The recently concluded provincial election leaves Edmonton out of the UCP cabinet but may have strengthened the influence of some city councillors, argues Episode 223 of Speaking Municipally.
After the NDP swept Edmonton's 20 seats in the May 29 vote, councillors Tim Cartmell and Sarah Hamilton are in effect the governing UCP's representatives in Edmonton, suggested podcast co-host Troy Pavlek. He cited their more cordial relationship with Premier Danielle Smith compared to that of Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and the rest of city council.
"Those two politicians have ingratiated themselves quite closely with the new premier, who now has won a four-year mandate," Pavlek said.
In December, the UCP government picked both Cartmell and Hamilton to join its Edmonton Public Safety and Community Response Task Force, without approval from city council.
Both Cartmell and Hamilton received strong mandates in the 2021 municipal election, with vote numbers that are comparable to what some Edmonton-area MLAs got in the provincial election, co-host Mack Male added. Cartmell got more than 16,000 votes in Ward pihêsiwin and Hamilton had more than 10,000 in Ward sipiwiyiniwak. Only one UCP candidate received more than 10,000 votes, and that was Kaycee Madu, who lost to Nathan Ip in Edmonton-South West. Even the NDP candidates got fewer votes than Cartmell — only Marlin Schmidt in Edmonton-Gold Bar got close with just over 15,000 votes.
"That is what I think gives them the political cover, the wherewithal, to do those big moves to support Danielle Smith's task force, where a more tenuously elected politician might not have been able to," Pavlek said. "If they were betting on a horse, they picked the right one."
The podcast was recorded before Smith announced her cabinet, but as predicted, three MLAs from the Edmonton "doughnut" were named. Dale Nally of Morinville-St. Albert is the minister of Service Alberta and red-tape reduction; Nate Glubish of Strathcona-Sherwood Park is the minister of technology and innovation; and Searle Turton of Spruce Grove-Stony Plain is the minister of children and family services.
Hear more about what the election results could mean for Edmonton on the June 9 episode of Taproot's civic affairs podcast. It also examines the Chinatown Business Improvement Area's change of heart on the King Thunderbird Centre, the loss of trees in Hawrelak Park, the post-pandemic rec-centre recovery, the Stadium LRT station's renewal, and the growth of solar-powered schools.