Title
2025 Municipal Election Report
Proposed Motion
That the 2025 Municipal Election Report be received for information, as presented.
Body
Administration Recommendation
That Council receive the 2025 Municipal Election Report for information.
Purpose
To provide Council with information about the 2025 Municipal Election.
1. Background
The 2025 General Municipal Election was held on Monday, October 20, 2025, for the offices of:
• Mayor, Parkland County
• Division 1 Councillor, Parkland County
• Division 2 Councillor, Parkland County
• Division 3 Councillor, Parkland County
• Division 4 Councillor, Parkland County
• Division 5 Councillor, Parkland County
• Division 6 Councillor, Parkland County
• Ward 2 School Board Trustee, Evergreen Catholic Schools
The 2025 Election was conducted in accordance with the following:
• Local Authorities Election Act and Regulations
• Education Act
• Municipal Government Act
• Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and Regulations
• Parkland County’s Election Bylaw 2024-23
• Parkland County’s Electoral Boundary Bylaw 63-2003
• Requirements of Alberta Municipal Affairs and Elections Alberta
The election team focused on following legislated requirements and implementing processes to ensure that the Election was conducted fairly for all candidates and that all eligible voters had the opportunity to secretly and safely vote for the candidate(s) of their choice.The election team created an Election Plan, Election Communications Strategy and Technology & Digital Services Election Plan. These plans identified key election activities, assigned responsibilities to team members with due dates and are critical to the success of the election.
Parkland County’s election team was made up of the Returning Officer, the Substitute Returning Officer as well as staff from the following departments:
• Governance & Engagement,
• Communication & Customer Services,
• Technology & Digital Services,
• Enforcement Services,
• Human Services, and
• the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.
Joint Elections
Parkland County entered into a joint election agreement with Parkland School Division (PSD) to conduct the Trustee Election. Parkland School Division is broken down to 5 Wards. Wards 1, 2 and 3 located in Parkland County were acclaimed. Ward 4, located in the Town of Stony Plain, was acclaimed. Ward 5, located in the City of Spruce Grove, was required to conduct the vote for the trustee.
Parkland County reported the acclaimed trustees and the result of the election to Alberta Education. The County was not required to, nor was there a request to, conduct recounts for the trustee election.
Parkland County also entered into a joint election agreement with the Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division to collect ballots for candidates in Ward 1 and Ward 2 that fall within Parkland County’s boundary. Ward 1 was acclaimed. Ward 2 required an election. As a result, voting occurred within Parkland County’s Divisions 2 and 3.
Parkland County also entered into a joint election agreement with the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Board to collect ballots for candidates in the Drayton Valley Ward where a portion of that Ward falls within Parkland County’s boundaries. This Ward was acclaimed.
3. Key Election Statistics
3.1 Eligible Electors
1. Estimated eligible electors: 26,387
3.2 Voter Turnout
• Election Day - 4,767 Voters; 86.5% of 5512 Total Votes
• Advance Vote - 720 Voters; 13.1% of 5512 Total Votes
• Special Ballots - 25 Voters; 0.4% of 5512 Total Votes
• Total Ballots Cast - 5,512 Voters; 20.8% Turnout of 26,387 Eligible Electors
Despite the changes to the Local Authorities Election Act which expanded the use of special ballots and strengthened the special ballot process, the County saw a decrease in the number of special ballots used in the 2025 election. It is not clear if this decrease was due to the Canada Post strike or if there were more electors utilizing special ballots because of the pandemic in 2021. For electors who wished to vote by special ballot during the Canada Post Strike the election team worked one-on-one with each elector to determine how to support their vote. For example in some cases the voter would plan to have the special ballot package picked up from and dropped back off to the County Centre. In other cases, a member of the election team would deliver and then pick-up the special ballot package from an elector within Parkland County’s boundary. The County did not receive any requests where a special ballot required the use of a courier, however this was another method that the election team was ready to use if needed and noted that the cost of this solution would need to be identified in future election budgets.
3.3 Comparison to Previous Elections
• Election Year 2013 - 23.6% Turnout
• Election Year 2017 - 20.6% Turnout
• Election Year 2021 - 29.4% Turnout
• Election Year 2025 - 20.8% Turnout
Parkland County’s voter turnout for the 2025 election aligns with the provincial average. 2021 Election turnout is notably higher, contributing factors may have been due to provincial referendum question on ballot, senate vote and electors have more time to attend to vote due to social restrictions related to COVID-19.
