October’s civic election is set to be a big one in Edmonton, with voters set to choose from more than 130 candidates, after they filed nomination papers Monday morning.

“It’s a lot of fun to see the excitement and the passion of the people in the community, and people giving back to serve their community so it’s something that I truly enjoy,” Iain Maclean, Director of Elections and Census, said.

The total of 132 candidates – pursuing seats on council, or as trustee on either the Edmonton Public School or Catholic School boards – make up the largest pool of candidates on record, smashing the last record of 120, set in 1986.

In this civic election there are:

  • 84 candidates seeking a seat on council, either as Mayor or City Councillor
  • 28 candidates for Edmonton Public School Board Trustee
  • 20 candidates for Edmonton Catholic School Board Trustee

The two most crowded races are for Mayor, and Councillor for Ward 4, both races have 13 candidates.

“I’ve done this three times before, and it’s special every time,” Don Iveson, seeking re-election as mayor, said Monday. “It’s a beautiful ritual for democracy, I’m glad to see the diversity both in gender and in cultural background.”

All but three council seats have incumbent candidates – Councillors Ed Gibbons in Ward 4, Michael Oshry in Ward 5 and Bryan Anderson in Ward 9 are not seeking re-election.

“I feel with Councillor Gibbons retiring we lose about 20 years, 20-plus years of experience at the table,” Ward 4 candidate Rocco Caterina said.

Even though there are a record number of candidates, one trustee seat was acclaimed Monday. Michelle Draper was re-elected as the only candidate for Public School Trustee in Ward B.

In Ward 1, incumbent councillor Andrew Knack thought he might also be acclaimed. However, three candidates are challenging him for the seat.

“We have a race, we have a race, and that’s important,” Knack said.

Other candidates include former Conservative MLA David Xiao, Indigenous artist Aaron Paquette, and former journalist Trisha Estabrooks.

Edmontonians go to the polls on October 16.

With files from Jeremy Thompson