Numbers from the final hours of election day offer an early look at Calgary’s likely selection of city councillors. 

Polls closed at 8 p.m. on Monday, prompting the hundreds of workers to begin hand-counting the 202,424 mayor and councillor ballots that were cast in-person at stations across the city on Oct. 20.

According to Elections Calgary, all unofficial votes — including advance and mail-in ballots — for mayor, councillor, and public and separate school board trustees are expected to be completed by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21. 

Official results will be announced at noon on Oct. 24, but election day trends are already highlighting the leading candidates in some of the city’s 14 wards. 

You can follow the live results throughout the day when counting resumes by going to the LWC election tracker.

Ward 1

Sonya Sharp’s mayoral pursuit left Ward 1 with no incumbent, instead, with the potential for being passed onto The Calgary Party’s Joey Nowak or the Communities First party’s Kim Tyers.

As of Tuesday morning, Nowak led by 249 votes. With a background in technology and innovation, her areas of focus include mental health, safety, and investing in local startups. 

Ward 2

Incumbent Jennifer Wyness was on her way to locking up a second term on council, with 1,749 votes more than the second candidate, John Garden, with 17 of 65 polls reporting. 

Leading with nearly 38 per cent of the vote, Wyness ran independently and hopes to bring her voice into areas like affordability and public safety while reinstating trust in civic politics for her second term. 

Ward 3

First-time politician Andrew Yule held a steady lead in the city’s north. Yule was leading Tuesday morning by 4,035 votes over Christy Edward of A Better Calgary Party.

The ward was formerly filled by Jasmine Mian, who announced she would not be running for re-election on Jan. 28, citing political turbulence with projects like the Green Line as the reason. 

“I just cannot continue doing this job when I feel that the decisions that we’re making are purely political in nature and that the world of governance is completely taking the back seat,” she said. 

Mian stepping down meant the position was left up for grabs to eight aspiring city councillors. Having spent the last six months campaigning, Yule said that the result was well worth the wait. 

“It’s been a good ending to the door knocking,” said Yule. 

“I’m really proud of the campaign we ran.”

For both Calgary and Edmonton, this election is the first to be impacted by the provincial UCP’s changes to municipal voting, including the banning of electronic tabulator counters and the introduction of political parties. 

Yule said that the new ballot casting process meant added paperwork for residents, which in turn led to long wait times. He said that he spent the final hours of his campaign encouraging people to stomach the delay and attend the polls. 

“This is a democracy,” said Yule.

“We want to make sure that everybody who wants to vote can vote and have their voice heard.”

Ward 4

DJ Kelly began pulling away from Communities First candidate Jeremy Wong late on Monday night. As of Tuesday morning, he held a 1,447 vote lead with 18 of 63 polls reporting. Should the numbers continue as expected, Kelly said he feels confident that residents connected with his message. 

“We have a pretty solid mandate with lots of support from across the ward,” he said.

“That means a lot of people connected with the community message that I’m putting forward about improving engagement and bringing investment back into neighbourhoods.”

The new face of Ward 4 follows Sean Chu, who was removed from the deputy mayor roster twice since entering his role as city councillor in 2013.

Kelly said that Ward 4 deserves a councillor who will actively advocate for their neighbourhoods, and if officially elected, that he will start by mending the small things — potholes, sidewalk cracks, water infrastructure — before taking on bigger projects. 

“I’m really excited to get to work on behalf of Ward 4 residents to improve the quality of the engagement with their councillor,” he said.

Ward 5

In 2021, incumbent Raj Dhaliwal claimed his seat in a competition against six other candidates. Today, he leads a race almost entirely made up of fellow independents, aside from the Calgary Party’s Gurpreet Dhillon. 

Dhaliwal led by 1,597 votes Tuesday morning, with 15 of 59 polls reporting. If re-elected, this will be his second term advocating for topics like safety, accessibility, and inclusivity, according to his website. 

Ward 6

Since former city councillor Richard Pootmans resigned in November 2024, Ward 6 — neighbourhoods like Aspen Woods, Signal Hill, and Glamorgan — have gone without the formal representation of an elected official.

John Pantazopoulos led by 4624 votes early Tuesday, and said that he looks forward to likely being the one to advocate for residents after going almost a year split between three parent councillors. 

