Counting has resumed to decide Edmonton’s new mayor and councillors after voting stretched for two hours past its deadline.
Polls were set to close at 8 p.m. MT Monday, however long lines meant some voting locations were allowed to accommodate those waiting to cast their ballots.
First results began emerging just before 10:30 p.m. with counting paused at 1 a.m.
Edmonton Elections said counting will resume at 9 a.m. with all uncounted ballot boxes from voting stations to be transported to the Edmonton Expo Centre.
Unofficial results will be available online as ballots are counted and verified by the returning officer.
Edmonton Elections pegged unofficial voter turnout results at 30.27 per cent, with 205,758 of 679,830 eligible voters coming out.
It’s the lowest voter turnout since 2007, when Stephen Mandel was re-elected mayor with a 27.24 per cent turnout.
The 2021 civic election in Edmonton saw a record number of 236,000 voters head to the polls, according to a report by Elections Edmonton.
As of 1:25 a.m. on Monday, Edmonton was reporting unofficial results for 48 of 236 polls for mayor with Andrew Knack at 20,540 votes and Tim Cartmell at 15,645 votes. In all, 13 people were running for mayor in the 2025 election.
All wards in Edmonton were also reporting early results by that time.
Some voters reported experiencing lengthy wait times to be able to cast their ballots in Edmonton on Monday. Edmonton Elections told CBC News in an email that because the process for voting was different this year, it could impact the time it would take to vote.
Edmonton Votes special on election night
Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams told CBC News in a statement that municipalities have known about new election rules since the spring of 2024, which he said was “ample” time to get a plan together.
“If a municipality’s election authority was unable to come up with an effective plan, it is up to the local authority to explain to voters and candidates why long waits have developed,” his statement read, in part.
