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

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
Describing itself as a centre-right party, the A Better Calgary (ABC) Party held its founding convention on October 19, 2024. Organizers include Jon Horsman, who ran for the provincial UCP leadership in 2022, and party president Mike LaValley, who ran for councillor in Ward 12 in 2021. While the party says it won’t put forward policies, leaving that for candidates, it 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.” ABC hasn’t yet named any candidates.

The Calgary Party
The Calgary Party publicly launched on October 23, 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.” The party has announced four councillor candidates so far.

Jeff Davison
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 fell through 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.

Brian Thiessen (The Calgary Party)
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.

WARD 4
Incumbent: Sean Chu

DJ Kelly (The Calgary Party)
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.

WARD 7
Incumbent: Terry Wong

Heather McRae (The Calgary Party)
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.

WARD 11
Incumbent: Kourtney Penner

Alex Williams (The Calgary Party)
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.

WARD 13
Incumbent: Dan McLean

Elliot Weinstein (The Calgary Party)
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.

Jeremy Klaszus is founder and editor of The Sprawl.