Calgary election contends with low voter interest, postal strike impacts – Calgary

Election signs are popping up around Calgary, but those vying for local office are facing challenges getting the attention of voters.

The perceived lack of engagement so far in the 2025 municipal election even getting noticed by Calgary’s former mayor at an unrelated press conference this week.

“I was just up in Grande Prairie and there are election signs everywhere and everyone is excited about the election,” said Naheed Nenshi, now leader of Alberta’s NDP.

“Here in Calgary, I feel like people haven’t yet gotten engaged in the way that we’ve done in the past.”

Voter turnout tends to be lower in municipal elections in Calgary. It was 46.38 per cent in the last civic election, down from 58.1 per cent in the 2017 contest — the highest voter turnout in a local election in Calgary in more than 40 years.

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Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said he’s also noticed a lack of engagement so far in the race even amongst his students.

According to Bratt, voter turnout and engagement is typically lower during elections when the incumbent mayor seeks re-election.

In 2004, only 19.8 per cent of voters turned out in a race that saw incumbent Dave Bronconnier win re-election, and just 39.4 per cent of voters showed up when Nenshi won his re-election bid in 2013.

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In this year’s race, Calgary’s incumbent mayor, Jyoti Gondek, is running for re-election after her first term in the role, and is facing off against  former mayoral challengers and councillors Jeromy Farkas and Jeff Davison, as well as Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp and former chair of the Calgary Police Commission Brian Thiessen.

Sharp is running under the Communities First party, while Thiessen is running as the mayoral candidate for The Calgary Party.

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“It’s not like the case in 2013 or 2004, where the incumbent was running against a bunch of nobodies,” Bratt said. “Yet, there’s still no buzz.”

Adding to the potential reasons for lower interest in the campaign is “lots of political issues that seem to be swamping municipal politics,” Bratt said.

That could include a potential teachers strike in Alberta, which is slated to begin the same day as advance polls open on Oct. 6.

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It’s an issue Gondek said she’s heard amongst Calgarians while canvassing for support.

“There’s a lot of people who are incredibly concerned about a looming teachers strike,” Gondek said.

“People have a lot on their minds right now. The municipal election is something they are interested in, but they’re trying to juggle multiple things they have concerns about right now.”

Stephen Carter, who ran both Nenshi’s and Gondek’s campaigns for mayor, is now a campaign strategist for The Calgary Party.

He said the party is working to build momentum through a “shotgun approach” that includes thousands of lawn and roadside signs, and releasing policy and promises every day for the next month.

“The thinking goes that more people become engaged each single day, but trying to find those people is really like finding a needle in a haystack,” Carter said. “We’re just trying to find those diamonds in the rough.”

Meanwhile, Sharp said she’s answered questions from Calgarians while canvassing about when the election is, but is more concerned with how the recently called postal strike will impact voters getting information.

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“I think my concern is not so much that conversation, it’s more around the postal strike,” she told Global News.

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“This has now really affected this election and I’m a little bit concerned that this is election interference.”

Sharp is encouraging Calgarians to write to their Member of Parliament to call on the federal government to step in, and for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to deliver political and election related messaging “in good faith.”

Late Friday, Elections Calgary released a number of strategies its implementing to limit disruptions due to the strike.

Delivery of voter information cards, which were mailed out following nomination day earlier this week, only reached a portion of Calgary households prior to the strike.

Officials said they’re working with Canada Post to determine which addresses have not yet received a card.

Voter information cards are not required to be able to vote, but provide information to households regarding their polling station on election day.

According to Elections Calgary, voters can use the Where Do I Vote tool online, or can refer to the voter guide, which was delivered to households the week of Sept. 8.

As for mail-in ballot packages, Elections Calgary said they will be delivered by courier “where possible,” and can be returned by courier at the “voter’s expense.”

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Mail-in ballots can also be dropped off at the Elections Calgary Mail-In Ballot Office at the Deerfoot Junction III Building (Suite 101, 1212 31 Avenue NE, Calgary)

Elections Calgary said additional copies of the voter guide will be distributed through a household flyer service “that is not impacted by the Canada Post mail service disruption”, which is expected to take place on Oct. 2 and will also be available at select Calgary Transit LRT and bus stops, Calgary Public Library branches, hospitals, grocery stores, cafes and other community spaces.

Voters are also encouraged to go to the Elections Calgary website, or call 403-476-4100 for more information.

Election day is Oct. 20.

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