“Let’s get our voice back,” he said. 

“Let’s make sure that the needs of Ward 6 are heard at City Hall, and get our top three agenda items forward,”

The items, as Pantazopoulos described, include repealing blanket rezoning, spending smarter, and thoughtfully developing. He said that this has been his message for all of the months that he has been campaigning, and that he’s excited to get to work if officially elected. 

“It’s just been the most humbling experience of my life,” said Pantazopoulos.

Ward 7

Incumbent Terry Wong ran for re-election, but this time, under the Communities First party. Ward 7 also has familiar-faced candidates Greg Amoruso and Heather McRae, but by Tuesday morning, Myke Atkinson led by 1,346 votes, with 17 of 72 polls reporting. 

Running as an independent, Atkinson comes into the race with the mission to “bring fresh ideas, pragmatic leadership, and a commitment to making Calgary more affordable, sustainable, and connected,” according to his website. 

Ward 8 

Nathaniel Schmidt ran a tight race with Communities First party’s Cornelia Wiebe, leading Tuesday morning by 1,252 votes, with 21 of 67 polls reporting. Schmidt credited his success to his volunteers, who helped run a campaign that he described as rooted in optimism. 

“The focus was to fund a campaign that was about new ideas and looking forward to, not so much what went wrong, but what we could do to create some positive change in the future,” he said. 

Ward 8 soft-launched its vacancy earlier this year when former councillor Courtney Walcott announced that he would not be running for re-election. In a letter to LWC, Walcott explained that the decision stemmed from his fellow councillors’ resistance to change. 

Schmidt, being a defence lawyer by trade, lists fairness, justice, and sticking up for the voiceless as his main priorities. He said that with the changes new to this year’s election, he enjoyed putting effort into inspiring the next generation of Calgarians. 

“The opportunity to be able to talk to so many people at the doors, and to get people engaged with this level of government, which I think is the most important level of government, I think was the best thing about being able to do this,” said Schmidt. 

Ward 9

Former city councillor, Gian Carlo-Carra, announced that he would not be running for re-election in May, effectively ending his 15-year career in civic politics. 

In a see-saw battle, Harrison Clark was leading by 270 votes early Tuesday morning, with 17 of 69 polls reporting.

Ward 10

Incumbent Andre Chabot held a firm grip on his seat throughout the evening, leading by 4,007 votes on Tuesday morning. There are 17 of 62 polls reporting.

Since 2021, Chabot has served communities like Mayland Heights, Temple, and Marlborough Park. His re-election gives way to many of the same priorities, but now this term under the banner of the Communities First party. 

Ward 11

Despite the votes being unofficial, it’s unlikely that incumbent Kourtney Penner will achieve re-election this term, with competing candidate Rob Ward attracting almost 8,500 more votes with 23 of 70 polls reporting.

Ward lists his focuses as investing in first responders, advocating for basic infrastructure, overturning blanket rezoning, and cutting taxes, according to his website. 

Ward 12

There are only four votes separating a leading A Better Calgary Party’s Mike Jamieson (4,958) from Sarah Ferguson (4,954) of the Calgary Party. There were 22 of 67 polls reporting.

Ferguson, with roughly 30 per cent of the vote, worked as a constituency assistant and seeks to heighten community engagement and accountable government. 

Jamieson, with about 30 per cent of the vote, comes from a background in construction and lists tax relief, infrastructure, and safety as his main concerns. 

Ward 13

Like the current Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, early vote counts had incumbent Dan McLean holding his seat with a 4,837 vote lead, with 21 of 69 polls reporting.

Mclean advocates for reversing blanket rezoning, increasing municipal transparency, and addressing affordability and public safety. 

Ward 14

After cruising through three elections, 15-year former city councillor, Peter Demong, announced he would not run for re-election in March, citing the changing city as a sign of the times. 

Through the evening and into the early hours of Oct. 21, Landon Johnston — small business owner and founder of the Recall Gondek petition — held a solid lead. Early Tuesday, Johnston was still holding a 2,977-vote lead, with 18 of 67 polls reporting.

According to his website, Johnston wrote that if elected, he will approach topics like blanket rezoning, public art, addiction, and safety with a working-class mindset. 

“I learned early that when something is broken, whether it is a furnace or trust at City Hall, you roll up your sleeves and fix it,” he said.