2025 Election - Candidate Finances
Back in 2021, I went through candidate disclosure statements to try to understand the realistic spend for winning candidates, and give residents contemplating a run an idea of what campaign spending looks like. Back in 2017, 25 candidates spent almost $140,000 on our campaigns and raised over $80,000 in donations. The average total of funds raised for winning candidates in 2017 was $8,638, with Councillor Watkins at the high end at almost 17,000 and Councillor Hughes and I at the bottom end with $4,200 and $4,600 spent.
In the 2021 election, results were a bit different but still interesting to contemplate:
Councillor candidates in 2021
A total of almost $84,000 was spent on our 20 campaigns, but only ∼$18,000 of that was donations.
Expenses for candidates ranges from $18 to ∼$15,600, but winning candidates spent ∼$1,450 (me), ∼$2,960 (Hughes), $6,200 (Killick), $6,290 (Brodhead), $9,477 (Biermanski), and $10,759 (MacKay). The average spend for winning candidates was about $6,200.
Donations to candidates were all over the place, from $0 for 9 candidates to over $7,400 for one candidate, but winning candidates only ranged from $100 (Brodhead) to ∼$2,750 (Hughes).
The $spend/vote ranged from about 1¢ to $2.59, but winning candidates only ranged from ∼20¢ (myself) to ∼$1.51 (Biermanski). Other winning candidates were Councillor Hughes (∼38¢), Councillor Brodhead (∼87¢), Councillor Killick (∼97¢), and Councillor MacKay (∼$1.38).
Voter turnout was dismal at 35.2%, with winning candidates receiving between ∼6300 (Councillor Biermanski) and ∼7800 votes (Councillor Hughes).
Voter turnout was a bit better in 2017 at 42.9% with winning candidates receiving between 6777 votes (MacKay) and 8900 votes (Brodhead), and winning campaigns spending between ∼57¢/vote (Hughes) and ∼$2.26/vote (Watkins). I’m hopeful that 2025 has even higher voter response. So if 2025 candidates are aiming for at least ∼7500 votes, I’d argue that there is no reason to spend more than $11,000 and I’d guess that someone campaigning hard could pull off far less.
Mayor candidates in 2021
With 4 mayoral campaigns at play in an election with an incumbent, which I’d argue is likely a less competitive field, the stats were also interesting:
There was over $29,000 in total expenses, and almost all of that was covered by over $27,000 in donations.
Mayor Heron’s winning campaign spent almost $14,000 and won with 6942 votes, but the runner up had very a similar spend and vote:
That said, the mayor’s vote seems to be quite spicy over the years, with spending in 2017 being quite a bit higher. Mayor Heron’s winning campaign spent almost $37,000, which was 100% covered by donations, and Malcolm’s spent about $13,000 that was mostly donations. I didn’t have any luck finding Cam’s disclosure, but I’d guess a healthy spend.
I suspect those running for mayor are in full campaign mode right now, especially considering that 2025 is a year without an incumbent running. My guess as to how much fundraising is needed for a successful campaign is as good as anyone’s!
(If you notice any errors in this, please let me know - It’s not easy sifting through disclosures on the city website!)
Natalie was elected to the St. Albert City Council for the 2017-2021 and 2021-2025 terms and has confirmed that she is not seeking re-election. I encourage anyone still considering running to reach out - We have so many amazing residents who would make exceptional members of Council, but I know it can feel daunting trying to decide on how to make it happen!
