#ask Tony questions

Thanks for the question Melissa B.

I agree with Tim Cartmell; and I was there—Monday’s council meeting was an “absolute mess.” Tim’s attempt to modify the disastrous re-zoning Bylaw 20001 failed spectacularly. Now council goes on “vacation,” showing again that Tim is unable to get councillors onboard to work as a team.

Bylaw 20001 has turned into a “monster”—ask any neighbourhood resident. They’ll tell you that once new free-for-all, zero-clearance, no-extra-parking-needed, eight-door structures go up, they quickly destroy the quiet street you’ve known for decades.

As Edmonton’s next mayor, I will not work to modify this mess; I will kill Bylaw 20001. Slay the monster, as it were.

And every person on council who helped push for and voted yes on Bylaw 20001 in 2023 should be voted out of office. How’s that for blunt and straightforward? I am NOT the other guys.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE 

Vote Tony Caterina for Mayor, Oct. 20, 2025 

I am NOT the other guys! But.....

On this Bill 50 issue, featured in a detailed story on Taproot Edmonton, I actually agree with Councillor and now Mayor candidate Andrew Knack. 

I am an independent candidate, I currently do not favour the party system in civic elections. 

Edmonton's Oct. 20, 2025 civic election campaign will serve as a window to the soul of how a candidate will govern over the city's 3.4 billion yearly budget and current and growing long-term debt of $4.37 billion—just over $3,670 per person. That staggering long-term debt number is just not talked about enough in public.

A big spender on an election campaign, sets the stage for them to be a big tax and spending Mayor, just look at their voting record as a councillor. 

Alberta's Bill 50, which builds on Bill 20 has introduced political parties at the civic level. A first for the province that has only ever seen independent candidates.

For example, a candidate for mayor, like Tim Cartmell, can now raise and spend up to a maximum of two million dollars on his campaign. He is already well on his way, published numbers in his  Edmonton Elections public year-end disclosure, Tim raised a record amount of cash between Oct. 31, to Dec. 31, 2024, over $458,000 dollars. These first 60 days, starting Oct. 31, are the official Edmonton Elections rules where a campaign can start to raise money for their 2025 campaign.

Edmonton voters have to ask, why would someone want to raise and spend a whooping one to two million dollars for a $216,585 a year job, plus vehicle allowance of $14,457.36, and a $3,600 health care spending account annually?

Candidates can either buy an election or honestly earn the voter's confidence and trust. 

I prefer earning the trust and confidence of Edmontonians to manage their hard earned tax dollars for the next four years. 

I am only beholden to Edmonton's voters, Edmonton's taxpayers, not to a party,  not to group of people or individual big donors.  

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE  

Vote Tony Caterina for Mayor Oct. 20, 2025

Simple answer. YES WE CAN! 

Adding a simple number after Edmonton’s unique ward names is far more inclusive for all Edmontonians, Albertans, and Canadians who engage with our 12-ward city system.  

Edmonton’s 12 ward names carry symbolic significance in our city’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, reflecting our province’s rich history through seven Indigenous languages. However, since their introduction in 2021, these names have caused on going confusion. Many residents and city staff struggle to read, pronounce or spell all 12 ward names, and most don’t even know which ward they live in. This leaving them feeling disconnected.” 

Adding a number in brackets after each official ward name (e.g., Ward Nakota Isga [1]) would make them universally understood, including by children.  

As Edmonton’s next mayor, I will reintroduce the adding of numbers (1) to (12), in brackets, alongside the names of our city’s wards to ensure clarity and exclusivity for all. 

Vote Tony Caterina for Mayor, Oct. 20, 2025 

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE 

I would like to sincerely thank Amarjeet Sohi for his public service and wish him all the best in the future. 

That being said, this is undoubtedly the best outcome for the city of Edmonton. The fact is, he has proven to be a weak leader as our mayor. Out-of-control spending and large tax increases year after year during his tenure have hurt all Edmontonians. 

Many areas and the way the city is being run are broken. Mayor Sohi is leaving Edmonton in worse shape than when he began. While he enjoyed many positive and cheerful meetings with his good friend PM Justin Trudeau over the past three and a half years, there has been an ongoing series of conflicts between the mayor and our provincial government. 

Mayor Sohi didn’t build a strong, professional relationship with the Alberta’s leaders, and this has harmed Edmonton in numerous ways. For example, at the end of October 2024, Mayor Sohi hired a consultant—an ex-Conservative MP—to lobby the provincial government for more funding in the 2025 provincial budget. The cost wasn’t disclosed to the public because it fell below the $250,000 disclosure threshold for consultants. Additionally, Mayor Sohi launched a website urging Edmontonians themselves to pressure Alberta MLAs for more money. This was his job to do. The website went live without our city councillors even knowing it was in the works—a clear sign of poor teamwork and leadership. The provincial government has also sidelined him deliberately. They’ve launched new initiatives, naming already appointed councillors at public events, without informing the mayor in advance.  

