Alberta’s two major cities are to bring in new mayors during municipal elections today after being led by Naheed Nenshi in Calgary and Don Iveson in Edmonton for multiple terms.

Political scientists have said the votes will show whether the two cities continue the progressive legacies of the outgoing mayors or forge ahead with a more conservative vision.

Three city councillors – Jeff Davison, Jeromy Farkas and Jyoti Gondek – are among more than two dozen candidates in the running for Calgary’s mayor.

In the capital, former federal Liberal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi and Mike Nickel, a conservative-leaning city councillor, are two of the 11 candidates.

Both cities have seen record-high turnouts for early voting and are expected to have final tallies for the next slate of municipal representatives later this evening.

Albertans will also be facing referendum questions on the federal equalization program and daylight time on the ballot.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.

Alberta’s two major cities are set to make history in their mayoral races after Monday’s municipal elections across the province.

Jyoti Gondek is to become Calgary’s first female mayor and Edmonton voters appear to have elected the city’s first person of colour as mayor.

Gondek will replace Naheed Nenshi, who held the city’s top job for more than a decade.

“Thank you, Calgary, with all of my heart,” Gondek said late Monday during her victory speech. “Thank you for engaging in democracy and sending a clear signal about what our future looks like.

“Thank you for embracing a vision of promise and opportunity.”

Nenshi responded to the unofficial results on social media.

“History. Made,” he wrote as he congratulated Gondek on her win. He, too, made history as the first Muslim mayor of a large North American city. Earlier Monday, he thanked Calgarians for giving him the “honour of his life.”

Gondek served as a city councillor in Calgary for four years, where she championed public transit, police reform and city growth.

Her mayoral campaign has focused on issues such as investing in transportation, getting more property tax dollars from the provincial government and making Calgary a “centre for excellence” to boost social, economic and environmental recovery.

In Edmonton, former federal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi, a Sikh immigrant from India, will likely become the first mayor of colour in the provincial capital.

“As an 18-year-old immigrant without much to my name, I had ambitions and dreams to build a better life in a new home — dreams that sometimes seemed impossible,” Sohi said during his victory speech late Monday. “Today, because of you, because of everyone in this room, we have made the impossible possible.”

He was a city bus driver and an Edmonton city councillor before entering federal politics and serving as Minister of Natural Resources and Minister of Infrastructure and Communities under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Sohi will take over from Don Iveson, who announced he wouldn’t run for re-election after serving two terms as mayor. In a statement, Iveson said Edmonton will thrive under Sohi’s leadership.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mayor-elect Sohi during his time as (a) city councillor and have always appreciated and been inspired by how hard he has worked for our community,” said Iveson.

Both newly elected mayors were leading with about 45 per cent of the votes with almost all polls reporting.

The election results, which also included mayors, councillors and school board trustees across the province, will be made official Friday.

Edmonton Elections said more than 229,000 residents voted in the municipal election. In Calgary, voter turnout exceeded 382,000 people — though neither tally is finalized.

Provincial referendum questions on the federal equalization program and daylight time were also on the ballot. Elections Alberta said those results won’t be available until Oct. 26.

Voters in Calgary were asked in a plebiscite about whether to return fluoride to the city’s drinking water. Unofficial results show the majority voting in favour.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.

EDMONTON – We’ll get a pair of cool days to start the week before warmer air returns.

Temperatures hit highs of 20 C on Saturday and 11 C on Sunday.

But, it looks like we’ll be in single digits today and Tuesday in Edmonton and area.

Cloudy skies today with some snow expected across northern Alberta.

Parts of northwestern Alberta picked up a couple centimetres of snow Sunday.

Today’s flurries shouldn’t amount to much for most areas and it looks unlikely that Edmonton and area will see any significant precip.

Could there be a brief, spotty shower or wet flurry in part of the area this morning? Yes. But, most of us won’t get anything.

And…even areas that DO…won’t get much.

Wind headlines tomorrow’s forecast. Sustained wind speeds of 20-30 km/h with gusts in the 40 to 50 km/h range should do away with the few leaves that remain on trees.

We’ll also have a bit of wind chill to deal with the morning and a “bite” to the air in the afternoon.

We’re expecting Wednesday to be gusty as well. Calmer conditions return on Thursday.

Get past Tuesday and temperatures start to climb.

Daytime highs will climb back into the 11 to 15 C range in Edmonton with mostly sunny skies.

Morning lows will hover around the freezing mark.

