Municipal voting across Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton to elect new mayors

Alberta’s two major cities were voting for new mayors during municipal elections Monday after being led by Naheed Nenshi in Calgary and Don Iveson in Edmonton for multiple terms.

Political scientists said the results will show whether the two cities continue the progressive legacies of the outgoing mayors or move ahead with a more conservative vision.

“Thank you for these last 11 years. Thank you for taking a risk on me. Thank you for taking a risk on a different and better future,” Nenshi said on social media.

“While my political story is ending, the story of Calgary is still continuing … so make sure you go and vote. Make sure you cast your ballot for a great vision of the future of this city.”

Three city councillors – Jeff Davison, Jeromy Farkas and Jyoti Gondek – were among more than two dozen candidates in the running for Calgary mayor.

In the capital, former federal Liberal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi and Mike Nickel, a conservative-leaning city councillor, were two of 11 candidates.

Both cities reported record-high turnouts for early voting. They were expected to have final tallies for the next slate of municipal representatives later in the evening.

Provincial referendum questions on the federal equalization program and daylight time were also on the ballot. Voters in Calgary were being asked in a plebiscite about whether to return fluoride to the city’s drinking water.

As of 4 p.m., about 93,000 voters in Calgary had made their way to the polls on Monday. The majority of the city’s 188 voting stations recorded wait times under 30 minutes.

Edmonton had counted about 36,000 voters at the polls just before 1 p.m.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.