Some voters told Taproot that reconciliation with Indigenous nations matters for their vote – Taproot News
Sept. 30, 2025
The growing responses to Taproot’s listening work in the lead up to the municipal election on Oct. 20 reveal that some voters expect results rather than rhetoric when it comes to how the city reconciles with Indigenous nations and peoples.
Edmonton and its residents are all treaty people because the city resides on Treaty 6 land. The city, province, and Canada itself were built atop Indigenous territory in ways that led to significant harm. In Edmonton, the damaging legacies include the Camsell Hospital, which housed Indigenous people from across Canada for tuberculosis treatment, often against their will, the large number of residential schools in Alberta, and the forced removal of the Papaschase people from what’s now partially Mill Woods.
Earlier this year, Taproot launched our listening campaign at several in-person and virtual events, and we posted a 2025 election question on our site. We have been gathering responses ever since, and at last count, more than 925 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?”
