Four New Faces Join Edmonton City Council After Election Results

Four newcomers will join the eight incumbent members of the Edmonton City Council following the municipal election held on October 16, 2023. The election results were officially released by Edmonton Elections, highlighting both the competitive nature of the races and the changing dynamics within the council.

Newcomers and Their Priorities

In Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi, transit worker Jon Morgan secured victory over former councillor Jennifer Rice. Morgan, who has dedicated nearly 19 years to the Edmonton Transit Service in roles such as LRT inspector and control room superintendent, ran for council for the second time after a loss in 2021. He aims to prioritize infrastructure improvements in his southwest Edmonton ward, particularly in the Heritage Valley area. “For this area, it’s going to be infrastructure. We have pretty high density here in the southwest,” Morgan stated. He emphasized the need for better-maintained sidewalks in established communities north of Anthony Henday Drive.

In Ward papastew, Michael Janz, a former trustee with Edmonton Public Schools, was re-elected for a second term, receiving 10,620 votes—or 56.87 percent of the total 18,675 ballots cast. This result underscores Janz’s strong support within the community.

Another notable newcomer is Thu Parmar, who emerged victorious in the west end ward of sipiwiyiniwak, previously held by Sarah Hamilton, who chose not to run for re-election. Parmar, who previously worked in management at Alberta Health and held a vice-presidential role at the Canadian Red Cross, won with 6,667 votes, representing 30.36 percent of the 21,962 ballots cast. She expressed a commitment to rebuilding trust with constituents and enhancing transparency and engagement between the council and the public. “I’d love to be able to increase engagement, to increase transparency and make it easy for people to reach out to the government,” Parmar said.

Incumbents and Election Turnout

The downtown ward of O-day’min saw the fewest ballots cast, with a total of 12,443 votes. Incumbent Anne Stevenson was re-elected there, garnering 6,269 votes, which accounted for 50.38 percent of the total.

In the southwest ward of pihêsiwin, Michael Elliott, a staff sergeant with the Edmonton Police Service, will represent the area after receiving 7,984 votes, or 41 percent of the vote. Elliott aims to strengthen relationships between the city council and the police, emphasizing the need for improved public safety. “The first steps I want to see, from my perspective, is address the relationship between city council and EPS. I believe it was quite fractured,” he said.

In Nakota Isga, entrepreneur Reed Clarke won the most votes, bringing a background in business management and community involvement to his new role. Clarke has previously led Sport Edmonton and the Edmonton Stingers basketball team and is committed to fostering collaboration within the council. “Have the approach ‘we’re all here together, we’re all on one team. We all have the best interests of Edmonton at heart,'” he stated.

Finally, Andrew Knack, the newly elected mayor, received 78,519 votes, which was 37.98 percent of the mayoral ballots cast. The overall voter turnout for the election was 30.27 percent, the lowest in Edmonton since 2007, with 205,758 of the estimated 679,830 eligible voters participating. Advance voting took place over five days earlier in October, during which 41,340 residents cast their ballots.

The new Edmonton City Council will be sworn in on Wednesday, marking the beginning of their term as they tackle various challenges and priorities for the city moving forward.