Mike Nickel

Nickel was born in Edmonton and attended the University of Alberta, earning a bachelor's degree in Political Science in 1989 and a master's degree in statistics and media studies from the University of Alberta.[3] During his time at university, Nickel served as President of the University of Alberta Students' Union from 1985 to 1986 and was active in the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.[4]

In 1995, Nickel was a founding member of the Edmonton Stickmen, a group of young businessmen who were critical of then-mayor Jan Reimer for what they saw as anti-business policies. Reimer was defeated in that election by Bill Smith, against whom Nickel ran unsuccessfully in the 1998 and 2001 municipal elections, finishing second and third, respectively.

In 2004, Nickel was elected to Edmonton's city council from Ward 5. On City Council, he developed a reputation for opposing tax increases, Councilor pay increases, and a wide variety of regulation that he saw as wasteful, inefficient, or interfering with the ability of businesspeople to make a living. He sought a second term in the 2007 election, but was defeated by Don Iveson, finishing third of four candidates.[5]

In the October 2013 election, Nickel was elected as the councillor of Ward 11 and Iveson was elected mayor of Edmonton. Both were re-elected in the October 2017 election for the same positions.[6]

While continuing to hold the elected municipal office for Ward 11, Nickel became a United Conservative Party nomination candidate for the electoral riding of Edmonton-South for the 2019 Alberta general election.[7] Nickel stated that he felt he had done all he can at the municipal level and would like to help the United Conservative Party with good urban policy, platform and narrative.[8][9][10] He lost the nomination to Tunde Obasan,[11] who was defeated in the general election by New Democrat Thomas Dang.[12]

In July 2020, Nickel received several complaints from the public regarding several of his social media posts. This led to a report authored by the City of Edmonton Integrity Commissioner Jamie Pytel, which found that the posts were "disrespectful, lacked decorum, contained personal attacks and misleading information", and that they contravened city council's Code of Conduct.[13] Nickel maintained the posts were truthful and inoffensive. Following the release of the report, city council voted 8-4 in favour of sanctions - one vote short of the super majority needed, and Nickel was not reprimanded. [14]

After a long period of uncertainty about his intentions, Mike Nickel announced in January 2021 that he would be running for mayor in the 2021 Edmonton municipal election.[15] This marks his third run for mayor, having run two unsuccessful campaigns in 1998 and 2001.[16]

• Official website