Voters told Taproot they want campaign contributions disclosed before the election
The growing responses to Taproot's listening work with voters in the lead up to the 2025 municipal election in October reveal that many want to know more about who gives mayoral and council candidates their campaign money.
Earlier this year, Taproot launched our listening campaign at several in-person and virtual events, as well as a 2025 election question on our site. We have been gathering responses ever since, and at last count more than 800 people have provided them. The listening was built around a simple question: "What issues do you care about as you consider who to vote for in the 2025 municipal election, and why?"
At least six respondents we heard from doing this work told Taproot that they want to know where candidates get their campaign money from before they mark their ballot.
"Are you prepared to publicly disclose precisely how much money you have raised in campaign donations, and from who specifically, both individuals and companies this money came from and how much each gave you?" one person asked of candidates.
"I want donation transparency BEFORE we vote," another said.
A third person said they want "no political parties or corporate donations" in Edmonton's election. Two other people said they want to know what influence donors wield with candidates and to see all donations disclosed before election day.
Another said they want to see an end to "imbalances in campaign (spending) and contributions."
Taproot has worked to explain some of the intricacies of the finance rules that govern the 2025 election, as well as changes that have been made in advance of the vote. We learned that there is more money available to partied candidates than there is for independents, how penalties for financially delinquent candidates have changed, and how candidates must disclose their donations and spending differently than in 2021.
.jpg){kind=link}