It’s Ava Free and Acacia Carol here. We’ll be posting live updates and keeping you informed about about who’s winning and losing in the race to lead Calgary.
Goodnight!
We’re signing off! Stay tuned here for more updates tomorrow. To follow the results directly visit Elections Calgary.
Who will it be?
The gap narrows between Farkas and Sharp as 323 of 380 polls are reporting. Farkas leads by 733 counted votes.
315 of 380 polls reporting as Farkas holds the lead
With 305,303 counted votes, Farkas has 80,095 while Sharp follows closely by 956 votes.
The race continues, Farkas inches forward
With 307 of 380 polls reporting, Farkas has 78,216 counted votes, 1,253 ahead of Sharp.
Farkas addresses crowd as night comes to a close
As Gondek concedes, Farkas took the stage at Festival Hall to thank supporters and volunteers who contributed to his campaign journey. He went on to thank Gondek, reminiscing on her mentorship over the years.
“She was a big part of why I was able to succeed in that first year and being a city councillor, despite the fact that she and I may have disagreed on certain issues… she continued to step up for me in a personal way.”
JEROMY FARKAS
There is still not a clear winner, as Farkas narrowly leads.
“This is the unprecedented third speech that I don’t think any of us were expecting,” he said.
Farkas leads by 1,274 counted votes over Sharp.
Farkas widens the gap
Farkas has 75,123 of the 283,874 counted votes. Sharp follows behind by 1,166.
Sharp remains hopeful
Sonya Sharp spoke at her headquarters in downtown Calgary, stating she’s proud of the campaign she’s run.
I fight for change. I won’t stop fighting until I know [that] we can get the city on the right track.
sonya sharp
Farkas versus Sharp
Farkas has 73,473 of 276,625 counted votes. Sharp has 72,454 only 1,019 behind Farkas.
Gondek concedes
The incumbent mayor Jyoti Gondek spoke at the Palomino in downtown Calgary and conceded defeat. She thanked Calgary voters and campaign volunteers.
I’m profoundly grateful for the priviliedge of having served this incredible city, the best city in the world.
JYOTI GONDEK
The first female mayor of Calgary said despite the results, her work isn’t done.
“Although this night marks the end of my campaign, it does not end my work in this city,” said Gondek.
259,000 votes and counting
375 votes separate Farkas and Sharp in a close race for mayor. Farkas has 69,084 while Sharp has 68,709.
257 of 380 polls reporting, Jeromy Farkas holds top spot
As the race closes in, Farkas has the narrow lead of 899 over Sharp with 64,238 counted votes. Sharp follows closely with 63,339 and Gondek falls behind the front runners with 48,745.
Over half the votes are in, Farkas still leads
Farkas has 61,598 of 230,066 counted votes. He leads by 806 over Sharp.
With 202,000 votes counted, Farkas maintains his lead
Only 1,087 votes separate Farkas and Sharp as the race for mayor continues during a lengthy hand-count vote.
Farkas has 54,613 votes and 27 per cent while Sharp has 53,526 and 26 per cent. Gondek trails behind with 41,245 counted votes.
Farkas leads, Gondek falls behind
With 184,507 counted votes, Farkas continues his lead with 50,122. Sharp follows with 48,777, a difference of 1,345 votes. Gondek lingers in third place at 37,611.
Gondek’s headquarters remain hopeful
Bella Coco with the Calgary Journal reports live from the incumbent mayor Jyoti Gondek’s headquarters. Jo Williams, a campaign volunteer says they’re still optimistic.
“It’s still early, and we are optimistic. We know that there are some big polls to come in yet. We knew that it was always going to be a tight race all along, and that’s what we’re seeing,” said Williams.
Farkas leads by 600
With 154,116 counted votes, Farkas has 41,458. Sharp follows with 40,855. Gondek trails with 31,707.
Live from Farkas’ headquarters
Calgary Journal reporter Darlene Aquino is at Jeromy Farkas’ campaign headquarters. She says supporters are feeling the tension as Sharp continues to be competitive.
“[Jeremy and Sonya are] too close, and I think a lot of people here are a little bit nervous about that. You don’t hear any more cheering now at the 15% mark… We’re still hopeful,” says Farkas supporter Larry Sandul.
Farkas and Sharp in tight race
More than 100 votes separate the two front runners in the race for mayor.
Farkas has 34,826 counted votes while Sharp has 34,703. Gondek holds third place with 26,405.
95 thousand votes and counting
Farkas has 26,291 counted votes and 28 per cent while Sharp trails close behind with 25,851 and 27 per cent. Gondek remains in third place with 19,189 counted votes.
Farkas forges on
Farkas maintains the lead with 19,640 of 69,878 counted votes. Sonya Sharp isn’t far behind with 19,156 counted votes. Gondek falls behind at 13,961 votes.
Farkas leads with 28 per cent
Farkas continues his lead with 11,658 of 41,584 counted votes. Sharp follows closely with 11,280 and 27 per cent. Gondek trails with 8,375 counted votes and 20 per cent.
