Election News in the Community
What matters to you and your community? What do you envision for the future?
Many groups and organizations have created a number of helpful resources to help Calgarians learn about the platforms of the 2021 mayoral and ward councillor candidates, and to better understand how their policies and platforms align with the visions you have for the future of your community.
We’re compiling some of these resources below. We invite you to explore these resources, and beyond, and encourage folks to centre community when thinking about how to vote in the upcoming election. See something missing? Let us know! We’ll keep updating this as more candidate forums are held!
Elections Calgary
Visit electionscalgary.ca for all Municipal Election information, including when and where to vote, special ballot info, identification requirements and candidate info.
The Calgary General Election Guide has been translated into 10 languages. Find all versions online at calgary.ca.
The Advance Vote will run from Monday, October 4 to Sunday, October 10, 2021.
Voting station hours are as follows:
Monday, October 4 to Friday, October 8 (8 a.m. – 7 p.m.)
Saturday, October 9 (10 a.m. – 7 p.m.)
Sunday, October 10 (10 a.m. – 3 p.m.)
Monday, October 18 (8 a.m. – 8 p.m.)
Our municipal government plays an important role in shaping our city and communities. A few months ago, the Federation of Calgary Communities in partnership with Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association hosted a workshop on Get to Know Your Government: Municipal. We highly recommend you check out this four part video series to help you better understand what you should know about this level of government!
Disability Action Hall Voters Toolkit
Learn about vote tools to help cast your ballot at the polls! Check out the "Plan my vote" for the Calgary Election.
And check out this video on the vote assistance machine! that will be at the advance poll at a specific location to be announced in the near future!
Calgary Public Library - Plan My Vote
Voting can be easier than you think. If you’re at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen, and a resident of Calgary on election day, you’re eligible to vote. With the Plan My Vote tool created by the Calgary Public Library and Elections Calgary, you’ll be ready to vote in four simple steps.
Plan My Vote helps you find your polling station and creates a customized voting plan that you can print or email to yourself to add to your digital calendar.
Policy Considerations & Candidate Responses
Read through the mayoral candidate questionnaire responses for the 2021 Calgary election!
The survey highlights the priority areas that they expect to see action on from our elected officials, including the environment, equity, reconciliation, and mental health. They hope that the responses we have obtained will help inform you about the candidates in the upcoming election.
The Reconciliation Action Group
The Reconciliation Action Group recently asked all mayoral, councillor & trustee candidates about reconciliation.
Feel free to use these questions for your own candidates & share their responses.
Disability Action Hall
Disability Action Hall hosted two online candidate forums in August featuring conversations with Calgary Council Candidates using a disability lens. These webinars were recorded and can be viewed here.
Disability Action Hall also asked Calgarians with disabilities the question “What Makes a Great City” and linked their vision with the City of Calgary’s current Strategic Plan and Citizen Priorities. Learn about this here. You can also find helpful learning tools from Disability Action Hall on their social media.
Ask Her YYC 2021 Candidate Survey Results
Ask Her YYC contacted all 2021 Municipal Candidates and asked them questions about gender equity in Calgary.
Founded in 2016 to encourage more women to run for City Council in the 2017 election, Ask Her YYC is working to advance the principles of inclusive and equitable representation in municipal government through opportunities for the development and training of candidates, volunteers, supporters, funders, and mentors.
Vibrant Communities Calgary & Enough For All
View the recently published the Calgary Municipal Ward Poverty Profiles 2021 here. Calgary Ward Poverty Profiles show that poverty exists in every ward. Poverty is the condition in which people are without the supports, means and choices needed to attain and maintain a basic standard of living. Vibrant Communities Calgary and the Canadian Poverty Institute are working towards creating a community where there is enough for all. The profiles highlight the experiences of poverty in all 14 wards of Calgary. Each profile is based on the new municipal ward boundaries, which take effect in October 2021.
These profiles were developed by Vibrant Communities Calgary and the Canadian Poverty Institute to equip the community with poverty-specific data related to Calgary’s 14 wards. This information can be used to stimulate debate and highlight poverty as a key election issue with local candidates.
Poverty Talks!
Poverty Talks! recently hosted community conversations on a number of different topics including affordable housing, financial empowerment, food insecurity, and income support. Visit their website to explore the findings from those community conversations and consider how they factor in to your own visions of community.
Bike Calgary, in partnership with Youth En Route, has distributed a survey regarding active transportation to all Mayoral and Ward candidates for the 2021 election.
On September 23rd we hosted a CDLI Meet Up on Civic Engagement and Community Development. You can read more about that conversation, and see some of the candidate responses to the community-focused survey we sent out here.
Read this article from local and independent journalism outlet The Sprawl to learn about the history of racialized people on Calgary City Council.
Past Forums & Events
The Sprawl - Municipal Election Resource
Local and independent journalism outlet The Sprawl has compiled an extensive list of municipal election forums and events, both past and upcoming, that you can watch online to hear from Calgary’s candidates. View the list here.
What does a vibrant YYC look like to you? On October 4, the leading 2021 Mayoral candidates shared their vision on how to rebuild a vibrant Calgary. Register now to watch VibrantYYC on demand until October 18.
On September 30th, the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good, its 32 member institutions, and Action Dignity hosted a mayoral forum to hear from candidates about their vision for the city as they campaign in the 2021 municipal election.
The University of Calgary Students Union hosted a Mayoral Forum with leading mayoral candidates on Sept. 23.