The Pulse: Oct. 15, 2025

The growing responses to Taproot's listening work in the lead up to the municipal election on Oct. 20 reveal that voters are unsatisfied with the relationship between city council and the Alberta government, and they expect the next council to do better.

Earlier this year, Taproot launched our listening campaign at several in-person and virtual events, and we posted a 2025 election question on our site. We have been gathering responses ever since, and at last count, more than 900 people have provided them. The listening was built around a simple question: "What issues do you care about as you consider who to vote for in the 2025 municipal election, and why?"

Almost 100 people answered this by saying the city needs a council that can get more support from the province. The overwhelming majority of these respondents criticized the United Conservative Party government for its role in the relationship, using terms such as "interfering," "intervening," "meddling," "overreaching," "encroaching," or "intruding" when pointing to things like bike lanes and the election process.

"While, constitutionally, municipalities are creatures of the provincial government, there is a lot to be said about staying in your own lane and working collaboratively together," one respondent said. "The province has gutted municipalities' control on many fronts: Photo radar, speeding, policing, appointments to the police commission, political parties, spending at the municipal level, and so on."

A few respondents said the city should butt out of work that's a provincial responsibility, though far more said Edmonton's city council must step up if the province doesn't. "I want a candidate that doesn't get too tangled up in municipal jurisdiction, and invests in housing and other solutions despite it being a provincial responsibility," one respondent said.

Many said the province has not done enough for Edmonton when it comes to money or action to tend to health, homelessness, and housing. "Homelessness is a big issue that needs to be addressed. It falls under (provincial jurisdiction), but the cities are stuck with it," one person said.

A small group of respondents said the current council has not been diplomatic enough with the province. "The tone taken by the current council has been combative and childish," one said. Most others said the next council should unapologetically advocate for the city's best interests, however.

Regardless of their stance on who needs to do better in the relationship, the vast majority expressed fatigue with the relationship not working for Edmonton. Many told us they just want the perceived adversarial dynamic to end. "I really wish the provincial and municipal governments would stop blaming each other and finally agree to work together on long-term solutions, including to address the root cause of houselessness and addiction," one said.

One person wondered what would happen if the next council pursued a short wish list from the province. "What are the top three concerns the candidates would communicate to the provincial government, and what are the candidates' proposed solutions?" they asked.

Taproot has worked to explain some of the key points in city council's relationship with the province since being elected in 2021.

