Partisan politics is making its debut in this municipal election, but the majority of mayoral and councillor candidates in Edmonton have chosen to stay independent.

The provincial government passed legislation last year allowing candidates in Edmonton and Calgary to run as a part of a local political party, like in Vancouver and Montreal.

Only two parties have emerged in Edmonton. Better Edmonton is led by two-term councillor Tim Cartmell who is running for mayor. The party is running candidates for council in every one of the city's 12 wards, including incumbent Karen Principe, who is running for re-election in Ward tastawiyiniwak.

The Principled Accountable Coalition of Edmonton -- or PACE -- is fielding councillor candidates in nine wards.

Cartmell is the only mayoral candidate out of 13 who is affiliated with a political party.

The two parties have platforms addressing similar concerns. They include promises to review city spending, take action on transit safety and change Edmonton's controversial blanket zoning policy.

A majority of Albertans who were polled on the issue in a 2023 survey said they are opposed to political parties in municipal elections.

But proponents of municipal parties say Edmonton city council already has groups of like-minded councillors, so bringing in political parties would provide more transparency.

Ward Métis candidate Ashley Salvador was first elected in 2021 and is seeking a second term in office.

She is opposed to the province's push to have political parties involved in municipal government. Despite what critics have suggested, she said councillors don't always vote the same way.

Salvador said she had been persuaded to change her mind at times because of a presentation from a member of the public or an argument from a council colleague. She worries a political party will force its affiliated councillors to vote the same way on issues and limit that ability to change minds.

"It is integral to our local democratic process that we remain open-minded and are able to shift as we hear different perspectives and take in different expertise -- different information to make the best possible decision," Salvador said.

She said she has heard a lot of negative feedback about political parties on the campaign trail.

"When pressed, I'm not sure Edmontonians, Calgarians or Albertans got a good answer as to why this is being done -- which raises flags."

The provincial government has said local party regulations were designed to mirror rules governing provincial and federal parties.

Ward Métis sits on both sides of the North Saskatchewan River, east of downtown on the north side and east of Old Strathcona on the south. The ward is made up of mature neighbourhoods.

The city's infill bylaw, which allows structures with up to eight units to be built on a single lot, has frustrated people in mature neighbourhoods with mostly single-family homes.

Caroline Matthews, who is running in Ward Métis, said infill is the No. 1 issue she is hearing while door-knocking. She wants to amend the bylaw, not repeal it as one of her opponents is proposing.

Matthews said residents should have a say in what gets built in their community..

"It's their neighbourhoods, their communities, and probably the single-largest investment that they've made has been in their home and we need to respect that," she said.

Matthews has had a career that includes time spent as a Vancouver police officer and as a business owner.

She came second to Salvador in the 2021 election. This time she is running for Tim Cartmell's Better Edmonton Party.

Matthews said she noticed how alliances were formed during the last election and who endorsed various candidates.

Matthews said she's received a mixed reaction when people learn she is running as part of a political party. She said people are receptive after she explains how Better Edmonton has built a team of candidates that share similar views on issues.

"I think that people understand that at the municipal level, this is probably the best-balanced approach that we can take to address the main issues that they would like to have addressed," she said.

Justin Thomas is the Ward Métis candidate for PACE. Like Matthews, Thomas has run for municipal office before. He was a candidate for mayor in the 2017 race which was won by Don Iveson, who was the incumbent at the time.

Thomas was going to run as an independent council candidate in this election but changed his mind.

"I realized that for things to change we need more like-minded people in council," he said.

"If I get elected as an independent, I can scream and shout as much as I want, but I'm just one vote at the end of the day."

Thomas is concerned about the effect infill development is having on Ward Métis. He wants council to repeal the zoning bylaw to protect mature neighbourhoods.

Thomas said his campaign has reached 18,000 doors so far. He said he has encountered only three people who say they won't vote for him because he is part of a municipal party.

Thomas said his association with PACE lets people know what he stands for.

"If an individual ... thinks these are independent councillors, well, I would tell them to just read more about their record and where their money is coming from," he said.

Vancouver has had political parties at the municipal level for decades. Kennedy Stewart, the mayor of Vancouver from 2018 to 2022, was elected as an independent. Now a political science professor at Simon Fraser University, he is a surprising proponent of the municipal party system.

Speaking to host Rob Brown on the Sept. 16 episode of the West of Centre podcast, Stewart acknowledged people often cringe when they think about political parties. However, he believes political parties help voters understand what positions candidates hold, and offer a way for citizens to hold politicians to account once they are elected.

Stewart said municipal parties aren't as strict about making their councillors vote a certain way, so it is possible for them to split with the party line if they want.

"That should give you a little bit of relief that the local voices will still be very strong," he said.

Three other candidates are running for council in Ward Métis: Abdulhakim Dalel, Norm Paradis and James Gosse. All three are independent.

Dalel said area residents have told him that councils should stay non-partisan. He believes municipal politics should focus on the needs of residents instead of the interests of political parties.

"City councils work best when councillors collaborate, build consensus and focus on solving problems without being restricted by ideological lines," Dalel said.

"Introducing party politics into city hall could create unnecessary division and shift attention away from addressing practical community issues."

Paradis said voters have mostly expressed their dislike for municipal political parties to him.

"I chose to run as an independent because I believe that municipal politics is not about one idea against another, as provincial and federal politics are," he said. "It is about representing communities within your district that may require a more hands-on type of representation."

Gosse said he is running as an independent because he believes city councillors should be accountable to their residents, not to a party. He said people have told him that they believe political parties "will turn council into a partisan battlefield."

"I reject the introduction of parties at the municipal level and feel they only serve to further the polarization that has gripped our political landscape," he said.