Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi looks back on 2024

Going into the last year of his first term as Edmonton’s Mayor Amarjeet Sohi sits down with CityNews to look back on the last year of city politics and what lies ahead for Edmonton going into the 2025 municipal election.

The City’s relationship with the Government of Alberta dominated headlines in 2024. 

Edmonton’s mayor spent the summer of 2024 repeatedly and publicly calling on Alberta’s government to pay their share of municipal property taxes.

“I am confident that come April when we set the mill rate, the province will step up to pay their share of property taxes, that we will be able to further reduce the tax levy from 6.1 to to 5.3 per cent, and we can even go further down if the province pays us the retroactive resources, taxes, money that they owe going back to 2019,“ Sohi explained.

On what’s changed between then and now, Mayor Sohi said he believes the Premier and Ministers have seen the light when it comes to funding inequities between Alberta’s two biggest cities.

“They put a lot of money into maintaining Deerfoot Trail in Calgary. Here we have to do that with property tax dollars, so there are a lot of inequities. What gives me hope, is that the province is open to having conversations, and they recognize that those are legitimate concerns that I am identifying on behalf of Edmontonians, that they have to be resolved.”

Despite Edmonton’s mayor pointing to his advocacy success for more provincial funding for things like shelter space in the city, and economic development, the relationship between city hall and Alberta’s Legislature was strained at times.

In the fall, Alberta’s government enacted a new bill that created sweeping changes to municipal elections, including the creation of political parties in city politics and increases in candidate donations.

While the mayor says he’s still deciding with his family on whether or not he’ll run again in 2025, he admits, that Bill-20 has given him pause.

“I believe that the introduction of political parties and the advantage the province gives to political parties both financially and organizationally puts independent candidates at a disadvantage, so that’s something I’d have to weigh as part of my decision.”

Throughout the week CityNews will have more with Mayor Sohi. CityNews Connect will sit down with both the mayor and outgoing Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee on December 29th.