• With the municipal election approaching on Oct. 20, a Postmedia analysis of Edmonton city council voting records from October 2021 to mid-August 2025 shows most councillors aligned on votes more than 60% of the time. Karen Principe and Jennifer Rice frequently voted against the majority, acting as council's unofficial opposition. Anne Stevenson and Ashley Salvador showed the strongest alignment, voting similarly nearly 90% of the time. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi maintained the highest win percentage. Mayoral candidates Tim Cartmell and Andrew Knack voted together 72% of the time.
• Edmonton's next city council may face the challenge of balancing resident desires for improved services, including snow clearing, road maintenance, and addressing crime and homelessness, against a strong demand to keep property taxes low. A CBC News poll conducted Oct. 1-8 revealed that 75% of respondents prioritize low residential property taxes. Former mayor Stephen Mandel and former city councillor Karen Leibovici emphasized the need for creative solutions and difficult decisions.
• Edmonton mayoral candidates, including Andrew Knack, Tim Cartmell, Tony Caterina, Rahim Jaffer, and Omar Mohammad, are in their final week of campaigning. The municipal election is Oct. 20 and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi is not running for re-election. "Of course, it's a name recognition campaign," Kim Krushell, a former Edmonton city councillor who also ran for mayor in 2021, told Global News. "The more your name is known, the more people are potentially going to vote for you."
• The Edmonton Construction Association, alongside NAIOP and members of BOMA, a commercial real estate organization, met with municipal election candidates ahead of the Oct. 20 vote. Mayoral candidates Michael Walters, Andrew Knack, Rahim Jaffer, and Tim Cartmell were among the candidates who attended. Industry representatives discussed concerns including continuing city building, collaborating on fiscal challenges, and recognizing the construction industry's role in economic growth.
• Edmonton Fire Rescue Services is reminding residents to follow city regulations when using fireworks. Only certified professionals with approved permits are allowed to set off fireworks within city limits, and applications must be submitted at least 10 working days in advance. The warning comes after 127 investigations into illegal fireworks use late last year, which led to nearly $6,000 in fines and two court cases. One incident caused about $1 million in property damage. Officials urge Edmontonians to celebrate safely and report illegal fireworks through 311.
• The Alberta Teachers' Association and the Alberta government met on Oct. 14 for the first time since the teachers' strike began last week, keeping 750,000 students out of 2,500 schools across the province. Finance Minister Nate Horner confirmed the government reviewed a new union proposal, which seeks more teacher hires than previously promised. Teachers had overwhelmingly rejected a prior offer of a 12% pay raise over four years and 3,000 new teachers.
• Alberta parents can now apply for government payments to help offset costs for children impacted by the ongoing teachers' strike. Eligible families with children aged 12 and under in public, Catholic, or francophone schools will receive $30 per instructional day, retroactive to Oct. 6. Enhanced support is available for families with children up to 17 with active Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) agreements. Finance Minister Nate Horner said the funds come from unspent educational grants. Payments will be made monthly via e-transfer, beginning Oct. 31.
• A new report shows Alberta teachers are the most stressed globally, with 42% reporting high stress in their work, significantly higher than the 19% global average. The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 also found Alberta teachers work an average of 47 hours weekly, five more than the global average, ranking among the busiest worldwide. As the provincewide teachers' strike enters its second week, Jason Schilling of the Alberta Teachers' Association said the report confirms teachers feel overworked and undervalued by the government, noting a sharp decline in their belief that policymakers respect their views.
• A new Angus Reid Institute poll suggests 58% of Albertans sympathize with teachers in their ongoing contract dispute, compared to 21% supporting the provincial government. The poll, surveying more than 800 Albertans from Oct. 8-10, found 84% believe class sizes are too large. Approximately 51,000 public, Catholic, and francophone teachers across Alberta went on strike on Oct. 6, and were locked out by the Teachers' Employer Bargaining Association on Oct. 9, cancelling classes for 750,000 students. Key issues include teaching conditions, class sizes, student support, and salaries.
• The 2025 Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence recognized several Alberta educators, including Sean Bradley and Morgan Gahler from Edmonton. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced the recipients. Bradley, of McNally High School, was honoured for empowering students through entrepreneurial thinking and digital tools. Gahler, from amiskwaciy Academy, transformed school culture with athletics and land-based learning for First Nations youth.
• The Edmonton Police Service seized about 60,000 opium poppy plants and "doda" powder in July 2025 from a north Edmonton property near 34 Street and 195 Avenue. The plants, valued between $160,000 and $500,000, are used to produce opioids like heroin. Staff Sgt. Marco Antonio said it was a rare commercial-level opium grow operation in Canada. Four men, aged 30 to 42, face charges for producing a controlled substance.
• Edmonton's sports community is mourning the loss of influential businessman and philanthropist Bruce Saville, who died Oct. 14. He was recognized as a "great Edmontonian" for his significant contributions to the city. "He was so charitable and so accessible. Those are the things I'll remember," said Bryn Griffiths, a former sports personality and friend of Saville.
• Edmonton resident Chelsea Brown, a survivor of six years of domestic abuse, is now advocating for changes and building a nonprofit called Warriors Way Forward. Brown aims to help women and children flee domestic violence and navigate the justice system. She has spoken with Alberta government ministers and Edmonton city councillors, and organized a fundraising event on Oct. 4, emphasizing her commitment to being a voice for victims.

A slim majority of candidates for council and mayor said they would Negotiate with the province to ensure the best practical outcome if Alberta's government were to intervene in municipal matters on Taproot's candidate survey.

Thirty-five candidates selected this option. This included eight mayoral candidates: Paul Bakhmut, Tim Cartmell, Tony Caterina, Abdul Malik Chukwudi, Andy Andrzej Gudanowski, Rahim Jaffer, Omar Mohammad, and Michael Walters. Aaron Paquette, Keren Tang, and Jo-Anne Wright were the incumbent council candidates who picked the same option.

