Mike Nickel
Mike Nickel is a politician in Alberta, Canada and the current Ward 11 councillor in Edmonton.
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. 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.
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 and finished third of four candidates.
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.
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. 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. He lost the nomination to Tunde Obasan, who was defeated in the general election by New Democrat Thomas Dang.
