Some hopeful mayors are just lacing up their boots, while others are already knee-deep in campaigning activities ahead of autumn’s municipal election.

With the July 29 regular council meeting wrapped, campaign season has formally started.

From now until the Oct. 20 general election, candidates will be busy making their case to Calgarians—minus a stop or two back at Calgary Council Chambers in September for some.

This year’s election will be one of several firsts, following recent changes to regional and provincial rules.

In October 2024, the Alberta Government legalized municipal political parties when passing Bill 20, or the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA). Adopting the LAEA permitted the creation and affiliation of city-specific parties in Calgary and Edmonton.

Before this, candidates ran as independents, and since it was not mandatory to identify with a political party, many still do.

Calgary has seen the formation of three registered parties this year: A Better Calgary Party, The Calgary Party, and Communities First. 

The LAEA also mandated that candidates submit financial disclosure statements for every year that a political party obtains funds, including campaign expenses. For the 2025 civic election, the contribution disclosure period is between Jan. 1 and July 31.

According to a July 31 news release from Elections Calgary, failure for a candidate, party, or third-party advisor to submit financial disclosure files by the Sept. 30 deadline could be subject to fines and penalties.

Additionally, candidate endorsements are due on Sept. 22 at 12 p.m.

Mayoral candidates share campaign plans

Jyoti Gondek

Mayor Gondek said that even though council meetings have concluded, she will be keeping an eye on pressing files—namely, ones related to housing—during August. 

But as the weeks to September grow nearer, candidate Gondek said she is feeling increasingly nostalgic for the 2021 campaign season.

“Now is the time to be getting into campaign mode,” she said.

“It’s not something that I was doing while I was still busy being mayor, so it’s a bit of a shift, and it’s going to be fun.”

Between events planned specifically for her campaign and external ones soon to be happening in the city, Gondek said that she will be making every effort to attend when possible.  

“Things will be ramping up in terms of attending festivals,” she said. 

“I’ve got a lot of requests to attend things like backyard barbecues and garden parties, so just really actively campaigning now that I’ve got a bit of a break from the council stuff.”

As of Aug. 1, Gondek remains an unofficial candidate, meaning that she has not yet filed nomination papers with Elections Calgary.

However, on Dec. 4, 2024, she provided city hall with notice of her intention to run. 

The announcement came just one month after Gondek announced that she would be running again in November 2024.

This election, she said that she is focused on garnering the support of all residents.  

“The city is my priority, and making sure that we are able to get into every ward and connect with people on their terms, on their turf,” she said.

Sonya Sharp

Back in 2021, when Sharp secured her seat as the Ward 1 city councillor, she said that door-knocking had something to do with it. This year, she said that her feet will find themselves on people’s porches once again. 

“I think it’s really important to have those conversations face to face on people’s doorsteps, really listen to what they have to say,” she said. 

“That can shape different priorities as we head closer to the election day.”

Aside from Sharp’s yearning for a bigger role on city council, this election also saw her align herself with Communities First, one of Calgary’s two conservative municipal parties.

Comprised of familiar-faced councillors Terry Wong, Andre Chabot, and Dan McLean, Sharp said that she will be spending the summer campaigning alongside members of the party, both new and known.

“It’s nice to be able to kind of door knock with one of your candidates, like candidate colleagues, also, because not just are you supporting them and what they need to deliver for their constituents, but knowing that we’re a team,” she said. 

In addition to being the Ward 1 councillor, Sharp has shared the interim Ward 6 councillor role with Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott, following Coun. Richard Pootman’s resignation last fall. 

Sharp said that she is confident in her knowledge of those areas and that her campaign efforts will focus on Wards 3 and 5 specifically, as well as the neighbourhoods making up the downtown core. She said that she has already begun visiting areas outside of her ward.

“I followed the caravan all Stampede to be able to talk to those communities that I’m not as familiar with,” said Sharp. 

On Aug. 4, she said that she will be attending the Tour de Bowness. Although, Sharp said that she has shown face there several times: in part during her time on council, and before this, when spending two decades working at the City of Calgary. 

“I’m really looking forward to that,” said Sharp. 

“I’ve been there every year since I’ve been an elected official, and prior to that.”

Brian Thiessen

Thiessen, a labour employment lawyer and former Chair of the Calgary Police Commission, was the first party-affiliated candidate to announce he would be running for mayor. 

The Calgary Party (TCP), which was founded in October 2024, is taking a hyper-personable approach to the upcoming election, Thiessen said. In July, for example, the group posted thousands of campaign signs near the Calgary Stampede grounds—but that’s not all. 

Between Canada Day and the Calgary Stampede, Thiessen said that the TCP hosted 93 events. 

“Those were everything from neighbourhood gatherings to pancake breakfasts and everything in between,” he said. 

“We covered almost every ward in the city.”

Just recently, Thiessen said that they attended the Calgary Folk Fest, and that as the summer progresses, he and TPC’s 13 councillor candidates will continuously seek to connect with citizens at new venues.

As of Aug. 1, only three candidates—Daniel James Kelly, Inam Teja, and Heather McRae—affiliated with TPC were listed as being officially nominated for a seat on the city council.

Alongside fellow politicians of TPC and their volunteer team, Thiessen said that he will be devoting a significant portion of time toward door-knocking.

“I’m spending much of August, almost every evening for the next several weeks, door-knocking,” he said. 

“Just really foot to the pavement, kind of getting out there and meeting as many voters as we can, where they live and where they play.”

For now, Thiessen said that he is giving equal attention to all 14 wards. Come late September, early October, he said that he would begin narrowing his campaign efforts toward the 10 wards he feels most confident about. 

“There’s a ton of ground to cover, a lot of voters to reach, and we’re seeing the advantage of our strategy and we’re really excited about it,” said Thiessen.

Jeromy Farkas

Farkas, a former councillor for Ward 11, announced his mayoral candidacy in February—but it wasn’t his first time.

In 2021, Farkas ran for mayor and came second after receiving 58,907 fewer votes than Gondek, with 115,742 to 174,649.

In February, he announced his return to the civic ballot and launched his campaign that same month.

Later, in May, Farkas said in an email statement that he left his position as CEO of the Glenbow Ranch to pursue his duties as a full-time candidate. 

“We’ve been serious about connecting with Calgarians,” he wrote. 

“Every day our all-star team is growing, we’re gaining volunteers, and now have over 700 campaign donors.”

Farkas said that the names of the contributors will be published online as soon as they become available. 

In the meantime, the independent candidate said that he and his team will be taking the tried and true approach of campaigning at city attractions and front doors. 

“I will be putting in the work to listen to what Calgarians want from our city and earn every vote,” wrote Farkas. 

“It’s important and serious work, but it is also incredibly fun.”

Jeff Davison

LWC reached out to Jeff Davison and his campaign team to invite them to provide comment for this story, but did not receive a response from either the campaign or the candidate.