Twenty-nine candidates said they would Stand up for Edmonton's autonomy. Mayor candidates who selected this were Ronald Stewart Billingsley, Jr, Vanessa Denman, Andrew Knack, Utha Nadauk, Olney Tugwell. Council incumbents Michael Janz, Erin Rutherford, Ashley Salvador, and Anne Stevenson said the same.

Just eight candidates — none running for mayor or an incumbent for council — said they would Conduct a review to see if our shortcomings are at fault.

Taproot asked candidates a second question about council's relationship with the province in the survey. That question was about what candidates would do if pressured to fund services that are under provincial jurisdiction. Forty-eight respondents said they would Redirect public pressure to secure sufficient provincial funding. Nine candidates said they would Fund the services to ensure quality of life, and nine said they would Refuse to fund and focus resources on municipal responsibilities. Six candidates said they had no position, including mayoral hopefuls Paul Bakhmut, Vanessa Denman, and Andy Andrzej Gudanowski.

As of this writing, 22 candidates for council and mayor have not yet completed the survey.

The provincial government has exerted influence and control over municipal matters since before the current council was elected in 2021. Since that election, the province has allowed itself to appoint people to the Edmonton Police Commission. In 2024, Dale McFee, who was then the chief of the Edmonton Police Service, successfully asked the province to hold an inquiry into two city-appointed commissioners. (McFee now works for the provincial government.) Recently, Devin Dreeshen, the transportation minister, has called for Edmonton to halt building the bike lanes its council has approved.

Some say, on the flip side, that Alberta's government is not doing enough for Edmonton. The city has more than 4,700 unhoused citizens, and more than 70% of opioid deaths in the province during March and April happened here. Both stats are ultimately the province's responsibility, through its oversight of healthcare, community and social services, and social assistance. Edmonton's municipal government has routinely raised concerns that these provincial matters are driving municipal costs. Edmonton's Fire Rescue Service, for example, spent more than $9 million responding to medical emergencies in 2023.

Taproot asked candidates to complete a 30-question survey covering a wide range of topics relevant to Edmonton's next city council. It was informed by the more than 900 responses to our election question, insights gathered at listening sessions, input from our election partners, and our own observations of what Edmonton's next city council will face.

Here are the answers we've received from the candidates in Ward Dene:

• Albert Mazzocca
• Lana Palmer
• Aaron Paquette
• Banisha Sandhu

We have not yet received a response from Paul Brake and Jean Pierre Valois.

Want to see which candidates best align with you on the issues that matter most? Take the survey and find out.

For more coverage of the 2025 municipal election in Edmonton, visit edmonton.taproot.vote.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• DREAM BIG Gala Fundraiser starting at 7am at Italian Cultural Centre
• Edmonton Design Week (until Oct. 19)
• Book Signing: Marjery Reynolds starting at 12pm at Audreys Books
• LitFest (until Oct. 25)
• Intentional Discussions with Entrepreneurs from across Alberta Series starting at 12pm online
• Recombinant Theory: Reading and Discussion with Joel Katelnikoff starting at 3:30pm at University of Alberta (Humanities Centre)
• NorthwestFEARFest (until Oct. 19)
• General Election: State of Journalism- Misinformation and Disinformation starting at 6pm online
• Mastering French Crêpes starting at 6pm at Get Cooking
• Childhood Anxiety: Helping Children Heal starting at 6pm at Arden Theatre
• Power in Pluralism: The U of A and Democracy starting at 7:30pm at Horowitz Theatre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Oct. 25: Howl-O-Ween at Edmonton Humane Society
• Oct. 28: Pathways of Poverty - Stories, Soup and Table talk on Poverty in our Community at Heritage Park Pavilion
• Oct. 30: Nerd Nite Edmonton #89: Spooktoberween 2025 at Fringe Theatre Arts Barns

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

Test your crossword prowess and deploy a little of your Edmonton knowledge. Complete the puzzle.

Once you're done the crossword, take the Taproot Survey to see how the candidates for mayor and council in Edmonton align with you.