LEAKED DOCUMENT RAISES SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT EDMONTON’S ELECTION

At Edmonton Neighbourhoods United, our commitment is simple: to stand with residents and keep neighbourhood voices at the focus of our city's decisions. Recently, we raised concerns with the Provincial Government on your behalf regarding election fairness and transparency, because Edmontonians deserve transparency and honesty. Lorne Gunter at Edmonton Journal has also shed some light on these issues.

An undisclosed presentation has been discovered in which a group called Working Families Edmonton (WFE) may be acting as a behind-the-scenes campaign network - coordinating a slate of candidates (many seeking re-election), raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, and looking for ways around donation limits meant to keep elections fair.

What the behind-the-scenes strategy document shows:

· Fundraising goals as high as $749,000.

· Candidates presented as “independent” while sharing centralized resources, volunteers, and advertising.

· A candid line from the document itself: “This effectively is creating a party without being subject to the spending and donation limits.”

· Notes suggesting the same tactics were used in 2021, coinciding with some of the zoning bylaw and city district plan changes.

This kind of shadow coordination erodes trust. Our city works best when candidates are accountable to residents not to undisclosed donors with coordinated interests.

You can read more here:

· Blog & Context: Why Edmonton Needs Independent Leadership—Not Backroom Deals

· Lorne Gunter's Column: Lorne Gunter: Understand differences between civic election candidates | Edmonton Journal

What neighbours can do:

· Share this information locally.

· Bring it up at your community league.

· Ask candidates directly where they stand on transparency and third-party influence.

· Make your vote count. It’s time for a major shift at City Hall

Stay Tuned:

In the days ahead, ENU will be releasing the results of our Candidate Survey to provide clarity regarding October 20th's election candidate's platforms and opinions about the City's growth and issues. Sadly, some incumbents chose not to participate. Their silence leaves residents guessing about where they stand on infill and other key issues - making it harder to place our trust in their leadership.

Edmonton deserves leaders who earn our confidence by being open, accountable, and responsive to the people they represent.