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When Regency Development executives face city council Monday to ask once again for permission to build towers on Holyrood Gardens, seven out of the 13 council members will be looking back at a campaign donor.

Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson calls those donations “dark money.”

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He said he wants corporate and union donations out of Alberta municipal election campaigns when he launched a public survey on the issue last month.

But corporate and union donors say it’s not so simple. This money helps fund a critical debate every four years as candidates get concerns in front of the public.

So Postmedia asked: Who are these big backers? The numbers are pulled from disclosure statements each candidate filed with the city clerk after last October’s election. The provincial survey runs until July 31 at alberta.ca/LAEA.

Who are the biggest donors?

Edmonton’s largest individual donors last year were city unions representing bus drivers, firefighters and office-based staff. The Amalgamated Transit Union topped the list with $46,500.