Background and career
Stephen Mandel (born July 18, 1945) is a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Edmonton from 2004 to 2013, as Alberta's Minister of Health from 2014 to 2015, and as leader of the Alberta Party from 2018 to 2019. Before becoming mayor, he was a city councillor for three years. On September 15, 2014, he was made Minister of Health by premier Jim Prentice, despite not holding a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was subsequently named as the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party's candidate in a by-election in Edmonton-Whitemud, the seat formerly held by Dave Hancock, which was scheduled for October 27, 2014. He won in the byelection but was subsequently defeated in the general election on May 5, 2015. Mandel announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Alberta Party on January 10, 2018. He was elected on February 27, 2018, defeating two other candidates. Mandel resigned as Alberta Party leader in June 2019. Mandel was made a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2024.
Mandel received an associate of arts degree from Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois, a bachelor of science in business administration from Miami University, and his masters in political science from the University of Windsor. He moved to Edmonton in 1972 from Windsor, Ontario. Mandel owned Strathcona County's Lakeland Village mobile home park up until 2023 when he sold to American Company Harmony Communities.
Prior to being elected to city council, Mandel ran unsuccessfully for school trustee He was first elected to the Edmonton City Council in 2001 as a councillor for Ward 1. In 2004, he became mayor by defeating Edmonton's three-term mayor, Bill Smith. Mandel credits his successes to the hard work and spirit of cooperation of his council. Mandel left office as Mayor of Edmonton on October 29, 2013.
Mandel's city council was responsible for many infrastructural changes, some controversial: expansion of the LRT lines, the construction of a new arena for the Edmonton Oilers. After years of public consultations since 2008, the city approved a plan to gradually decommission the City Centre airport by implementing the City Centre Redevelopment Plan. The City Centre Redevelopment Plan aims to mitigate urban sprawl by redeveloping the aging and costly City Centre Airport into the sustainable-300 acre inner city neighbourhood of Blatchford, which is anticipated to accommodate 30,000 residents. According to sporting organization 'SportAccord', the city has a Silver class partnership with the convention, enabling Edmonton to host many world classed events awarded during the Mandel administration. The city is one of six host cities of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Mandel committed to reversing the tendency towards declining investment and architectural standards in Edmonton's public buildings, declaring that "our tolerance for crap is now zero." During his mayoral tenure, Edmonton reinstated the role of City Architect and hired Carol Bélanger, who redesigned the procurement process for public buildings.
Edmonton Oilers CEO Daryl Katz has entered into an agreement with the city of Edmonton to joint finance the construction of a new arena for the hockey team which the city will own. The entertainment complex, arena and plaza along with neighbourhood development, and adjacent Winter Garden LRT Station costing $35M has an estimated budget of $601 Million CAD. The project will be financed between the city with a seed fund valued at $219M CAD. Katz Group will contribute $143M and invest in the neighbouring land development. The Albertan government won't fund the arena as Mandel anticipated however the provincial government inadvertently funded $170M through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative. $125M will be raised through ticket surcharges.
Responding to an upsurge of domestic spousal violence in 2006, Mandel together with the Alberta Council for Women's Shelters hosted the first 'Breakfast with guys' peace seminar aimed at curbing violence. The event inspired Edmonton's business leaders raise awareness and support among their staff and community. This initiative has since been replicated globally. To address the needs of Edmonton's Aboriginal community the city conducted the 'Edmonton Urban Aboriginal Accord Initiative Project', many important documents and agreements with Treaty 6 natives, 'as an accord between Edmonton and the Aboriginal community' were written. In 2011 Mandel commissioned the 'Community Sustainability Task Force', to address problems that mature Edmontonian neighborhoods faced. The organization reported on recommendations through the 'ELEVATE' report. Mandel negotiated with the county of Leduc to amalgamate, 15,600 Acres of land to be used to support Edmonton's anticipated growth, if approved it will be the first major growth since 1982. IBM granted 400,000 USD worth of expertise and advice to assist local experts in improving the lives of Edmontonians through the effective use of data and technology, listing the city as a 2011 Smart Cities Challenge winner. In 2012, Mandel embarked on a trade mission to meet business and municipal leaders from Asia, to assert Edmonton's place in global Energy and business trade.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
