Page 29 - 08_Oct-2025

Tony Caterina
Tony Caterina
As a four-term city councillor, Tony Caterina earned a reputation as
an effective yet combative conservative voice. His slogan — “There is
no substitute for experience” — leans on that record, but his current
mayoral run has puzzled many: a low-visibility campaign marked by
ribbon “signage” in place of lawn signs, press-release gaffes and
unfiltered straight talk. Still, Caterina distinguishes himself with a
brand of conservative populism — from pledging tougher policing to
promising to kill the “disastrous” re-zoning Bylaw 20001.
OM: In the four years since you last held
office, you were retired, spending time in
Florida and looking after your grandkids.
Why give that up?
TC: I hoped someone would voice opposition
on this past council, but they all seemed
the same. With 12 councillors, there should
be real debate, but it’s been homogenized
— continuing bike lanes, rapid infill. What
puzzled me most was how tone-deaf council
seemed coming out of COVID. With gas and
grocery prices rising, it wasn’t the time for
high taxation or new spending. Instead, they
added to people’s burden.
OM: It’s a very competitive race. What’s your
strategy to pull ahead?
TC: My strategy is simple — if you want
change, I’m the one willing to make tough
decisions. If you like the way things are
going, I’m not your guy. Right now, every
campaign looks cut-and-paste. Change the
name from Cartmell to Knack to Walters and
it’s all the same. “I want to hear you. I want to
listen to you. I want to know what you think.”
Fuck off — they're just checking the boxes
and I’m too old for that.
OM: You’ve been very vocal against Tim
Cartmell in particular. Why?
TC: He’s pretending to be conservative, but
he’s voted for (almost) every tax increase
and budget. Now he’s running on voting "no"
to the last budget. But that’s misleading — he
voted "yes" to all the capital budget, then "no"
to the operating. It’s like building a hospital
but not staffing it. It’s fucking stupid.
He’s not mayor material because he’s
too thin-skinned, always trying to please
everyone, which means he doesn’t stand
on principle. If you want to make everyone
happy, go sell ice cream.
OM: What do you hope to achieve as mayor
that you can’t as councillor?
TC: The mayor sets the tone for how we
move forward and conduct ourselves,
but the priority must be focusing on what
municipalities are actually responsible
for — and doing it well. A top example is
housing: it’s mainly a provincial jurisdiction.
The contribution that the City has made
voluntarily in this sector is something I'd
like to revise because when we take that
on, other governments don’t step up. My
priorities are police, fire, infrastructure and
the core services taxpayers expect. To put it
bluntly, I’ll be the SOB in this election.
OM: But if the province keeps underfunding
social supports, which is what’s being
argued, where does that leave our city?
TC: I remember back in 2009 we faced
a similar situation with EMS. We had to
decide: keep overspending or hand it back?
Ultimately, we said, “This is your jurisdiction,
here are the keys,” and the province took
it over. That’s the kind of difficult decision
needed again now.
OM: Are you satisfied with how the provincial
government is running or funding addictions
and mental-health services?
TC: No, because obviously we have many
problems. But my personal views don’t really
enter into how I would govern. The province
needs to take full responsibility for what’s in
its jurisdiction and pay for it.
OM: As Edmonton’s mayor, though, you still
have a powerful platform and responsibility
to influence the provincial government on 
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