Article content

Paul Hughes, a food activist and longtime urban agriculture crusader, has thrown his hat into the 2017 mayoral race.

Hughes is well known for a 2012 court battle over the right to keep backyard chickens and as the founder of Canada’s largest urban agriculture farm — a 4.5-hectare pocket of land near Canada Olympic Park known as Grow Calgary that has produced food for people in need for nearly four years.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Grow Calgary founder Paul Hughes is running for mayor Back to video

Hughes, who campaigned for mayor in the 2010 Calgary municipal election but withdrew before the nomination deadline, said he’s kept a close eye on municipal politics since his last mayoral run.

“Like many Calgarians, I’m becoming incredibly frustrated with the municipal process and government. I’m in it to fix it,” said Hughes

“I’m disappointed in what’s happening in our city and what our priorities are.”

Hughes said he believes issues around compassion and poverty are being ignored in Calgary.