A rally was held at City Hall to call for the mayor of Calgary

A rally calling for the recall of Mayor Jyoti Gondek was held outside Calgary City Hall on Saturday afternoon, with more than a hundred people lining up to sign petitions.

Calgary resident Landon Johnston, who started a recall petition on Jan. 30, was among the crowd.

Johnson has 55 more days to collect signatures from 40 per cent of Calgarians, or 514,284 people if he meets the requirements set out in the legislation.

In an interview, Johnston said that he had collected about a thousand signatures, but they had not yet been verified.

He said he estimated the campaign had raised “at least a few thousand” to date.

He said he has been knocking on the city's doors and getting positive reactions.

“People who got the information were very enthusiastic,” he said. “I don't know how else to describe it

“Very few have closed their doors to me.”

Gondek said in an interview earlier this week that the recall “hurts a little bit.”

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is speaking out for the first time since a recall petition was launched to end her more than two years in office.

Johnston is frustrated with the city's spending and tax hikes, while many struggle with affordability.

“I hope we can get the mayor out,” he said, “because I think someone else can do a better job than he did, and I have a legal right to do that.”

“So far, the people have supported it.”

PLEASE NOTE: You cannot sign the recall petition online and must do so in person. For more information, contact Landon Johnston at [email protected].

With files from Nicole Di Donato