Edmonton mayoral candidates to face off in chamber debate next week

Mayoral candidates in Edmonton are set to participate in their first face-to-face debate next week, hosted by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, as a recent poll suggests the race remains wide open.

The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce will host a debate on Sept.12, featuring Michael Walters, Andrew Knack, Tim Cartmell, Rahim Jafffer, and Omar Mohammed.

It comes as a poll from Leger, commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce, late last week gives a glimpse into how Edmontonians are feeling about the race and the mayoral candidates.

The poll indicates that councillor’s Knack and Cartmell are neck-and-neck.

“There seems to be a lot of undecided and a lot of opportunity, and I think that’s what makes this debate so important — it will be a defining moment,” said Doug Griffiths, president & CEO of Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.

Wednesday morning, the chamber presented a number of asks to mayoral candidates — asking them to take a business-first approach when it comes to city finances and downtown investment.

“We talk about what’s wrong, and I think  a candidate that stands up and starts talking about what this city can be, may be the one who differentiates himself,” said Griffiths.

That same Leger poll found that nearly 60 per cent of Edmontonians are not happy with the way the direction the city has been going, which could impact incumbents.

Councilor Cartmell told CityNews at an infrastructure announcement on Wednesday that he’s running on his record.

“I don’t like the direction we’re going in either, and a lot of the things and a lot of the things people don’t like are the things I voted against,” said Cartmell. “They don’t like all this construction chaos and I voted against this LRT project.”

While councillor Knack is hoping his record will speak for itself, in a different way.

“If you go look back at my platforms from 2013, 2017, 2021, almost everything I set out to do as a city councillor, I accomplished,” said Knack.

Those new to civic politics — and those who have had some time away from city council are hoping to use that 60 per cent of dissatisfied Edmontonians to their advantage.

Tony Caterina is not making the cut for next week’s chamber of commerce debate

“I think we missed the mark on a lot of things in this city especially we’ve seen a decline in having a lense that looks through policy making through a business perspective,” said Rahim Jaffer, running for mayor.

“I was not on this previous council,” said Walters. “We are less safe as a city than we were four years ago — we’re less affordable.”

Former city councillor Tony Caterina is not making the cut for next week’s chamber of commerce debate — but says he’s not worried. Caterina told CityNews on Wednesday the recent poll from Leger shows he’s on the same side as those 60 per cent of Edmontonians.

“Moreso — 55 and over– that age group is really really motivated to vote because of that dissatisfaction — and I’m in that group,” said Caterina.

Political watchers say while the race is still wide open — there could be some lessons to learn from Aprils federal election.

“Pierre Poillevre’s whole campaign was based around running against Justin Trudeau and the Trudeau record, Trudeau leaves and in comes Mark Carney and changes the dynamic,” said John Brennen, political scientist. “I think Cartmell has had a tough time trying to readjust his campaign which was against Sohi and “Time for a change” — now he’s running against one of his colleagues.”