Albertans head to the polls on Monday as municipal elections across the province reach the finish line.
Nearly all rural and urban governments will hold elections on Oct. 20, with residents of 19 cities, 105 towns, 78 villages and 63 municipal districts casting their votes for mayors, reeves and councillors.
Times to vote vary by community: some, like the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and Edmonton, will be open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., while others, like Calgary and Grande Prairie, run from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Here’s what you should know if you didn’t vote in advance polls earlier this month and are set to vote on Monday.
To vote, you must be 18 years or older and a Canadian citizen who lives in the community where you’ll be voting.
Under Alberta law, you must be on the Permanent Electors Register and produce one piece of identification issued by the federal, provincial or local government, or an agency of that government, that includes your photograph.
Even if you’re not registered on the electors list, you can still vote if you have two different forms of ID to show when you turn up at the polls, one of which must be a government ID that has your name, photo and current address.
If you don’t have two pieces of ID, you can alternatively present another type of ID or a document with your name and address, such as a bank statement or student ID.
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An elector in your voting area who has one or two pieces of identification outlined by Elections Alberta can also vouch for someone without ID and sign a declaration stating they personally know the elector and are a qualified elector themselves.
In addition to the numerous signs dotting the laws and roads, many municipalities have elections websites listing the names of candidates for mayor and council.
Websites like Edmonton Elections, Engage Sturgeon County and Elections Calgary also provide more details on voting day.
Depending on where you live and the ward or district you live in, you may also be able to find out more details about a candidate by visiting the website they have listed either on the municipality’s candidate list or on their campaign materials.
In Calgary and Edmonton, voters may also see a different list as political parties will be involved in the elections in those cities.
The parties in Alberta’s two largest cities are not affiliated with existing provincial or federal parties.
Under the province’s Local Authorities Election Act, a party must register with the municipality’s elections agency — Elections Calgary or Edmonton Elections — and must have enough candidates to make up one-third of council if they’re elected.
A slate, on the other hand, is a group of candidates running together for the campaign, but unlike political parties, it cannot raise money to support the campaign.
In Edmonton, Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton (PACE) and Better Edmonton are the only parties that have registered.
A Better Calgary Party, Communities First, and The Calgary Party have registered in Calgary.
While election day is Monday, some communities might not know their elected officials that evening due to changes made last year by the UCP government.
Under provincial legislation, all ballots must now be counted by hand instead of machine, resulting in longer vote counts.
Cathy Duplessis, returning officer for the town of Okotoks near Calgary, told Global News that they had to hire about 80 people to come in at the close of voting stations to count ballots.
Red Deer, according to returning officer Jessica Robinson, had to hire about 500 election workers compared to 250 in the last election.
The official results for elections must be submitted to the province by 12 p.m. on Oct. 24 and posted to the municipalities’ websites.
—with files from Global News’ Ken MacGillivray, Drew Stremick, and Sarah Offin
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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