The next Calgary municipal election is on October 20, 2025. The Sprawl is keeping a master list of candidates along with municipal parties who plan to run candidates. We will update this list regularly until election day.

Official candidates listed here have filed their nomination papers with city hall. Unofficial candidates have given written notice to city hall that they intend to run, and are listed on the city’s registry of intended candidates, but have not yet filed their nomination papers.

Municipal political parties are new in Calgary for the 2025 election. Previously all candidates ran independently. The provincial UCP government’s Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, which came into effect on October 31, 2024, enables parties and slates to appear on the ballot in Calgary and Edmonton (but only in Calgary and Edmonton, not elsewhere in the province). Parties need 1,000 signatures to officially register.

Candidates can still run independently if they choose but under the new rules, parties can spend above and beyond what individual candidates can spend on campaigning.

A Better Calgary Party
Unofficial Party
A party of "common sense conservatives," A Better Calgary (ABC) Party held its founding convention in October 2024. Longtime conservative organizer Craig Chandler is working on the campaign, and party president Gord Elliott has served in board roles for both the federal Conservative Party and provincial United Conservative Party (UCP). A Better Calgary Party plans to “focus on core municipal priorities and essential services.” Other initial principles range from balancing “fiscal responsibility with compassion” to supporting “the family as a fundamental unit of society.”

The Calgary Party
Official Party
The Calgary Party publicly launched in October 2024 with employment lawyer Brian Thiessen declaring his intention to run for mayor. Former Naheed Nenshi chief of staff Chima Nkemdirim is working on the Calgary Party campaign, as is political strategist Stephen Carter. The party says its mission is “making Calgary safer, more inclusive, and more responsive to the needs of its residents.” The party’s stated priorities include housing, strengthening community policing and “getting Calgary moving again.”

Communities First
Official Party
Pledging to replace a “dysfunctional” city council, Communities First was launched in December 2024 by four sitting city councillors—Sonya Sharp, Terry Wong, Andre Chabot and Dan McLean—and former Ward 8 councillor John Mar. Communities First describes itself as a caucus of like-minded individuals that will prioritize “smart and respectful growth” by encouraging “higher densities through redevelopment that respects community character.” Other stated priorities include keeping taxes low and upkeep of city infrastructure.

Jeff Davison
Unofficial Candidate
Davison served as the councillor for Ward 6 from 2017 to 2021. He ran for mayor in the 2021 election, placing third. Since then, Davison has worked as CEO of the Prostate Cancer Centre. In his previous campaign, he cited the original arena deal, which he championed, as one of his biggest successes as a councillor. (That deal collapsed after the 2021 election and has since been replaced.) On October 10, 2024, Davison announced his intention to run for mayor again with a promise to introduce a four-year property tax freeze.

Jeromy Farkas
Unofficial Candidate
Farkas served as Ward 11 city councillor from 2017 to 2021. He ran for mayor in 2021, garnering 30% of votes (Jyoti Gondek won with 45%). Before being elected to council, Farkas worked as a senior fellow for the Manning Foundation. After losing the 2021 election, Farkas hiked the Pacific Crest Trail as a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Since 2023, he has worked as CEO of the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation. Farkas says his top priorities are housing, jobs and public safety.

Jyoti Gondek
Unofficial Candidate
Gondek was first elected to city council in 2017 as the councillor for Ward 3 in north-central Calgary. Before that, she was an urban sociologist who worked as director of the Westman Centre for Real Estate Studies at the University of Calgary. She was elected mayor in 2021, becoming Calgary’s first female mayor. Gondek announced her candidacy on November 29, 2024, citing her record on files like the Green Line, public safety and the Bearspaw water main break as examples of her leadership.

Brian Thiessen (The Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Theissen, an employment lawyer, is managing partner in the Calgary office of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. From 2016 to 2019, Thiessen chaired the Calgary Police Commission, the civilian body that oversees the city’s police force. Thiessen was also previously president of the Alberta Party, a centrist provincial party. Thiessen describes himself as socially progressive and fiscally conservative. Thiessen launched his campaign on October 23, 2024, pitching himself as a consensus-builder who can find common ground.

Incumbent: Sonya Sharp

Sonya Sharp (Communities First party)
Unofficial Candidate
Sharp has served as Ward 1 councillor since 2021. Prior to being elected, she worked in city administration as the manager of business and local economy, in addition to other previous roles at city hall. In her term on council, Sharp spearheaded the new Calgary Flames arena deal, dealt with the Bearspaw water main break in her ward and has been an outspoken critic of blanket rezoning. In party filings to Elections Calgary, Sharp is not listed as the Ward 1 Communities First candidate (Kim Tyers is), which suggests Sharp will be the party's candidate for mayor.

