For all the talk leading up to Edmonton’s 2025 municipal election about residents wanting change, the results show all but one incumbent will be returning for another term at city hall.
Global News has now declared front-runner Andrew Knack will be the next mayor of Edmonton. Tim Cartmell conceded the race for mayor on Tuesday afternoon after being in second place since the results began to be released late Monday night.
It’s taken two days, a vote recount that changed who won that ward, and the discovery of several uncounted ballot boxes, but now, all of Edmonton’s wards have clear winners and Global News is able to call all 12 races for city council.
Here are those winners:
Ward Anirniq
Incumbent Erin Rutherford has been elected to a second term. She was first elected to the north Edmonton ward in 2021, ousting incumbent councillor Bev Esslinger.
Rutherford has a master’s degree in community development and 15 years of professional experience in public engagement and social planning for municipalities, including Edmonton and Strathcona County.
Ward Dene
Incumbent Aaron Paquette has been re-elected to a third term and has served the northeast Edmonton area since 2017. Before being elected, he worked as an Indigenous artist and author.
Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi
Newcomer Jon Morgan has ousted incumbent Jennifer Rice, who won the seat in the 2021 election following a tight race. It took until Wednesday afternoon for all the ballots in this ward to be counted, after some cast at Keheewin School were initially overlooked.
Morgan has worked for the Edmonton Transit Service for nearly 19 years in roles such as LRT inspector and control room superintendent. He’s volunteered as president of the Heritage Point Community League and secretary of the Johnny Bright School Council, and received the Queen’s Jubilee Award for Community Service in 2022. Morgan also ran in the 2021 city election.
Ward Karhiio
Incumbent Keren Tang has been elected to a second term. Tang has served the southeast Edmonton ward since 2021. Before joining city council, Tang worked in public health research and policy development and before that, was a teacher. She ran for council in previous elections as well.
Ward Métis
Incumbent Ashley Salvador has been elected for a second term. First elected in 2021, Salvador has a master’s degree in urban planning and founded non-profit YEGarden Suites.
Ward Nakota Isga
Newcomer Reed Clarke of Better Edmonton is the unofficial councillor-elect for this ward. This west-end ward had no incumbent after Andrew Knack first decided a year ago not to run again for council, and then later decided to run for mayor and won.
Clarke has a master of business administration. He’s the founder of Ross Flats Vintage Apparel and was previously the CEO of Sport Edmonton and the president, CEO and owner of the Edmonton Stingers basketball team. Clarke has sat on several boards, including Explore Edmonton, Sport Central, KidsSport Edmonton, the Royal Glenora Club and Alberta Basketball Association.
Ward O-day’min
Incumbent Anne Stevenson has been elected to a second term in the central Edmonton ward. Stevenson was first elected to council in 2021, after former councillor Scott McKeen opted not to seek re-election. She ousted council incumbent Tony Caterina, who switched to run in that ward.
Stevenson is an urban planner with a master’s in city design, who worked for the City of Edmonton and the Right at Home Housing Society before being elected to council.
Ward papastew
Incumbent Michael Janz has been elected to a second term, after first being elected in the central Edmonton ward in 2021. Prior to that, he served as a trustee on the Edmonton Public School Board for 11 years.
Ward pihêsiwin
New candidate Michael Elliott, who ran under the Better Edmonton party banner, has been elected in the southwest Edmonton ward vacated when two-term incumbent Tim Cartmell decided to run for mayor. Elliott is a staff sergeant with the Edmonton Police Service and has a lengthy background in law enforcement.
He was the president of the Edmonton Police Association for 15 years and before that, held several roles with the Alberta Federation of Police Associations. Elliott was also an officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the early 2000s.
Ward sipiwiyiniwak
After a dramatic turn of events, newcomer and independent candidate Thu Parmar is the unofficial councillor-elect for this ward.
This ward underwent a vote recount after the first- and second-place candidates came within six votes of each other. During the first count, Better Edmonton candidate Darrell Friesen got 6,060 votes and Parmar got 6,054 votes.
The recount results were expected Thursday, Oct. 23, however, on Wednesday evening, the recount appeared to be finished with 100 per cent of polls reporting. After the recount, Parmar came out in the lead with 6,667 votes, and Friesen was trailing by more than 600 votes at 6,040. Friesen told Global News he was conceding the election.
Parmar is a pharmacist who has worked in management at Alberta Health and in the private sector for pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, she was the vice-president of the Alberta and N.W.T. chapter of the Canadian Red Cross. She’s previously volunteered in several roles, including president, at the Cameron Heights Community League and is a recipient of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
This west-end ward had no incumbent after two-term councillor Sarah Hamilton, who won in 2017 and 2021, decided not to run for a third term.
Ward Sspomitapi
Incumbent Jo-Anne Wright has been elected to a second term. Wright was first elected in 2021, ousting incumbent Moe Banga from the southeast Edmonton ward. She also ran in the 2017 election, coming in second to Banga.
Before joining council, Wright, who has a bachelor of human resources and labour relations, had a career in finance and spent time volunteering for local organizations such as the Meadows Community League.
Ward tastawiyiniwak
Incumbent Karen Principe, who ran under the Better Edmonton party banner, was re-elected to a second term. She first won the north Edmonton riding in 2021, when she ousted incumbent Jon Dziadyk.
Before being elected, she worked as a dental hygienist and volunteered, and her husband Gene Principe is a sports reporter for the Edmonton Oilers.
The numbers right now are unofficial. Official results for the 2025 Edmonton election will be released no later than noon on Friday, Oct. 24.
In Edmonton, the city estimated there were 679,830 eligible voters and of those, 205,758 cast ballots — a voter turnout of 30.27 per cent. That’s the lowest voter turnout in Edmonton since 2007.
Advance voting occurred over five days earlier in October, during which 41,340 Edmonton residents cast their ballots.
To see the current vote count numbers, visit the City of Edmonton website.