Former councillor Jeromy Farkas edged out Communities First leader Sonya Sharp by a razor-thin margin to become Calgary's next mayor, knocking out incumbent Jyoti Gondek in the city's first election with party names on the ballot. According to unofficial results from CBC News, Farkas received 91,066 votes while Sharp captured 90,480—fewer than 600 votes separating them. The gap is so narrow that Sharp can ask for a recount. Gondek, who made history as Calgary's first female mayor in 2021, came in third and became the first sitting mayor to lose re-election in over 40 years.

But the shakeup didn't stop at the mayor's office. CBC News reported that two-thirds of Calgary's council will be newcomers, making this the biggest wave of fresh faces at city hall since 1915. The new crew includes everyone from the heating contractor who tried to recall Gondek last year to a vintage furniture shop owner and an oil company CEO. Despite parties being allowed on the ballot for the first time, most winners—including Farkas—ran as independents. Only a handful of candidates from Communities First, The Calgary Party, and A Better Calgary managed to win seats.

The election itself was a bit of a mess, with low turnout and frustrated voters stuck in long lines thanks to hand-counted ballots after the province banned electronic tabulators. Longtime councillor Andre Chabot, now heading into his sixth term with more experience than everyone else combined, isn't sugarcoating what's ahead. "Initially it's going to be challenging, going through the learning curve," Chabot told CBC News. The new council gets sworn in October 29th, then immediately has to tackle the budget, property taxes, and whether to roll back the blanket rezoning policy that allows duplexes and townhouses in every neighbourhood.