In the recent YEG civic election I threw as much of my visual weight behind Don Iveson’s campaign as possible. Although I approached the shots from a photojournalist perspective, my goals were anything but impartial — I wanted to see Don succeed in his bid to lead Edmonton over the next four years.

Along with photographer Tom Young, I documented the Iveson campaign over an intensive 3-month period (August – October 2013). The following photos come from 28 stops along the campaign trail engaging with Edmontonians both young and old, across a range of ethnicities and socio-economic stratums: from Heritage Days to coffee shops and doorsteps through to mayoral forums, community gardens and election night.

Much has been made of the cadre of amazing volunteers and politically astute campaign team, tactics and technology that facilitated Don’s bid for mayor. Engagement was the name of the game. But the results on election night speak not only to an extremely well-organized, well-run, positive campaign, but to all of us as Edmontontians. The stage has been set, and I’m curious and hopeful of where we will go. In the same way that these photos speak to Don’s successful campaign bid, over the coming years I’m looking forward to documenting how this city grows, engages and moves.

It’s not just about benefitting the top 10% and maintaining the status quo, it’s about building positive, engaged communities that talk and listen to one another — whether these be communities of neighbours living next to one another, or those of business, industry, education, health and technology that drive our economy. It’s about honouring consensus and pluralism; truly core Canadian values that have both given, and in return, will give us, an ability to adapt to the challenges that lay ahead. It’s about demonstrating and championing these values to the world, and this will take all of us, trying to build something, together.