Most candidates for council and mayor said the arts are Essential to quality of life and in need of stable funding when answering Taproot's candidate survey.
Thirty-five candidates chose that response, including several mayoral hopefuls. Among them are incumbent councillors Michael Janz, Aaron Paquette, Ashley Salvador, Anne Stevenson, Keren Tang, and Jo-Anne Wright. Seven mayoral candidates also selected this response — Paul Bakhmut, Ronald Stewart Billingsley, Jr, Andy Andrzej Gudanowski, Andrew Knack, Utha Nadauk, Olney Tugwell, and Michael Walters.
Of note, Knack and Walters recently participated in a mayoral forum about the arts and downtown, alongside Tim Cartmell and Rahim Jaffer.
Cartmell and Jaffer are two of the five mayoral candidates who said the arts are An economic driver, so prioritize projects with measurable economic impact. The others are Tony Caterina, Abdul Malik Chukwudi, and Vanessa Denman. Incumbent Erin Rutherford was among the total 20 mayor and council candidates who picked this response.
Just 12 candidates said the arts are Not a core responsibility, so prioritize funding essential services instead. They include mayoral candidate Omar Mohammad, but no incumbent councillors.
Ward Métis candidate Abdulhakim Dalel said he does not have a position on the issue.
As of this writing, 25 candidates for council and mayor have not yet completed the survey.
The city funds the arts through the Edmonton Arts Council and grants. In late 2024, EAC changed its funding strategy because its budget has been stagnant since 2021. The strategy update pauses multi-year funding for arts organizations until 2026. The EAC also oversees public art, and changed its finance model in 2021.