Kim Tyers (Communities First party)
Unofficial Candidate
Tyers ran in Ward 2 in 2021 on a promise of returning fiscal responsibility to city hall, placing second behind Jennifer Wyness. She is a former constituency association manager for Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner. A former small business owner, Tyers has also volunteered on the steering committee for the local chapter of Equal Voice, an organization that advocates for more women in politics.

Incumbent: Jennifer Wyness

Shaukat Islam Chaudhry
Unofficial Candidate
Bio to come.

John Garden (A Better Calgary Party)
Official Candidate
Garden is president and CEO of Ellisboro Energy, a Calgary oil and gas company. He is also a freelance engineer with Ulysses Engineering, an oil and gas project management company. Garden has said he is running to get answers from Calgary’s city council and mayor regarding their decisions.

Jennifer Wyness
Unofficial Candidate
Wyness was first elected in 2021 when she overwhelmingly defeated Joe Magliocca. Prior to serving on council, Wyness spent 15 years working in public recreation facilities, including management roles. She also worked in the public relations industry. Wyness sits on the Calgary Police Commission and is vice-chair of the city's audit committee.

No incumbent (Jasmine Mian is not running again)

Siraaj Shah
Unofficial Candidate
Shah’s background is in real estate and policy, working as a realtor for Urban Real Estate Services Ltd. for the last four years. He’s also a member of the University of Calgary’s board of governors, supporting policy development and decision-making processes. Recently, Shah says he’s been actively involved in housing advocacy, community development and equity work.

Incumbent: Sean Chu

DJ Kelly (The Calgary Party)
Official Candidate
Kelly ran in Ward 4 in the 2021 election, narrowly losing to Sean Chu by 100 votes. A former city hall employee, Kelly is a longtime advocate of open data in government. He is director of community partnerships at the University of Calgary and a former president of the Winston Heights/Mountview Community Association. He's also a board member of the Greenview Industrial BIA and chairs the PechaKucha Night Calgary speaker series.

Sheldon Yakiwchuk
Unofficial Candidate
Yakiwchuk is a former small business owner with a background in logistics and procurement. He writes a Substack, Yakk Stack, where he has been critical of blanket rezoning, water fluoridation and “CONVID” vaccines. In his Jan. 20 candidacy announcement, he emphasized his focus on fiscal responsibility, reducing crime, ethical governance and supporting young adults in the city.

Incumbent: Raj Dhaliwal

Harneet (Reet) Mushiana
Official Candidate
Mushiana is managing director of DS Homes, a construction company her family launched in the 1990s after immigrating to Canada from India. Mushiana says she wants to ensure Ward 5 has equal access to city investments in transit, affordable housing and public safety. Mushiana and her husband started a foundation, which does an annual donation drive for families in need, to honour their daughter, Raunak, who was stillborn in 2022.

Jigar Patel
Official Candidate
Bio to come.

No incumbent (Richard Pootmans resigned in November 2024)

Joanne Birce
Official Candidate
Birce, a local entrepreneur, is vice-president of the Wildwood Community Association. A longtime board director for both the provincial UCP and federal Conservatives at the local level, Birce has worked as a communications assistant for Calgary Conservative MP Ron Liepert since 2023 and also as administrative coordinator for the Aristotle Foundation. Birce says she wants to keep taxes low while improving essential services like infrastructure and transit.

John Mar (Communities First party)
Unofficial Candidate
Mar served as the Ward 8 councillor from 2007 to 2013, when he lost to Evan Woolley. As councillor, Mar worked with the Mustard Seed on developing Centre 1010, a downtown affordable housing building. He also co-founded the “Mission Possible” restoration effort during the 2013 floods, where volunteers supported flood-affected residents. More recently, Mar has been working with Calgary Heritage Housing on affordable housing projects for seniors.

John Pantazopoulos
Official Candidate
Pantazopoulos is CEO of Lucky Strike Energy, a junior oil and gas company. A former VP of corporate financial services for ATB Financial, Pantazopoulos says his campaign is focused on “economic growth and thoughtful community development.” Pantazopoulos has previously been involved in public education advocacy in his neighbourhood and chaired the board of the Calgary Parking Authority from 2015 to 2020.

Inam Teja (The Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Teja works as a housing policy specialist at the Calgary Drop-In Centre and is vice-president of the Coach Hill Patterson Heights Community Association. He recently completed a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Oxford and is a former organizer and board member with More Neighbours Calgary, which advocated for the upzoning changes city council approved in May 2024.

Incumbent: Terry Wong

Anthony Ascue
Unofficial Candidate
Bio to come.

Myke Atkinson
Unofficial Candidate
Atkinson worked for the Calgary Public Library’s service design department until 2024, where he helped design a voter information website, Plan My Vote, for the 2021 municipal election. Atkinson is a longtime advocate for free-fare transit in Calgary and founder of Free Transit YYC. He also worked as station manager with CJSW Radio at the University of Calgary from 2012 to 2016.

