EDMONTON – Amarjeet Sohi will be Edmonton’s 36th mayor as four incumbent councillors went down to defeat in the city’s municipal election Monday night.

The CTV News decision desk projected Sohi to be the winner just after 9 p.m.

Sohi won with 45 per cent of votes and was followed by former councillors Mike Nickel (25 per cent), Kim Krushell (17 per cent) and Michael Oshry (six per cent).

“I know that these last few years have been tough,” said Sohi. “I’m honoured with the privilege to lead us towards a new chapter with better days ahead.” 

“Let’s get to work. Let’s build a city that’s a place of opportunity for all.” 

His platform focussed on addressing homelessness, addictions and mental health as well as dealing with the realities of climate change.

He told CTV News he planned to reach out to other members of city council in the coming days.

“We will get to work right away,” he said. “We have very serious challenges.”

Sohi is the city’s first person of colour to be elected as mayor.

He was elected as councillor in 2007 and re-elected in 2010 and 2013. He left local politics to run as a federal Liberal, winning in 2015 and serving as a federal cabinet minister before being defeated in 2019.

“This city is going to change,” Nickel told supporters in conceding defeat. 

“But there will always be a tomorrow and even if I am not there, tomorrow will always be yours.” 

MIXED NIGHT FOR INCUMBENTS

Incumbent councillors had a mixed election night with four councillors being returned to office but also an equal number coming up short.

Incumbents Aaron Paquette in Dene, Andrew Knack in Nakota Isga, Tim Cartmell in pihêsiwin and Sarah Hamilton in sipiwiyiniwak were all re-elected Monday night.

But, incumbent Tony Caterina lost his council seat to Anne Stevenson in O-day’min, and finished in fifth place.

Jon Dziadyk was upset by Karen Principe in tastawiyiniwak, who won with 38.9 per cent of the vote. 

In Sspomitapi, Moe Banga finished in third place behind new councillor-elect Jo-Anne Wright.

And, two-term councillor Bev Esslinger lost to Erin Rutherford by 266 votes in Anirniq.

Before Monday night, 62 out of 65 incumbents, or about 95 per cent, had been re-elected as mayor or councillor in Edmonton over the last seven elections going back to 1998.

The closest race of the night was in the open ward of Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi where Jennifer Rice held a 39-vote lead over Rhiannon Hoyle at the end of Monday night. 

Edmonton Elections said Monday that there a number of outstanding special ballots still to be counted. 

Ashley Salvador in Métis, Michael Janz in papastew and Keren Tang in Karhiio round out the newcomers to council.

Women will represent two-thirds of city councillors, the most in Edmonton’s history.

Voter turnout was 37.5 per cent with 235,826 ballots cast from 629,066 eligible voters. The 2017 municipal election drew a 31.5 per cent turnout.

Voters also cast ballots on the federal equalization program and daylight savings time as well as for senate nominees.

Final results for those ballots will come on the morning of Oct. 26 though some cities, including Calgary but not Edmonton, released results Monday night. 

EDMONTON – Albertans will cast ballots Monday in a referendum that is technically about rejecting equalization but has morphed into more of a Prairie festivus airing of grievances.

“(This) is not about partisan politics,” Premier Jason Kenney has said at various times in recent days, when asked about the referendum question.

“This is about whether or not Alberta should push hard to get a fair deal.”

It’s symbolism, he said, but also a bargaining chip.

“The point of it is to get leverage for constitutional negotiations with the federal government about reform of the entire system of fiscal federalism, which treats Alberta so unfairly,” he said.

The question is straightforward for voters, who are also heading to the polls in municipal elections: Should the section of the Constitution enshrining the principle of equalization payments be removed?

Equalization sees some tax money collected by the federal government redistributed from wealthier provinces to lower-income ones to ensure a basic level of service for all.

Kenney has said Alberta has concerns over billions of dollars its residents pay, while provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec obstruct oil and pipeline projects that underpin that wealth.

Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews estimated the provincial contribution at $20 billion a year in a public letter this week. It was signposted by the phrases “more unfair,” “clearly unfair,” “fundamentally unfair,” “lack of fairness” and “fight for fairness.”

Political scientist Jared Wesley, the lead on a recent University of Alberta survey on referendum voting intentions, said the poll suggested the Yes side remains in the lead. But he said a disturbingly high percentage doesn’t understand how equalization works (44 per cent), wrongly believes Quebec gets the most per capita (85 per cent), and fails to understand Ottawa does not need provincial buy-in to change the equalization formula (62 per cent).

“I don’t blame Albertans for being confused,” said Wesley. “They’ve been fed a lot of misinformation by governments in this province for a lot of decades, and that’s showing up in our research.”

Wesley said it’s a muddy referendum question designed to deliver “strategic ambiguity” for the United Conservative government as it seeks broad leverage.

But leverage, he said, is not what you think you have. Rather, it’s what others think you have.

He said the rest of Canada is seeing a province that has received generous federal COVID-19 funding, has called in the military to rescue its COVID-19-ravaged health system, and has seen Ottawa literally buy the Trans Mountain pipeline to help its oil industry.

“As much as the premier and Yes supporters are out there saying, ‘we want a fair deal,’ the rest of Canada doesn’t look at it that way,” said Wesley.

“I’ve called this the festivus referendum,” he added, referencing the fictive secular holiday made famous in the TV sitcom “Seinfeld,” when family members gather around a metal pole to swap festering complaints.

Bill Bewick, head of Fairness Alberta, a group stumping for a Yes vote, said critics confuse the message being sent with the more important principle of sending a message.