4. Election Operations
4.1 Voting Stations
Advance Vote Opportunities
-Friday, October 10, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Muir Lake Community Hall
-Saturday, October 11, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Wabamun Jubilee Hall
-Tuesday, October 14, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Muir Lake Community Hall
-Tuesday, October 14, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Clymont Community Hall
-Thursday, October 16, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Muir Lake Community Hall
-Saturday, October 18, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Muir Lake Community Hall
-Saturday, October 18, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Clymont Community Hall
Election Day Vote
-Acheson Fire Hall
-Blueberry Community Hall
-Carvel Community Hall
-Clymont Community Hall
-Entwistle Community Hall
-Fallis Community Hall
-Garden Valley Community Hall
-Graminia Community Hall
-Holborn Community Hall
-Keephills Community Hall
-Muir Lake Community Hall
-Parkland Village Community Centre
-Rosenthal Community Hall
-Tomahawk Sports Agra Centre
-Wabamun Jubilee Hall
-Parkland County Centre (Advance Vote and Special Ballot Vote - Ballot Count)
The election team considered several factors when determining the location of each voting station. These factors included road safety, voter turnout (based on historical data) and providing voting opportunities across the County. A total of 23 voting stations operated to provide electors with an opportunity to vote. All voting stations were toured to ensure that they were compliant with accessibility requirements.
4.2 Election Workers
• Total election workers hired: 143
• The election workers filled 217 work assignments in voting stations
Parkland County started the recruitment process for elections workers in April 2025. Recruitment and training were successful.
The teachers strike had an impact on the election team resources. Additional staff time was required, right before the election, to re-assign election worker positions for election workers who were no longer able to work the election as they were required to support family with childcare needs. Due to hiring and training an adequate number of standby election workers, the election team was able to respond to this challenge and complete the re-assignments that were required.
4.3 Training
All elections workers completed one day standardized training sessions that covered:
• Local Authority Elections Act requirements for voting process, such as voter eligibility, voter identification, completion of forms, how to handle ballots, voting procedures and ballot counting by hand procedures.
• Set up of voting station,
• Safety awareness training,
• Accessibility awareness training,
• Customer service requirements,
• Security and chain-of-custody procedures.
One training session was held for election workers on the west end of the County at the Wabamun Jubilee Hall. The other training session was held for election workers on the east end of the County at Clymont Community Hall. Election workers who were scheduled to work advance votes or to serve as stand-by election workers attended a second day of training for training specific to advance vote voting stations. The election team prepared a training manual for election workers to support the learning process. The manual could also be used as a tool for elections workers to refer to at voting stations. Feedback from election workers indicated high satisfaction with clarity and duration of the training sessions.
5. Financial Summary
5.1 Election Budget
The election was conducted under budget.
Budget - $233,520
Actual Spent - $203,442
The election budget includes the costs for the following:
1. Election workers: honorariums, cell phone allowance, and travel
2. Promoting & facilitating the election: postage, advertising, graphic design, printing, and supplies
3. Facilities: rentals
4. Agreements and Contracts
The election came in $30,078 under budget.
6. Impacts of the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 (Bill 20) on Election
The County’s election planning cycle generally starts 18 months prior to the election. The changes to the Local Authorities Election Act impacted all early election planning opportunities for many municipalities. The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act did not come into force until October 31, 2024.
6.1 Ballots Must be Hand-Counted
Hand-count ballots were designed and prepared for the 2025 Municipal Election. Each election was assigned its own ballot colour. The ballots for the election of the Mayor were green, the ballots for the election of each Councillor were grey, and the ballots for the election of School Board Trustees were pink. The ballot was designed to be a full page to ensure that all the necessary information would fit on the ballot in a legible manner. The coloured ballots with larger fonts contributed to an improved voting experience for electors. The election team received positive feedback from election workers and electors regarding the design of the ballots used in 2025 election.
The County’s election workers conducted the hand-count of ballots on the day of the election successfully. Once the hand-counts were completed the Presiding Deputy Officers for each voting station secured all election records and transported these to Parkland County Centre. Upon arriving at Parkland County Centre the Presiding Deputy Officer reported to the Returning Officer and handed over the election records for verification and secure storage.
