Monday’s municipal election looks to be a close contest between five major candidates vying to be Calgary’s mayor, but they’re not the only city hall hopefuls who have thrown their hat into the ring.
In a recent poll conducted by Janet Brown for CBC News, the five mayoral options who received the most support are incumbent candidate Jyoti Gondek, outgoing Ward 1 councillor Sonya Sharp, former city councillors who previously ran for mayor in 2021 in Jeromy Farkas and Jeff Davison, and former police commission chair Brian Thiessen.
But there are four other names on Calgarians’ ballots for mayor: Sarah Elder, Grant Prior, Jaeger Gustafson and Larry R. Heather.
CBC Calgary spoke with these candidates to learn more about what they’re working to bring to the attention of Calgarians through their campaigns.
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CBC News sat down with Sarah Elder, Jaeger Gustafson, Larry R. Heather and Grant Prior to get their thoughts on public safety, blanket rezoning and why they should get the top job at Calgary city hall.
Frustration with front-runner rhetoric
Elder boasts the most political experience outside of the major candidates, having previously worked for the B.C. government in various executive assistant roles. Since moving to Calgary, she created the clothing business Madame Premier, which also advocates for women to participate more in Canadian politics.
Her mayoral bid came from frustration she felt with not seeing other candidates talking clearly enough about what they’ll do to improve families’ lives. Elder said she’d want to run all municipal policy through the lens of asking if it would be safe for children. That could mean asking if a road is safe for a kid to cross, or if public transit is safe enough for children to use.
Local business owner Sarah Elder is running for mayor in the 2025 Calgary municipal election. (Bryan Labby/CBC News)
“Families and kids in our communities in Calgary are foundational to the kind of place that we live in,” said Elder.
“If it actually isn’t safe for kids, then it’s not safe for anyone. It’s not safe for a senior, it’s not safe for someone with mobility issues, it’s not safe for families, it’s not safe for teenagers.”
She also wants to make Calgary a more attractive place for businesses to relocate to, by improving the quality of life their employees would have there. She said this is typically thought about through public safety, but she’d like to see more attention on improving recreation, libraries, and arts and culture.
Elder has been a vocal opponent of blanket rezoning, one of Calgary’s most discussed election issues. She said she’d like to repeal and replace the policy, with a focus instead on building density in areas near public transit.
“My approach to blanket rezoning is actually thinking of it as a patchwork quilt and not a blanket. A blanket is kind of a one-size-fits-all. We need to really think about where that density exists,” said Elder.
Even if she isn’t successful in her mayoral bid, Elder said she plans to continue championing a city-wide block watch program, arguing mayoral candidates’ commitment shouldn’t end on election night.
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Grant Prior, meanwhile, entered the race with a clearly stated goal to represent working-class Calgarians.
The directional driller, who’s worked in Alberta’s oil and gas industry for more than 18 years, said workers haven’t had enough of a voice in Calgary’s municipal politics. His concerns include wealth inequality, and an economic landscape where working-class people are losing out and it seems as though his children will never be able to afford a home.
“The working class doesn’t get the voice they need. So often, they’re just so busy working and grinding that they either don’t run for representation or they’re kind of not paying attention because they’re just trying to keep their families’ heads above water,” Prior said to CBC Radio’s The Calgary Eyeopener.
Grant Prior, an oil-and-gas worker for more than 18 years, said he’s running to become Calgary mayor this fall so city council will better represent working-class voices. (Bryan Labby/CBC News)
“I totally understand what they’re going through and I figured I should get out there and say something and fight for them.”
He said he wants to use property tax levers to make more revenue off of large corporations, while easing taxes on small businesses.
He also approaches one of the city’s biggest election issues, public safety, by arguing more focus is needed on addressing homelessness, addiction and mental health. He said he’d like to see the city use provincial funding to build recovery centres , while offering 24/7 access to treatment and recovery beds.
Consulting all Calgarians
Jaeger Gustafson is running for mayor on a campaign of lower taxes while examining how to improve city services.
Gustafson, who owns a local acupuncture and massage clinic, wants to run for mayor to ensure city council is properly listening to citizens through a large number of new committees, with one to represent each community around the city.
“We have to stop the process where council can make decisions about people’s communities without their consent or real consultation,” said Gustafson.
Jaeger Gustafson, acupuncture clinic owner, is in the race to become Calgary’s next mayor in this fall’s municipal election. (Bryan Labby/CBC News)
His platform includes hiring 600 more police officers, 600 fire and rescue officers, and 300 resilience officers dedicated to strengthening city infrastructure.
Calgary’s mayoral candidates are rounded out by Larry R. Heather who has run for public office at various levels for more than 40 years.
Larry R. Heather has run for Calgary mayor every year since 2013. (Bryan Labby/CBC News)
Heather ran for mayor in every Calgary municipal election since 2013, but his vote totals have declined in each election. He also ran in this year’s federal election for the Christian Heritage Party in Calgary Heritage, receiving 268 votes, or 0.4 per cent.
Heather said he wants to insert “Christian values” into Calgary including introducing a Christian prayer to open city council meetings. He added he wants to advocate for Canada to reintroduce the death penalty, use a DOGE-style review of the city to reduce its staff, and hire fewer women to the police force and fire department.
