Three-term city councillor Andrew Knack wins Edmonton mayoral race

saint andrew the apostle Knack speaks after Edmonton mayoral rush triumph

Three-term urban center councillor Andrew Knack is Edmonton’s mayor-elect.

Fellow frontrunner Tim Cartmell conceded the race and congratulated Knack on the victory Tuesday. 

Knack was able to capture nearly 38 per cent of the vote as of Tuesday at 2:40 p.m., besting Cartmell, who garnered about 30 per cent. 

“Over the past many months, we built something special together,” Knack told his campaign party as supporters waited and watched for results to come in at Epic Market on Whyte Avenue on Monday night. 

“We knocked on doors in every corner of the city. We held town halls, we walked 52 kilometres across Edmonton in our own marathon, and we had thousands of real conversations about what matters most.”

Knack is set to address the media at 3 p.m. You can watch it live.

Knack, who represented the west-end Ward Nakota Isga, announced in September 2024 that he would not run in the next municipal election.

Knack changed his mind, stating that he wanted to put forward an independent voice, and leverage his track record over the last 12 years of meeting with people from across the political spectrum.

A total of 13 candidates put their name forward for mayor with other contenders including pediatric surgeon Omar Mohammad, past councillors Michael Walters and Tony Caterina and former federal MP Rahim Jaffer. 

Walters and Mohammad were the only other candidates to garner more than 10 per cent, with Walters getting 11.82 per cent and Mohammad 10.09 per cent, as of 2:40 p.m.

A slew of new political rules injected into municipal elections in Alberta by the United Conservative Party government saw the introduction of political parties and allowing of corporate and union donations in local elections.

Cartmell was the only mayoral candidate to run under the political party banner of Better Edmonton. 

“Last night didn’t turn out the way we hoped, but I can tell you this: I have never been more proud of the people standing beside me and the work we accomplished as a team over the last year," Cartmell said in a statement Tuesday.

Cartmell was not available for interviews Tuesday but his spokesperson said he would speak to the media later in the week.

Edmonton Elections pegged unofficial voter turnout results at 30.27 per cent, with 205,758 of 679,830 eligible voters casting a ballot.

Key issues that dominated this year’s election included addressing housing and homelessness, affordability, property taxes and public safety.

Some promises that Knack campaigned on include increasing the number of day shelters and increasing the number of peace officers that partnered with social workers to move through the city’s transit system.

Knack said in his 12 years on council, he has consistently reduced the budget through individual motions he's made. And going forward, he's advocating to restructure the budget.

But he cautioned that it shouldn't come at the cost of key services and he's worried a tax freeze would come at the expense of things community members expect as the city rapidly grows. 

Walters, who sat on council from 2013 to 2021, is currently in third with nearly 12 per cent of the vote.  

More to come

Reporter

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