The outcome of Edmonton’s mayoral contest remains pending until at least Tuesday morning, as the tallying of votes was halted at 1 a.m. Election officials announced that vote counting would recommence at 9 a.m. the following day.
All polling stations for Edmonton’s municipal election shut down more than two hours past the scheduled time on Monday evening. Numerous stations across the city reported lengthy queues, with certain locations in central and northern Alberta experiencing wait times exceeding an hour. Authorities emphasized that individuals in line by 8 p.m. were allowed to wait and cast their votes.
Unofficial figures from Edmonton Elections indicated a voter turnout of 30.27%, with 205,758 out of 679,830 eligible voters participating. This marks the lowest turnout since 2007 when Stephen Mandel secured re-election with a 27.24% turnout. The 2021 civic election in Edmonton saw a record-breaking 236,000 individuals voting, as reported by Edmonton Elections.
As of 1:25 a.m. on Monday, unofficial results for 48 out of 236 mayoral polls in Edmonton showed Andrew Knack leading with 20,540 votes, followed by Tim Cartmell with 15,645 votes. Thirteen candidates were vying for the mayoral position in the 2025 election. Additionally, all wards in Edmonton had reported early results by that time.
In Calgary, unofficial tallies as of 1:35 a.m. on Tuesday revealed over 327,000 votes recorded in the mayoral race, with 349 of 380 polls reporting in. The majority of Alberta’s rural and urban local governments were conducting council elections, along with 19 municipalities with city status, 105 towns, 78 villages, and 63 municipal districts and counties. Furthermore, sixty-one school board elections were held on Monday.
In Edmonton, where Mayor Amarjeet Sohi opted not to run for re-election, voters were selecting a new mayor from a pool of 13 candidates. Additionally, a total of 81 contenders were vying for 12 city council seats in each of Edmonton’s municipal wards. Information regarding voting locations and wards could be found on the City of Edmonton website.
Several voters in Edmonton reported enduring extended wait times to cast their ballots on Monday. Edmonton Elections explained to CBC News that the voting process was different this year, potentially impacting the duration of voting. Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams mentioned that municipalities had ample time since the spring of 2024 to plan for the new election rules.
Due to changes implemented by the provincial government, all ballots in Alberta’s municipal elections were being manually counted this year, deviating from the previous use of electronic voting tabulators. The preliminary vote count was anticipated to conclude by Tuesday, with official results required by noon on Friday, according to the City of Edmonton’s website.