Some examples are provided in the links below. 

Edmonton needs a reset; it needs a strong fiscally conservative leader. As the next mayor of Edmonton, I am the best person for the job. I will get Edmonton back on track and fix the areas that are broken. 

As for mayor candidate Tim Cartmell? 

Sorry, he’s essentially the same as Amarjeet Sohi. They voted the same way 88.7% of the time. While appearing on Real Talk, Ryan Jespersen asked, “What’s another area where you’d say you’re dramatically different from Amarjeet Sohi? What’s one thing you see very differently than he does?” Tim’s response? “Uh, well, I don’t know that we see it differently. My approach is different.” They are the same person! 

Do Edmonton voters really want to continue down this same tax, spend and growing long-term debt path for another four years? 

Vote Tony Caterina for Mayor on October 20, 2025. 

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE  

Background links; 

*Mayor Sohi and Councillor Cartmell voting together 88.7% of the time. Sept 2021 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/data-highlights-voting-patterns-coalitions-among-edmonton-city-councillors

*Nixon accuses Sohi of 'bizarre decision' on homelessness while vacationing in Hawaii. Jan. 12, 2024 https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/nixon-accuses-sohi-of-bizarre-decision-on-homelessness-while-vacationing-in-hawaii-1.6723824

*Edmonton social issue task force unveiled by UCP, but Sohi says city was shut out. Dec 14, 2022. https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-social-issue-task-force-unveiled-by-ucp-but-sohi-says-city-was-shut-out

*Edmonton Mayor Sohi picks fight with province. Launched website. Oct 08, 2024 https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/keith-gerein-edmonton-mayor-amarjeet-sohi-second-term

*The City of Edmonton hires lobbyists to pressure the province. Oct. 25, 2024 www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/the-city-of-edmonton-hires-lobbyists-to-pressure-the-province-calgary-doesn-t-bother/ar-AA1sWsCL

My quick and simple answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT! 

In spite of a hired consultant stating the city should only purchase 5 buses to start with, to prove they work as promised. Edmonton lost well over 60 million dollars after it rushed into a 60 electric bus deal with a company that had not yet build an electric bus. This sad episode needs to be properly studied, reviewed and recorded still so Edmonton does not do completely wasteful things like this.

My much longer anwser, jammed packed with background, numbers and facts.

As Edmonton’s next mayor, I promise to take a very strong stance on spending to keep the city within its means. I can promise that I will not tolerate wasteful and overspending.

I will most certainly take Edmonton’s past financial disasters, boondoggles, and horrible decisions to help guide a much more pragmatic, bird's-eye view approach to better protect taxpayers' money. 

Edmonton is one of the best and largest most northerly winter cities in the world. Big financial commitments and decisions moving forward must take this into account.

One example of misguided, bad choices, blindly charging ahead wasting tens of millions of taxpayers dollars?

It's the purchase of 60 untested, unproven electric buses from a  fledgling California company. 

Edmonton taxpayers are now stuck with a mostly unusable, unrepairable fleet of 'like new' 60 parked electric buses.

"Edmonton's massive loss for its taxpayers happened because the three levels in 2018 of eco-zealot, bio-bureaucrat politicians in charge, with a 'Go Green or Go Home' attitude made it happen"

Edmonton's taxpayers funded a US-based 82-million-dollar lawsuit against a bankrupt and now-closed Proterra company, with little hope of any recovery.

Edmonton needs a strong leader who is not afraid take the draw a line in the sand to help ensure accountability for its taxpayers. The city cannot operate on empty promises and future losses that only help to increase our future property taxes.

I believe as Edmonton's mayor we should demand a full and proper audit to pinpoint what went wrong with this electric bus project. This will prevent such massive taxpayer losses in the future by establishing clear safeguards and guardrails.

In 2018, Amarjeet Sohi, the federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities with his friends at his side, Mayor Don Iveson and Alberta NDP Transportation Minister Brian Mason were all smiles as they announced in Edmonton the funding for the first Proterra 40-electric bus commitment. Which became a City of Edmonton, 60 eclectic bus order at around 1.2 million each. Which Represented around 6% of ETS' fleet at the time.

