The outcome of the mayoral election in Edmonton remains uncertain until at least Tuesday morning, as the tallying of votes halted at 1 a.m.
Election officials announced that the counting of votes would recommence at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
All polling stations for Edmonton’s municipal election closed more than two hours late on Monday night.
Various polling locations throughout the city experienced extended wait times, with some areas in central and northern Alberta reporting wait times exceeding an hour.
Election authorities emphasized that individuals who were in line by 8 p.m. were permitted to stay in line until they were able to cast their votes.
Edmonton Elections reported an unofficial voter turnout of 30.27 percent, with 205,758 out of 679,830 eligible voters participating.
This marks the lowest voter turnout since 2007, when the re-election of Mayor Stephen Mandel saw a 27.24 percent turnout.
The 2021 civic election in Edmonton witnessed a record-breaking turnout of 236,000 voters, according to a report from Edmonton Elections.
By 1:25 a.m. on Monday, unofficial results for 48 out of 236 polls for the mayoral race in Edmonton showed Andrew Knack with 20,540 votes and Tim Cartmell with 15,645 votes. A total of 13 candidates were vying for the mayoral position in the 2025 election.
At that time, all wards in Edmonton had also reported early results.
Meanwhile, Elections Calgary’s website indicated that as of 1:35 a.m. on Tuesday, over 327,000 votes had been unofficially tallied in the mayoral race, with 349 out of 380 polls reporting.
A vast majority of Alberta’s rural and urban local governments, including 19 municipalities with city status, 105 towns, 78 villages, and 63 municipal districts and counties, are conducting council elections. Additionally, 61 school board elections are taking place on Monday.
Extended Waiting Periods Statewide
Reports emerged of significant wait times for voters in Edmonton on Monday. Edmonton Elections informed CBC News via email that the voting process, which was altered this year, could impact the voting duration.
Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams stated to CBC News that municipalities had been aware of new election regulations since the spring of 2024, providing ample time to devise a plan.
Scott Rollans, a voter from the Central McDougall neighborhood, mentioned that his voting process lasted over 30 minutes, describing it as markedly more complex than his previous voting experiences in Canada.
Other individuals shared with CBC News that they had waited for up to an hour to cast their ballots.
While not eligible to vote, fourteen-year-old Nicolas Nguyen expressed the importance of civic engagement, emphasizing the relevance of youth voices in political matters.
Vote Tabulation Process
In previous years, electronic voting tabulators were utilized for vote counting in Alberta’s municipal elections. However, this year, all ballots were slated for manual counting due to provincial government changes.
An Edmonton Elections representative mentioned that separate ballots were designated for the mayoral, councillor, and school trustee contests, with the mayoral votes to be tallied first, followed by councillor and school trustee ballots.
Preliminary vote counting is expected to conclude by Tuesday, with official results mandated to be submitted by noon on Friday according to the City of Edmonton’s website.