That temperature pattern should last right through the weekend and into next week.

If you’re already wondering about the Halloween forecast: We’ll likely have a high in the five to 10 degree range.

It’s a bit too early to know much about sky conditions and/or precip. So, we’ll update that as we get closer to the 31st.

Here’s the forecast for Edmonton:

Today – Mostly cloudy.

High: 7

Tonight – Mostly cloudy.

9pm: 2

Tuesday – Morning clouds, afternoon clearing.

Wind: SE 20-30 with gusts in the 40-50 km/h range.

Morning Low: -2

Afternoon High: 9

Wednesday – Mainly sunny. Gusty.

Morning Low: -1

Afternoon High: 12

Thursday – Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: -2

Afternoon High: 13

Friday – Sunny with a few clouds.

Morning Low: 0

Afternoon High: 13

Saturday – Increasing cloud. 30% chance of late-day showers and/or snow.

Morning Low: 1

Afternoon High: 12  

EDMONTON –

Firefighters were called to the southeast community of Hillview early Monday morning.

The blaze at 60 Street and 37A Avenue NW was reported around 2:45 a.m.

Flames damaged the home’s garage and rear side.

Everyone in the house got out safely, according to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services. 

EDMONTON –

Edmontonians will elect a new mayor and council today. 

Polls open for Edmonton’s 89th election today at 9 a.m. 

The race will see Alberta’s capital city choose a new mayor after being led by Don Iveson for multiple terms, as well as councillors for newly redrawn and renamed wards. 

This year, voters will get one municipal ballot and one provincial ballot. On the first, they will vote for one of nine mayoral candidates, a ward councillor, and a trustee for their public or Catholic school division ward. 

On the second ballot, they’ll select up to three senate nominees and answer two referendum questions on Canada’s equalization program and daylight time. A ‘yes’ vote on removing the equalization program from the constitution would see Alberta try to start discussions with the federal government about an amendment. A ‘yes’ vote in the second referendum would trigger work to switch Alberta to year-round Daylight Saving Time next year. 

Voters must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen, and an Edmonton resident. 

Polls will be open until 8 p.m. Find more voting information, including what voters need to bring, online. 

Watch our live coverage from 8 to 10 p.m. on CTVNewsEdmonton.ca, and our TV broadcast starting at 10 p.m. 

MAYOR CONTEST 

Edmonton’s mayoral contest has nine remaining candidates vying for votes. 

Former Liberal MP Amarjeet Sohi is thought to be leading in the polls, with Mike Nickel and Kim Krushell trailing in second and third. All three have served as an Edmonton councillor and released campaign fundraising information. 

On Friday, the frontrunners made a final pitch to downtown voters: Sohi proposed designating the river valley a national park; Nickel promised increased safety; Krushell wants to reduce the concentration of supervised injection sites in the core and red tape for businesses. Cheryll Watson’s campaign focuses on making downtown Edmonton a “central business neighbourhood” and Michael Oshry supports the $5-million vibrancy strategy passed by the outgoing council. 

Diana Steele, Brian “Breezy” Gregg, Augustine Marah, and Vanessa Denman are also running for mayor.

Rick Comrie and Abdul Malik Chukwudi both dropped out of the race and endorsed Nickel as their choice for mayor.

Last week, Sohi led the pack with 34 per cent, holding more than double the support of his closest competitor, Nickel, a survey conducted for Postmedia said. Nickel sat in second place with 16 per cent, and Krushell in third at 12 per cent. Leger ranked Oshry at six per cent and Watson at five per cent, however, 20 per cent of roughly 500 respondents said they were still undecided.

Four of the remaining candidates are women. 

COUNCIL HOPEFULS 

In Edmonton’s council races, too, name recognition appears to be an advantage. 

Research shows that about 90 per cent of incumbents seeking re-election in Edmonton as mayor or councillor are returned to office. Although the new ward boundaries could impact that this year, historically, incumbent council candidates have seen about a 95 per cent re-election rate. 

Read all of our election coverage, including mayor and council candidate profiles here. 

Already, an estimated 10 per cent of eligible voters have cast their ballot. Edmonton Elections counted more than 63,500 votes during advance polls between Oct. 4 and 13. 

That is nearly a third of the 194,826 votes cast in the 2017 municipal election, which drew a turnout of 31.5 per cent.

Alberta’s largest city will also see a new mayor elected; Mayor Naheed Nenshi in Calgary is leaving municipal office after serving several terms.