* Federal Minister Sohi said at the new electric bus press conference in 2018, "As technology advances, it's very important that we continue to support innovation and we continue to support efforts to have more reliable, less polluting vehicles that help us build greener communities, at the same time creating jobs for Canadians." (Buses bought in California)

* Mayor Don Iveson said at the same press conference, moving to electric buses is a "big priority" for him, "It also will produce a more reliable bus for our operators to work with and our maintenance folks to work with, and it will also produce a smoother and quieter ride with less exhaust and less noise in neighbourhoods." he said, "The electrification of our bus fleet will allow us to accelerate our leadership on energy transition and reduce Edmonton's overall carbon footprint” adding, "This is the future of public transit. And I can't wait for the next round [of funding] and the eventual full electrification of our bus fleet."

* In 2018 ETS had approximately 1,000 buses; it would cost well over one billion dollars to switch over to all electric bus fleet. Technology right now has shown us that it just does not currently work 'as sold' for our harsh northern winter climate.

* The first 40-electric bus financing breakdown, Federal $21.5 million, Alberta $10.8 and Edmonton $10.8. Then Edmonton ordered another 20 Electric busses from Proterra before they were even properly tested in the real world of a Canadian winter city.

* This expensive boondoggle of a power ahead into the electrification of the ETS fleet, at all costs, had many ongoing issues from day one.

* Edmonton’s US based lawsuit in the proof of claim says among other major issues, “None of the buses have ever achieved 328 km on a single charge,” continuing “On average, the bus range has been approximately 165 km in the winter and, at best, 250 km in warmer weather"

* Edmonton spent an extra $200,000 on battery warmers, to still not achieve close to the promised kilometres between charges.

* The lack of driven kilometres between charges required electric buses to be pulled off the road early in the day and replaced with diesel buses, driven by other operators, adding to higher daily costs of operations.

* These buses experienced many issues with breakdowns, buying and receiving spare parts, and securing replacement parts under warranty. With the lack of parts for mechanics to complete repairs, the electric buses were unusable and left parked.

* From a November 2023 CBC story, the electric buses have needed replacement transmissions and electric drive-train motors, more than half of Edmonton's electric buses need replacement parts, according to Leigh McCabe, a maintenance representative with the Amalgamated Transit Union (UTA) Local 569. McCabe, a heavy equipment technician who has worked on these electric buses also said, "We've had some that have been down for over a year waiting for parts."

* Steve Bradshaw, president of ATU 569, said the union's biggest problem with the electric buses has been the cab configuration that only fits drivers who are of medium stature. "A small person or a big person has a lot of trouble driving it," he said. "They just don't fit in that cab" Bradshaw also said the union filed a grievance over the issue and recently agreed on a solution with the city where drivers can avoid choosing shifts with electric buses.

* In a damning December 2023 story by Jackie Carmichael in the Edmonton Journal, she talked at length to Pierre Ducharme an electrification expert at Montreal-based MARCOM Management Consultants. Ducharme helps companies and cities transition and adopt electric technology for fleets of cars, buses, and trucks.*· The studies and testing were also done with a number of city employees at his side in the winter of 2016. Ducharme then presented an electric bus report to the City of Edmonton in June 2016. The estimated cost of the report was between $150,000 and $200,000.

* Some of the eye-opening key points and quotes from Mr. Ducharme’s interview published in the Journal are:

* The word “risk” appears four times in the June 2016 report.

* In January 2016, Proterra was new to building electric buses; the company did not have any operational buses for Ducharme and the city employees to test.*· Winnipeg-based bus builder New Flyer and Chinese-based BYD were the operational electric bus options available. “We only had two buses available — we tested what we had. We couldn’t test what we didn’t have,” Ducharme said.

* What was Ducharme’s recommendation to Edmonton in his June 2016 report? Buy only five buses first. “When you buy more than five buses, it’s more than a pilot project — it becomes a real business,” he said. “Buying five buses gives you the opportunity not only to test the buses, but to see if you will change the way you do things to adapt to those buses.”

* At the time the Edmonton council made their decision, it was known that Proterra was a new player on the bus manufacturing scene, with very little experience or track-record making electric buses. Ducharme said “You had a new company, and a new bus, and a new propulsion technology,” he said. “That’s three things that don’t make for a low-risk project, does it? It was a high-risk — a very gutsy — decision on their part to go to Proterra.”

* “It is odd that you would go to a new player that would offer a new technology, that’s hardly built any buses in their history, when there are manufacturers out there who at least know what they’re doing building a bus,” he said.

* “It seems to me they were rushing to get to be the first in Canada to adopt those buses, for some reason — why, I don’t know.” Continuing “It wasn’t as if a dozen other large transit systems did it and it was a no-brainer.”

* “They took a high risk and now they’re paying the price,” Ducharme said

Again, I believe as mayor we should demand an audit to pinpoint and record where this electric bus project went so wrong. This will prevent such massive taxpayer losses in the future by establishing clear safeguards and guardrails. 