Once the results of a voting station had been confirmed by the Returning Officer the results were added to the County’s election results webpage for candidates and residents to view immediately. Parkland County was identified as the first municipality in the region to have our election results posted to our website on the night of the election by a media provider.
No requests for a ballot recount were received for the 2025 election. This is attributed to the counting accuracy and processes implemented during the election process.
6.2 Permanent Elector Register
Elections Alberta required municipalities to create a permanent electors register. The permanent electors register was created in partnership with Election Alberta. Pursuant to a Data Sharing Agreement, the County received data from Elections Alberta. Parkland County was required to provide specific information to Elections Alberta prior to the election and again after the election. A printed copy of the permanent electors register was referenced as part of the elector verification process during the 2025 election. The voting process requires each elector to complete a Form 13. The Local Authorities Election Act required all municipalities to update the permanent electors register using the information collected on the forms and submit this updated data to Elections Alberta.
6.3 Scrutineers
The Local Authorities Election Act was updated to clarify the rules and streamlining processes for scrutineers. The 2025 election saw scrutineers attend several polling stations, as well as the advanced poll and special ballot counting center on October 20, 2025.
6.4 Vouching was Limited to an Individuals Address
The Local Authorities Election Act was revised to change vouching rules. Vouching was permitted for an individual’s age, residence, and identity. The new legislation limits vouching to the ability to vouch for someone’s address. This change was quickly adopted by election workers and did not impact the overall election process.
7. Public Communications
Public engagement included:
• Newspapers: Notices required by the Local Authorities Election Act
• Website: Information for Candidates, Information for Voters, Where to Vote mapping tool
• Social media: Posts promoting advance polls dates, times and locations, posts promoting October 20, 2025 election day information, other election related announcements
• Election Postcards: Mailed by regular mail to all households
8. Candidates
The 2025 election provided candidates with two-step options for nomination. The first option that came into force in October 2024 allowed candidates to submit a Notice of Intent to run to be nominated as a candidate. The application form was provided on the website, and candidates were permitted to email their intent form to the County. Once accepted the candidate was added to the registry maintained on the County’s website. The Notice of Intent once accepted allowed candidates to begin campaigning and to raise funds for their campaign.
Starting on January 1, 2025 candidate could make an appointment with Parkland County’s Returning Officer to submit their completed Candidate Nomination Package.
September 22, 2025, was Nomination Day for the 2025 election. Between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. candidates could attend Parkland County Council Chambers to file their Candidate Nomination Package.
Candidates were provided information from Parkland County’s election team by email to support their knowledge and awareness during their campaign period.
8.1 Candidates Election Signs
The election team managed a high level of calls and emails from residents and candidates who expressed confusion and frustration around the placement, or removal, of election signs.
9. Recommendations for Future Elections
1. “Where to Vote” Mapping Tool
Start the work for updating and implementing this tool on Parkland County’s website earlier in the election process and do more to communicate and promote the tool.
2. Improve Voter Communications on ID Requirements
Develop a stand-alone, shareable infographic clarifying acceptable ID
-Share information on voter requirements through various Parkland County communication opportunities
3. Remove Acheson Fire Hall as a Voting Station
4. Candidate’s Information Guide
Complete a review of the Candidate’s Information Guide and update to improve delivery of information to candidates.
5. Election Sign Bylaw
Draft an Election Sign Bylaw to present to Council for consideration prior to the 2029 election.
6. Election Cell Phone
This year the election team completed a trial of using a cell phone assigned to the election. The benefits were that Parkland County could provide one telephone contact number for the election that could be included in all communications to residents and candidates, additionally, this allowed the phone to be transferred between members of the election team with ease to ensure coverage without any impact on residents or candidates.
10. Destruction of Election Records
All election records were destroyed on January 7, 2026 by a secure shredding service in the presence of Parkland County’s Returning Officer and one other witness.
11. Conclusion
The 2025 Municipal Election was conducted efficiently, transparently, and in accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act. Despite lower voter turnout, operational performance was strong, and the election was delivered under budget. The recommendations outlined in this report will support improved service delivery and voter accessibility for the 2029 Municipal Election.