About half of the candidates for mayor and council who responded to Taproot's candidate survey said they want to cut spending to lower taxes in response to the question Which would you prioritize regarding property taxes?
Thirty-seven candidates for mayor and council said they would Lower taxes by cutting spending. The only members of the current council to choose this answer are Tim Cartmell and Aaron Paquette (though both candidates added context clarifying their answers). Mayoral candidates Abdul Malik Chukwudi, Vanessa Denman, Rahim Jaffer, and Olney Tugwell also chose this option.
Meanwhile, 26 candidates said they would Increase taxes only to keep up with inflation and population growth. This includes mayoral candidates Ronald Stewart Billingsley, Jr., Tony Caterina, Andrew Knack, Omar Mohammad, Utha Nadauk, and Michael Walters.
Just four candidates said they would Increase taxes to improve quality of life. That includes incumbents Michael Janz, Anne Stevenson, and Jo-Anne Wright, and newcomer Jennifer Porritt.
Four candidates — Paul Bakhmut, Reed Clarke, Andy Andrzej Gudanowski, and Funke Olokude — said they didn't have a position on the issue.
Joti Buttar and Patrick Stewart did not answer the question.
As of this writing, 21 candidates have not completed the survey.
City council approved a 5.7% tax increase for 2025. Canada's consumer price index was 1.7% in July 2025. Edmonton's population increased by 5.76% in 2024. In 2021, council approved a property tax freeze to provide financial relief to those struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.