The race goes on
Farkas continues to lead with 9,291 of 32,266 counted votes. Sonya Sharp is in second place with 8,543 counted votes.
Farkas continues lead over Sharp
With 23,434 votes counted, Farkas holds the lead. Farkas has 6,945 votes, Sharp with 6,434 and Gondek continues to trail with 4,328.
Incumbent mayor Jyoti Gondek continues to trail
Both Farks and Sharp continue to lead over Gondek in counted votes. With 16,836 votes counted Farkas has 4,972 and Sharp with 4,468. Gondek trails with 3,225.
Farkas still in the lead
Farkas maintains the lead with 3,119 of 10,009 counted votes. Sonya Sharp is in second place with 2,679 votes, followed by Gondek with 1,934.
Farkas continues to lead
Farkas maintains the lead with 1,185 of 4,115 counted votes.
Tight race continues
With 3,261 votes counted, Farkas takes the lead with 966 votes, over Sonya Sharp in second with 888 and Gondek with 678 votes.
Gondek pulls into the lead
The incumbent mayor takes over the lead by 20 votes over Farkas with 861 votes counted.
In other news…
The Blue Jays advance to the World Series.
First results
Our first results are in for the Calgary mayoral election. Jeromy Farkas and Sonya Sharp lead over Jyoti Gondek by 15 and 7 votes respectively, with a total of 425 votes counted.
By the way, the Bluy Jays are leading over the Seattle Mariners.
Expect late election results
The unofficial turnout for the Calgary election reached a total 148,483 voters at 7p.m. According to Elections Calgary, counting is estimated to finish by 1a.m., Oct. 21.
Polls have closed, those already in line still have a chance to vote.
Update from Sharp’s headquarters
Calgary Journal reporter Riley Fonger is at Sonya Sharp’s campaign headquarters. She said she’s feeling good about tonight. Win or lose she has high hopes for Calgary’s future.
“What I want regardless is just for Calgary to be an accepting place for everybody. From different cultures that live here, that are moving here, I would just say ‘let’s not be as divisive as everyone else has been,” she says.
Candidates on election day
It’s election day in Calgary. Polls open at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
If you are not sure where and how to vote, check out our how-to-vote explainer below.
Long waits to vote
There are reports of voters waiting upwards of 2 hours to cast their ballot. Election officials remind the public that if you’re in line at 8 p.m. you’ll have the chance to vote.
Alberta’s NDP leader and former Calgary mayor experienced the wait himself.
Unofficial election turnout: 4 p.m.
As of 4 p.m., Elections Calgary says 89,000 people have voted.
Nearly half (46%) of voting stations reported wait times of 10 minutes or less. Some stations experienced longer wait times this morning. Election officials stress that if a voter is in line by 8 p.m., they will get to cast their vote.
Unofficial election turnout: 1 p.m.
Elections Calgary has confirmed as of 1 p.m., 28,160 Calgarians have voted.
Seventy per cent of voting stations have expereinced wait times of less than 20 minutes, with busiest times predicted to be in the late afternoon and the evening.
“If a voter is in line by 8 p.m., they will get to cast their vote,” Elections Calgary reminded voters.
There are reports of long lines to vote across Calgary.
Some voters expressed their frustration this morning at Dr. Freda Miller School in southwest Calgary’s Ward 13. Judy Aikenhead, who waited in line for nearly 45 minutes said she thought the city would be better prepared.
“I find the lineup very disappointing, given that this is a very important election for Calgarians,” says Aikenhead. “I thought it would move more quickly but it’s very slow.”
[When] the lines aren’t moving it doesn’t encourage people to vote.
JUDY AIKENHEAD, ward 13 voter
Don’t forget to vote if you live in Calgary’s surrounding municipalities including Chestermere, Okotoks, Cochrane and Airdrie.
Surrounding municipalities
Mayoral candidates in each city are listed below:
Cochrane
- Incumbent, Jeff Genung
- Dean Hopkins
- Morgan Nagel
- Tony Archer
Airdrie
- Dave Douglass
- Dylan Harty
- Usman Mahmood
- Tina Petrow
- Eeshnah Qureshi
- Vern Raincock
- Heather Spearman
Airdrie’s incumbent mayor is not seeking re-election.
Chestermere
- Incumbent, Shannon Dean
- Kofi Poku
Okotoks
- Incumbent, Tanya Thorn
- Colin Langenberger
- Dwight Koenning
Check out our interviews with the leading mayoral candidates below.
Stay tuned for more election coverage through the day — and live results and reaction after 8:00 p.m. – Calgary Journal Staff
Prepare yourself for a long night of election returns
Election results won’t come as fast and furious as previous municipal election nights. Results could take days; in fact, thanks to the switch this year away from machines in favour of a hand count.
The governing United Conservative Party banned electronic vote tabulators in legislation passed last year, meaning most municipalities will take a lot longer to count the votes.
We’ll likely know the new mayor of Calgary on election night — but city councillors and school trustee races could take longer.
“We have prepared significantly,” said Calgary chief returning officer Kate Martin in an interview with CBC News. “We have increased the number of voting stations, we have increased the number of election workers,” she added.
