Calgarians head to the polls in tight, uncertain municipal election

It's election day in Calgary. The polls are open and candidates are seeking voters' support. Who do voters feel can tackle the city's biggest issues?

Calgarians have until 8 p.m. Monday to cast their ballots in one of the most unpredictable municipal elections in recent memory.

To vote, eligible residents must head to their assigned polling station, which can be found on Elections Calgary’s website.

Polls will open at 10 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Elections Calgary says roughly 96,500 people cast ballots during the six-day advance voting period.

This year, because of new provincial legislation, every vote will be counted by hand. That means instead of electronic tabulators, Elections Calgary is relying on more than 500 workers to manually count ballots at the Big Four Building once polls close.

“We are projecting that the mayoral count will be known on election night,” said returning officer Kate Martin.

“The councillors and the school board trustees — we are not anticipating final results on election night.”

The first mayoral results are expected before midnight, but close races across several wards could delay full council results until Tuesday.

• Edmontonians head to polls to elect new mayor, councillors
• Full CTV News coverage of the Calgary municipal election

Political observers say the campaign has lacked a clear frontrunner, with issues like affordability, municipal taxes, infrastructure and public safety dominating the conversation.

“There’s a real possibility that we’ll see an incumbent mayor defeated — that hasn’t happened in Calgary since the 1980s,” said Lori Williams, a political analyst and associate professor at Mount Royal University.

“We also see the possibility of a very low turnout and somebody winning this election becoming the mayor with less than 30 per cent of the vote.”

CTV News will have full broadcast coverage of the municipal election starting at 11 p.m. on CTV News Calgary, as well as live updates here on our website.

With files from Tyler Barrow