He said equalization is profoundly unfair to Alberta and that a referendum is a legal, practical, effective method for Albertans to get Ottawa’s attention while providing a handy release valve for those who would otherwise seek more radical alternatives to make their voices heard.

“(The vote) is people speaking and expressing their displeasure.”

Bewick said a Yes vote from Alberta could push other provinces to pressure the federal government for meaningful changes to improve the equalization formula for all.

“It can get the ball rolling,” he said.

Some Yes supporters, including ousted UCP backbencher Drew Barnes, worry that with Kenney’s low popularity numbers the No vote will get a boost from those who want to send a message to the premier.

“There is no question that the premier has failed our province on a variety of issues,” wrote Barnes in an open letter on social media.

“He is the least popular premier in Canada for good reason. However, on Oct. 18th I would encourage Albertans to focus on the bigger picture.”

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe, who has taken the No side in recent debates with Bewick, said Alberta already has the power to discuss its equalization concerns with Ottawa.

But he said the referendum question – on its face – is a dismaying rejection of long-held Alberta values toward fellow Canadians.

“Alberta (through its government) has always and consistently supported the principle of equalization,” said Tombe.

“It’s unfortunate that Kenney is asking us to reject it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2021

EDMONTON – A new art gallery has opened in the Cavanagh neighbourhood in southwest Edmonton, it features the works of Chans, an award-winning south Asian artist.

Chandrashekharan, or Chans, has been working as an artist and illustrator for 52 years. His love of art began when he was a child in India.

According to his website, Chans has also held exhibitions in India and the United Arab Emirates. He previously held an exhibition in Canada in 2014, but he lost 65 original pieces when his luggage was lost on the flight back to India.

Visitors can book an appointment to visit the Chans Art Gallery at Collins Crescent at Chans’ website.

Thomas Dang, the MLA for Edmonton South, was on hand to officially inaugurate the gallery.

EDMONTON – A downtown intersection got a facelift Saturday that neighbourhood residents hope will improve safety and bring a bit of brightness.

The pedestrian crossing at 103 Avenue and 111 Street in the Oliver neighbourhood was repainted by the community league as part of the Street Labs program.

“It’s the first year of the program where communities can actually apply to the city to do certain interventions on the streets, such as painting crosswalks, doing little parklets in the community,” said Daniel Morin, Oliver Community League civics director.

Part of the city’s Vision Zero plan, the Street Lab program allows new innovative ideas and partnerships to improve street safety for all.

Community league members picked up their paint rollers and brushes and transformed the crosswalk. The city provided the materials while the vision was crafted by the community.

The crosswalk took on a harvest theme to match the time of year while also showcasing strawberries.

“We live in the ward of O-day’min, which means strawberry or heart berry (in Anishinaabe),” said Sydney Goss, Oliver Community League recreation committee member.

“So that’ll be a nice little shout out to the area which we live.”

Morin added that the crosswalk was not only meant to increase neighbourhood pride but to help give pedestrians more peace of mind that they will be seen while crossing.

“There’s only one crosswalk and it was a bit hard to navigate,” Morin said. “We thought this is a little something we could do to make it a bit safer in a really fun and community-driven way.

“We identified 103 Avenue in general as one of the corridors that are a bit unsafe. There’s a lot of uncontrolled intersections. For example, here right now, there’s actually no stop signs.”

The community league hopes to paint more crosswalks next spring.

EDMONTON – As residential home sales and pricing cools in Edmonton, the luxury market continues to boom.

According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, new residential listings last month were down from August, as well as single-family home unit and duplex/rowhouse sales.

The average price of residential properties is about $377,554 – an increase of 0.3 per cent from September last year. Single-family homes averaged $453,011 while condominiums sold for $224,212 on average.

The MLS Home Price Index, a benchmark price for homes in the Alberta capital region, levelled off at $345,200 – a five per cent gain from September last year but a 0.6 per cent decrease compared to August 2021.

The RE/MAX fall market outlook for Edmonton forecasts that the average price for a home is expected to increase four per cent in the remaining months of 2021. 

According to RE/MAX, there has been a higher demand for homes with outdoor space throughout the pandemic, resulting in a “dramatic increase” in acreage demand and sales.

The average price for an acreage with a home on it in the Edmonton area increased 16 per cent in one year.

Luxury sales in Edmonton have nearly doubled, according to RE/MAX River City realtor Jason Holland. Last year 140 homes priced at a million dollars or more sold. Between Oct. 1, 2020, and Oct. 1, 2021, 239 homes sold. 

The three most expensive homes for sale in the Greater Edmonton Area, as of Oct. 16, according to Realtor.ca are more than $5 million each.

The most expensive listing is located in Parkland County at 27523 Highway 633 and is listed at $6.95 million.

(Source: Realtor.ca/Sotheby’s International Realty Canada)

The mansion was built in 2016 and features an attached and detached garage, eight bathrooms, private pond, and toy vault and private shop with a wash bay.

(Source: Realtor.ca/Sotheby’s International Realty Canada)

Next up is a two-storey home in Windermere boasting a grand entryway with 10 feet high ceilings, imported granite from Portugal, an art designed sushi bar, a movie theatre, private elevator, and a self-contained nanny suite.

The mansion is listed at $6.49 million.

(Source: Realtor.ca/Sotheby’s International Realty Canada)

(Source: Realtor.ca/Sotheby’s International Realty of Canada)

Going for an asking price of $5.99 million, a mansion at Fountain Creek Estates in Strathcona County with seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms is next on the list.

(Source: Realtor.ca/Exp Realty)

The mansion has more than 14,000 square feet of living space, a butler’s kitchen, private spa with steam shower, a wet bar and wine cellar, four-car garage, dog shower, and floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and dining area.