying rules, a former member of Parliament says he’s looking to throw his hat back into the political ring.

At a restaurant he runs near downtown Edmonton, Rahim Jaffer said Wednesday he plans to re-enter politics by running for mayor this October in the Alberta capital’s upcoming election.

Vowing to be tough on crime and to have public spaces “belong to families,” the four-term Conservative MP said Edmonton has been “misguided,” isn’t living up to its potential and is in need of “a hard reset.”

“We need change,” Jaffer told reporters.

It’s a big comeback for Jaffer, whose political life once made headlines.

But he said he wants to gain people’s trust.

“I don’t have any skeletons in my closet. They’re all out there. So people can see the good, the bad and anything in between.”

Jaffer, whose family immigrated to Canada when he was young to escape persecution in Uganda, was elected to the House of Commons in 1997. Under the Reform Party, which eventually became the Conservative Party, the then-25-year-old was the first Muslim elected to Parliament.

Early in his political career, Jaffer landed in hot water in 2001 when an aide impersonated him during a national radio interview.

Jaffer insisted he did the interview.

But the aide eventually came clean.

Jaffer held onto his federal seat until 2008, when he lost in a surprising defeat to Linda Duncan of the NDP.

He tried running again, but his ambitions were thwarted when the Conservative party moved ahead with a nomination process in his old riding, despite his appeal for more time. Jaffer later said he was going to focus instead on getting a master’s degree in business.

But that wasn’t the end of his story.

One year later, Jaffer was charged with impaired driving and possession of cocaine after police pulled him over near a village northwest of Toronto. The charges were thrown out in 2010 when Jaffer pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving.

It sparked debate from Liberal MPs who said the former politician had been given a slap on the wrist and accused Stephen Harper’s Conservatives of going soft on their tough-on-crime values when it came to one of their own.

In 2011, a parliamentary watchdog found Jaffer and business partner Patrick Glemaud violated lobbying rules by not registering as lobbyists before meeting with government officials and Tory politicians to obtain funding for environmental projects their firm was working on.

Jaffer was also once married to former junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis, who was removed from the Conservative cabinet over allegations she had written to municipal officials in her riding to promote a project that Jaffer was also involved with.

In announcing his run for mayor, Jaffer said he’s grown from his past mistakes.

“We all learn how to do better,” he said.

“Getting back in the community here in Edmonton and doing things over the last number of years has really allowed me to highlight that.”

Jaffer joins several others in the mayoral race, including current city councillors Tim Cartmell and Andrew Knack, as well as former councillor Tony Caterina.

Current Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, who previously served as an MP for the Trudeau Liberals and ran unsuccessfully in the April election, has said he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Voters in Edmonton will go to the polls on Oct. 20.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press