Returning Officer decision on preliminary recount request of councillor (ward 9) votes cast

On Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, the Returning Officer received a request for a preliminary recount of the election for ward 9 councillor contest.

Section 98(1) of the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) sets out the criteria for three scenarios where a returning officer may make a recount (listed as (a), (b), and (c)). They are:

98(1) The returning officer may make a recount of the votes cast at one or more voting stations if

(a) a candidate or an official agent or a scrutineer of a candidate recognized pursuant to section 69 or, in the case of a vote on a bylaw or question, a scrutineer appointed pursuant to section 70(1) shows grounds that the returning officer considers reasonable for alleging that the record of the result of the count of votes at any voting station is inaccurate,

(b) the returning officer considers that the number of either of the following was sufficient to affect the result of the election if they had not been objected to or rejected:

(i) valid ballots objected to;

(ii) rejected ballots other than those on which no vote has been cast by an elector;

(c) the returning officer is of the opinion that there may have been an administrative or technical error that may cause an error in the count of votes.

The Returning Officer considered the information provided and determined that there were insufficient grounds for alleging that the record of the result of the count of votes is inaccurate.

In addition, the Returning Officer has considered the other circumstances under which a preliminary recount may be conducted (sections 98(1)(b) and 98(1)(c)) of the LAEA and has determined that there are not sufficient grounds to make a recount.

As a result, the preliminary recount request has been denied.

Official results will be available online at Elections Calgary’s website at 12 p.m. (noon) on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

Visit Results and recounts for candidates for more information on recounts authorized under the LAEA.

Elections Calgary is a division of the City Clerk’s Office responsible for independently and impartially administering the Returning Officer’s accountabilities in General Elections, by-elections and votes of the electors on behalf of The City of Calgary, the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District.