When it comes to municipal political party donations in the first half of this year, Communities First leads the pack.
However, The Calgary Party brought in the most money — and also spent the most — in that same time period.
Of the mayoral candidates, Sonya Sharp brought in the most donations, followed by Jeromy Farkas and Jyoti Gondek.
Financial disclosures from Jan. 1 to July 31, 2025, have now been made public for campaign contributions and party expenses for the three political parties, as well as individual mayoral and ward candidates.
Provincial rules required the statements be filed by Oct. 1.
Statements showing spending and expenses for the entirety of the calendar year are due in March 2026.
Donations are restricted to Alberta residents, trade unions and corporations that do business in the province. Earlier this year, the province reversed a ban on union and corporate donations passed under Rachel Notley’s NDP government.
Everyone who contributes is limited to donating $5,000 in total to parties in the calendar year. Donors may contribute an additional $5,000 in aggregate to mayoral and council candidates, and a further $5,000 to school board candidates.
The disclosures name donors who gave more than $50 to a party or individual.
The lists include a mix of developers, prominent Calgary business people, philanthropists, and current and former politicians alike.
Party financial breakdowns
Communities First collected $107,484 in donations, with another $14,075 brought in from fundraising functions.
It spent $121,088 in campaign expenses during the first half of the year.
The Calgary Party received $70,984 in donations.
It also brought in $233,175 in what is listed as “other revenue.”
Stephen Carter, campaign strategist for The Calgary Party, said that encompasses fees paid by each candidate throughout the course of the campaign, to cover costs like branded brochures and digital ads.
Each candidate will have paid $17,500 by the end of the campaign, with mayoral candidate Brian Thiessen matching those funds himself.
Carter said Thiessen has been the party’s “primary fundraiser, and has transferred as much money as our candidates have into the overall party apparatus.”
Those candidate contributions helped offset the $288,521 in campaign expenses The Calgary Party incurred. The disclosure breakdown shows $107,037 on advertising and promotion and another $108,460 on contractors.
A Better Calgary Party trails the other parties in donations ($23,020) and in expenses ($11,662).
“We knew as being grassroots that we’re not going to have the deep pockets of the other parties,” said Roy Beyer, executive director of A Better Calgary Party.
“We are focused in on targeted spending and specifically in seven wards. We’re not running a mayoral candidate,” he added.
Sonya Sharp raises most of mayoral candidates
When it comes to those running for mayor, Sharp of Communities First lists the highest amount from donors to her individual campaign, with $218,127 in the first half of the year.
Her campaign has spent $182,162 over that same period.
Farkas spent the most of all candidates on his 2021 mayoral bid, when he ultimately finished second to Gondek.
This year he is second so far in terms of donations received, with $162,338 contributed by donors, and disclosed $182,100 in campaign expenses.
Gondek, the incumbent in the race, lists $151,197 in donations and $86,086 spent so far on her campaign.
Thiessen of The Calgary Party has received $145,227 from donors and spent $179,912 on his campaign.
Jeff Davison has brought in $146,049 in donations, while spending $229,585 on his campaign.
“We were also the first to announce and so we’ve been running the longest campaign, and by way of that, you have more expenses throughout,” said Davison.
Mid-year disclosures new
The mid-year disclosures are new to this municipal election, part of the sweeping changes made by the province that allowed parties to run in the first place.
Preparing the financial statements came at a cost of its own, according to Carter with The Calgary Party.
“It cost us over $10,000 just to do these statements. That’s money out of our communications budget,” said Carter.
“We had to pay accountants to review the financial statements that we put in. Normally, that review is only done once. Now it’s being done twice, which is absolutely complete bullshit,” said Carter.
Voters will head to the polls on Oct. 20.
