Working Families Edmonton is a broad-based collective of voices ranging from community members/organizations, local activists, and unions. We came together in 2021 with the hope that, with information and transparency, the voice of working families can finally be heard within City Hall and our priorities will be echoed by policies.
Working Edmontonians deserve better; we deserve a city that puts us first. Edmontonians know that taxation is necessary but we want our leaders to spend it responsibly in maintaining and creating the world-class city we all deserve.
To do this, we reached out and partnered with organizations, citizens and activists who share this vision in order to create an organization that can keep Edmontonians informed about ways to make our communities better and identify leaders who are working hard to advance priorities in the public interest. We aim to provide resources for local action and expand our campaigns to unite around issues that matter and champion the interests of Edmonton’s working people.
Our Roots
Those in power use local elections to support candidates who will, in turn, cut public services, push a privatization agenda, and let the province off the hook as they fail to deliver on their responsibilities to our communities. This strategy was foreshadowed by the sweeping legislation that increased the role of big money in municipal elections and decreased the need to report funders until after Election Day.
With the loss of dedicated municipal reporters covering what is happening at City Hall, combined with a lack of fiscal transparency, we knew something had to be done. Our first campaign, Act for Edmonton, attempted to do just that. We hope to see its success continue to transform our City Hall and empower working-class citizens for years to come.
Join UsFAQ
Q: What is the difference between a municipal political party and a third-party advertiser?
A: Parties exist to double the corporate donations to municipal candidates and tell them what issues they need to campaign on. With the doubled capacity to fundraise they are able to direct funds to candidates as they see fit.
Third-party advertisers are able to raise funds to talk about issues and endorse candidates who reflect the priorities of those they represent. They cannot donate to or coordinate with any campaigns or candidates.
Q: Why do labour unions support Working Families Edmonton?
A: Unions have long been politically active in the interest of advancing workers’ rights and focusing on the issues that matter to their membership. As an issue-based organization, Working Families Edmonton is helping to break through narratives and power structures that aren’t serving working people to build collective advocacy and strengthen the voices of workers. WFE members are responsive to the needs of Edmontonians, not corporate interests or political parties and volunteer their time and capacity to a cause they believe in.
Q: Is this the first organization that has formed to advance the interests of everyday, working people in Edmonton?
A: There are many grassroots organizations that have formed over the years to challenge the outsized influence of wealthy financiers and developers influencing our local government and to advocate for the needs of working people in our communities. The earliest example is the EFCL (https://efcl.org/about/history/) that saw even back in the 1900s that “it was time for a new approach, a new “get ‘er done’ attitude and a united ‘voice’ that could compete with those who had the ear of the city – the developers and trade boards.”
The EDLC also formed in 1904, as part of labour unions getting together to amplify the voices of their members within the municipal government. In the years following, this model was duplicated at the provincial and federal level.
Q: Will there be a publicly-available report about how much money was collected by WFE and how it was spent?
A: All third-party advertisers are required to report their spending and donations that occured after May 1st. WFE as an organization is thankful to the unions and community partners who are able to make this important work possible through donations of time, talent, or treasure. We continue to welcome members from the community to help build the organization and will always be transparent about how we are funded whether it is the law or not.
Thanks to our funders we have been able to spend approximately $85,000 on election advertising as of October 9, 2025 and, in the interest of transparency, we will do our best to keep this updated as Edmontonians head to the polls. While it is a far cry from what the wealthy developers and connected elite have been able to donate to parties and candidates we will continue to fight to give a voice to Working Families at City Hall.