First question I would like answered? Who signed off on this boondoggle?

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE

Tony Caterina for Mayor Oct. 20, 2025

As Edmonton's next Mayor, I will reinstate the city's Interfaith Chaplain, Senior Mental Health Consultant position for its over 10,000 employees. In 2023, with little or no fanfare, the City of Edmonton's longtime and highly respected Interfaith Chaplain, Senior Mental Health Consultant, John Dowds, retired. With no public acknowledgement or media coverage of any kind, the city quietly replaced this very important, decades-long, hands-on, in-person position with a web-page and a support line phone number. 

'Offers advice from the heart, for the heart' was how the City of Edmonton referred to this position over the years. 

After retiring, Chaplain Dowds’ tireless service and work was so highly regarded by Edmonton’s Fire Rescue Services personnel that he was made a lifetime Honourary Chaplain within The Edmonton Firefighters Pipe and Drums Society. Sadly, this great honour also received no media coverage. 

Across Alberta, including Edmonton the interfaith chaplain positions are integral to the spiritual and emotional well-being of the community as a whole. These positions serve in capacities that range from crisis intervention to regular spiritual guidance and supports across the different civic services, corporate and non-profit sectors. 

Some of the places across Alberta where these hands-on, in-person services are available and very active include: 

The University of Alberta, NAIT, Concordia University of Edmonton, Edmonton Police Service (EPS), across Alberta with numerous positions and locations within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), various Alberta Prisons, Remand Centres and throughout Alberta Health Services (AHS) facilities. 

As well, The Edmonton Community Chaplaincy Association offers chaplaincy resources regardless of background, religion, or culture to different neighbourhoods in Edmonton. 

As Edmonton's next Mayor, I will reinstate the Interfaith Chaplain, Senior Mental Health Consultant position for city employees. 

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE

Tony Caterina for Mayor Oct. 20, 2025.

Thank you for the question. This is not the first time the city has not properly rolled out major projects to the general public. 

As Edmonton’s next mayor, I’ll ensure City Council and planning departments respond to real concerns before projects advance. Too often, the tone-deaf mayor, council, and planners ignore feedback, pushing inflexible plans. Take the 2025 bridge closure repairs: closing multiple main routes into and out of Edmonton’s downtown all at once risks catastrophic results for businesses, workers, and organizations alike.
Cheryll Watson of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition is spot-on: “This plan is short-sighted and risks undoing years of effort to revitalize our city’s core,” adding, “Downtown businesses are finally seeing signs of recovery, more workers are returning to the office, and students are filling our post-secondary campuses again. Cutting off access to Downtown now will undermine all that progress.” [Updated bridge closure plan: https://shorturl.at/TdLPW]
This recent uproar and unneeded conflict show the current mayor, council, and planners’ true colours: prioritizing transit (10% of residents) and bike lanes (1%) over drivers from a diverse region.
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE

Vote Tony Caterina for Mayor, Oct. 20, 2025

Edmonton Journal story; ‘Members of Edmonton city council received an automatic 3.07 per cent annual salary increase for 2025. The mayor's base salary increased to $223,234 from $216,585, while councillors' pay rose to $126,119 from $122,363.’

Link to Journal story;  www.tinyurl.com/CityHallRaises 

Good Question.

As your next Mayor of Edmonton, I will find a way to roll back the 3.07 percent increase that occurred on Jan. 1, 2025. As mayor, I will also immediately bring a motion to council to freeze any further pay increases for the entire next term.

Edmonton's system for automatic pay raises for Mayor and Councillors has been in place for over 24 years. At the same time as these large raises, over 3,000 support staff for the Edmonton Public School Board were on strike after receiving only a few small raises over the past decade. These annual council raises make city hall appear tone-deaf to our population at this point and time. Too many Edmontonians are struggling to pay their bills and put food on their tables. The annual, far too high property tax increases are just not sustainable. Edmontonians are looking for and need STRONG leadership. This is just one of my plans.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE 

Vote Tony Caterina for Mayor, Oct. 20, 2025  

Valley Line West, the route going down Stony Plain Road, was the costliest, the most disruptive to residents and businesses, cussing some to go out of business. The recommended route was 89th Avenue, which Mayor Mandel quashed because of friends. The 107th Avenue route would have been a better option. Bus Rapid Transit would have been even the better option, flexible on any route and saving almost 3 billion dollars in infrastructure spending. As I recall, I did vote NO, and I would do so again.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE 

Vote Tony Caterina for Mayor, Oct. 20, 2025

Some may not like what I say, but I will always speak the truth, stand firm on my principles, and share my plans to fix Edmonton where it is broken. 

I am NOT the other guys!  Click here to #AskTony a question.