David Barrett
Unofficial Candidate
Barrett is a freshwater scientist who teaches in the University of Calgary’s geography department and researches in the biological science department. A longtime advocate of active transportation and curbing urban sprawl, Barrett is a regular speaker at city council public hearings and is a board member at Sustainable Calgary.

Heather McRae (The Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
McRae ran in Ward 7 in the 2021 election, placing third. After the election, she worked as the communications and marketing director for the Calgary Downtown Association. Prior to the 2021 election, McRae worked at Decide Campaigns, the company run by her husband, political strategist Stephen Carter. In her 2021 campaign, McRae emphasized the importance of downtown revitalization and the Green Line.

Terry Wong (Communities First party)
Unofficial Candidate
Wong has served as Ward 7 councillor since 2021. Prior to being elected, he helped create the Chinatown Business Improvement Area, where he served as executive director. He’s also a past president of the Hounsfield Heights Briar Hill Community Association. For 30 years, from 1984 to 2014, Wong worked for city administration in various management and IT roles.

No incumbent (Courtney Walcott is not running again)

Gary Bobrovitz
Unofficial Candidate
Bobrovitz ran in Ward 8 in 2021, placing second behind Courtney Walcott. For 40 years he worked as a TV reporter for Global News, where he covered city hall. He is director of media and communications for the Alberta Public Affairs Corp., a government relations and PR firm. Bobrovitz says his priorities are improving public safety, reducing homelessness and supporting local businesses.

David Cree (The Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Cree works as vice president of marketing and sales for Plunge Audio, which makes in-ear monitors for musicians. From 2016 to 2022, he ran CMNGD Linens, a hospitality linen service providing jobs and support for Calgary’s homeless population. Cree says he is running to bring an innovative mindset to city council.

Cornelia Wiebe (Communities First party)
Unofficial Candidate
Wiebe has owned Leo Boutique, a clothing store on 17th Avenue S.W., since she co-founded the business in 1997. She ran in Ward 8 in 2021, placing fifth. Wiebe has described herself as an "economically driven, fact-based decision maker" and has said inner-city development should be a more inclusive experience that isn't "marginalizing our citizens as a stakeholder in how their communities look and feel."

Incumbent: Gian-Carlo Carra

Harrison Clark
Unofficial Candidate
Clark is the owner of Murphy’s Mid-Century, a business in Inglewood that sells vintage furniture. Clark describes himself as an independent “main street” candidate, saying he’d rather represent community voices than a party leader or special interest group. His website highlights affordability, thoughtful redevelopment and transparent communication as priorities.

Tony Dinh (A Better Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Dinh ran for Ward 10 councillor in 2021, where he finished third. He campaigned on issues such as increasing green spaces, safe, accessible transit, supporting small businesses and increasing mental health supports. He is currently the CEO of Mount Royal Capital, a real estate development company. On his Facebook page, Dinh describes himself as a “common sense conservative” who wants to bring accountability back to city hall.

Marina Ortman
Unofficial Candidate
Ortman is an entrepreneur and community organizer who spearheaded the recently successful campaign to save Inglewood’s swimming pool. The win, states Ortman, shows her dedication to “preserving vital public spaces and uniting communities around shared goals.” Since 2018, Ortman has run her own leather apparel business called Dome' Design Studio.

Incumbent: Andre Chabot

Andre Chabot (Communities First party)
Unofficial Candidate
Chabot was first elected to Calgary city council in a 2005 byelection. He ran for mayor in 2017 when his ward was changed due to a redrawing of electoral boundaries, placing third behind Naheed Nenshi. In 2021, Chabot was elected as Ward 10 councillor again. Prior to politics, Chabot worked as a general contractor and volunteered on the board of the Marlborough Park Community Association.

Incumbent: Kourtney Penner

Rob Ward (Communities First party)
Official Candidate
Ward is a marketing manager who ran in Ward 11 in the 2021 election, placing second with more than 10,000 votes (Penner won with 10,889). An outspoken opponent of blanket rezoning, Ward says city hall needs “a more balanced approach” to redevelopment. Ward is chair of the Willow Park Charity Golf Classic, an annual summer golf tournament.

Alex Williams (The Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Williams is a professional podcast editor who has volunteered with More Neighbours Calgary, a housing advocacy group that supported the blanket rezoning changes that city council approved in May 2024. Williams recently co-founded an initiative called Calgary Transit Riders to advocate for “safer, more accessible, and more efficient public transportation” throughout the city.

