Calgary’s last day of advance voting closes on high; dramatic drop in ballots cast overall

The last day of advance voting for the Calgary municipal election on Saturday saw the highest turnout for 2025, but voter numbers compared to the 2021 election are still down.

Released later on Saturday, Elections Calgary’s unofficial 2025 advance vote numbers on day six finished with 22,144 ballots cast, higher than the 2021 total of 19,043. Day five — the second-highest turnout in the 2021 election at 23,080 voters — saw 17,704 ballots cast.

The six days combined accounted for 10.7 per cent of the city’s voter turnout.

The numbers for 2025 are higher than the turnout in 2017 for the six days, with 96,549 voters exercising their right to vote in 2025, compared to nearly 59,000 in 2017. Roughly 124,000 Calgarians turned out for six days of advance voting in 2021, with the seven-day period finishing with 141,329. Meanwhile, 74,965 showed up for the full seven days in 2017.

As part of the verification process, officials say the numbers may change the next day as they confirm the data.

Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams says voters are traversing muddy waters right now, as the candidates have, in general, failed to be clear about what they stand for.

“They don’t have a clear sense of what the candidates stand for, who is the candidate that aligns most closely with what they want to accomplish,” she said.

“I’m in a position where I have a lot of questions that I still don’t have the answers to. I can only imagine what somebody who’s been more of a casual observer, trying to figure out what their votes might mean.”

Williams, who moderated one of the mayoral debates, says some may decide against voting because of the new political party system, and are against it or uncertain about its impact.

But there could be other factors at play, says Martha Hall Findlay, the director of the School of Public Policy, such as the ongoing teachers’ strike.

“A lot of people are trying to figure out what to do with their kids, so that might be the biggest single factor,” she said.

She also says the last few days of the nice weather before the expected snowfall may also be playing a role.

“Might even be just that people are busy taking advantage of what may be the last few days of really great weather this fall,” Findlay said.

“My hope is that over the next few days, people will actually turn out simply because municipal elections are important.”

If you’re unable to head to any advance voting booths, you can still vote on the official day on Oct. 20.

Information on the 2025 General Election can be found on the Elections Calgary website or by calling 403-476-4100.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the advanced voter turnout numbers for Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, from Elections Calgary.