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Photo by DAVE CHAN / AFP via Getty Images

Calls to the mayor’s office Thursday morning were not returned, but in an interview on Business News Network on Wednesday, Nenshi did not say “no” to the idea.

“I’ve got a pretty big job now, but I am also a loyal Canadian; I am a non-partisan,” he said. “That’s why I wear purple every day — it’s red and blue. And I am always willing to help anybody who’s seeking public service to help do what’s best for this place.”

When asked at a press conference where he was reacting to the Alberta provincial budget, Nenshi said there was “no news” on his current job.

“I have an excellent job that has somehow gotten harder in the last three hours,” he said.

Philippe Lagasse, associate professor at Carleton University and an expert on the Westminster system, said anyone can be appointed to cabinet, but constitutional convention says they either need to be an aspiring parliamentarian or be appointed to the Senate.

He said the conventions are really more important than the legal written rules.

“We rely on these conventions to a significant degree to ensure we have a democratic convention — so they’re not nothing,” said Lagasse.

He said appointing Nenshi to cabinet would present problems for Trudeau because there’s no western seats where the mayor could run for federal office, never mind the uphill battle a Liberal candidate would face.

He also said there are no vacant Senate seats in Alberta, although there is one way to get around that: Trudeau could ask the Governor General and the Queen to name additional senators.