No incumbent (Evan Spencer is not running again)

Mike Jamieson (A Better Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Jamieson ran in Ward 11 in the 2021 election, finishing fourth. He campaigned for lower taxes, increased accountability and limiting councillor and mayoral terms to two years. Jamieson previously worked in the oil and gas industry and is a project manager for Coverco Buildings Ltd., which manufactures storage buildings.

Incumbent: Dan McLean

Dan McLean (Communities First party)
Unofficial Candidate
McLean has been the councillor for Ward 13 since 2021, when he unseated longtime incumbent councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart. Before being elected, McLean launched and ran a golf cart business called McLean Golf. He also volunteered for conservative political campaigns on both the federal and provincial levels.

Elliot Weinstein (The Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Weinstein is a local entrepreneur who opened The Beach YYC, an indoor volleyball facility near Crossroads Market, in 2018. Weinstein ran for the federal Liberals in the 2023 Calgary Heritage byelection, placing second behind Shuvaloy Majumdar. Prior to opening his own business, Weinstein was a project manager at Golder Associates.

No incumbent (Peter Demong is not running again)

Chima Akuchie
Unofficial Candidate
Akuchie has over seven years of experience in the disability sector, working as a community resource practitioner for Vecova. Akuchie says he is committed to building thriving and accessible communities, with a focus on a balanced approach to urban zoning and planning. He says he is running as a "proudly independent" candidate.

Keener Hachey (A Better Calgary Party)
Unofficial Candidate
Bio to come.

John Grant Barron

Jean Louis Benjamin

Assad Choudhry

Jeffery Clauson

Gord Elliott

Tom Hodson

Laura Hack (incumbent)
Official Candidate
Hack, a former teacher, is currently serving her first term. As trustee, she has served on the name review committee for the John A. Macdonald School, which chose not to change the school’s name, as well as the Elder advisory council, which aims to provide Elder knowledge and advice for the CBE.

Joanny Liu
Unofficial Candidate
Liu, a former civil engineer, is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, specializing in concussion treatment. She writes a Substack, Joanny’s Substack, where she writes about parenting and kids’ mental health. Liu is running to increase classroom resources for teachers, improve students’ math and literacy skills and to enhance communication between parents and teachers.

Waqar Ahmed
Official Candidate
Bio to come.

Patricia Bolger (incumbent & current board chair)
Official Candidate
Bolger, a former teacher, was elected in 2021 after earning over 14,000 more votes than the second place candidate. Her three stated priorities are improving the quality of education, fostering common sense decision-making and collaborating with fellow trustees, parents and government officials.

Susan Vukadinovic (incumbent)
Official Candidate
Before becoming trustee, Vukadinovic was a public policy specialist with the Alberta government and City of Calgary. She has also done consultation work for the public, private and non-profit sectors. According to the CBE website, she ran for trustee in 2021 because of her desire to protect and improve public education.

Nancy Close (incumbent)
Official Candidate
Prior to her current term as trustee and vice board chair, Close was a trustee from 1998 to 2007 for the same wards. She is a past chair of EducationMatters, which supports disadvantaged students in completing their education. From 2010 to 2021, Close was the community relations coordinator for former Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

Heather Hall

Maria-Teresa (MT) Vecchio-Romano (incumbent)
Unofficial Candidate
Vecchio-Romano was recently elected to represent Wards 4 and 7 in the CCSD's byelection. She’ll serve the remainder of the 2021 to 2025 term before the election in October. Vecchio-Romano has over 30 years of experience with the Catholic school board as a teacher, parent, administrator and chaplain.

Lory Iovinelli (incumbent)
Unoffical Candidate
Iovinelli has served as the Wards 6 and 8 trustee since 2017. She is a former CCSD teacher, and has held a variety of roles as trustee, including director of the Alberta Catholic Schools Trustees’ Association, advocating for Catholic schools at the provincial level. Iovinelli has also called for more provincial funding for operating and staffing costs in schools.

Shannon Cook (incumbent & current board chair)
Unoffical Candidate
Before becoming a trustee, Cook was the finance chair for the Kara Community Advisory Association, which delivers programs supporting pregnant and parenting teens at CCSD schools. She also holds a chartered professional accountant designation and sits on the finance and risk management committee for Silvera. Cook has been vocal about increased provincial funding for staff and support resources.

Darvin Zuch
Unofficial Candidate
Zuch ran for trustee in 2021, advocating for increased fiscal responsibility, parental consent and keeping standardized testing. He is a volunteer with 4-H Alberta, a youth leadership organization. Zuch is also a board member of the McKenzie Towne Council and previously worked for Technical Infrastructure, a security camera installation company.

Jeremy Klaszus is founder and editor of The Sprawl. Kelsea Arnett is a Calgary journalist who previously interned at CBC Calgary and The Globe and Mail. If you see anything on our election list that needs updating, let us know!