Chris Canales was elected to represent District 8 on the El Paso City Council in late 2022 and was sworn in to serve a four year term in January 2023.

A native El Pasoan, Chris attended EPISD schools on the west side and graduated from Franklin High School. He then moved to New York City to attend Columbia University, where he graduated with a degree in Sustainable Development.

Chris’s professional background includes work in the Natural Resources Group at the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, with a coalition of nonprofits focused on education reform, and at an NYC-based consultancy focusing on sustainability, renewable energy, green products and services, and environmental conservation, with a particular focus on waste reduction.

Chris and his wife Nora moved back to the Borderland in 2017, and they now reside in District 8 with their two rescue dogs Wyck and Q. Since he returned to El Paso, Chris has worked in municipal government, primarily as the Chief of Staff for his predecessor in the District 8 office, former City Representative Cissy Lizarraga.

At the appointment of the Mayor, Chris now serves as the Chair of the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee and on the board of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the body for regional transportation planning and policymaking. He is also an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the El Paso Downtown Management District.

As a member of the City Council, Chris also serves on the Mass Transit Department Board; the boards of the City of El Paso Health Facilities Development Corporation, the Downtown Development Corporation, and the Children’s Museum Development Corporation.

Outside of his role on the City Council, Chris works as a referee of professional soccer, and he also holds an elected position in the soccer referees’ union Professional Soccer Referees Association.