Photo Courtesy Josh Cercel

By Tanner Smith

Candidate Profile

City of Grande Prairie Candidate Profile: Josh Cercel

Sep 23, 2025 | 3:19 PM

Josh Cercel is one of over 20 residents running for a City Council position.

He was asked to answer the following four questions with a 600-word limit.

1. What has inspired you to run for mayor/council/school trustee in the Oct. 20, 2025, municipal election?

I have been entertaining the thought for some time, and with the events of this world and watching what is going on, what truly inspired me to go for it is the tragedy of Charlie Kirk. I believe we need and the people have a fire in their hearts for a change, transparency, accountability, strong leaders who rant scared to work for the people, get involved in and understand the true struggles of GP.

2. What skills or experience do you have that you feel would make you a good fit for the role?

I have stared working up in FSJ within the oil and gas industry, of which I then became interested in plant operations, so taking on the processs of obtaining a power engineering ticket I would spend my time in camp studying, and taking on quizzes to complete the goal, years later obtaining the position I found I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I didi, I had passions elsewhere, at this time operating a corporation I have started supplying man power to oil and gas service companies dealing with fluid management for frac support etc. I then got together with my brother to start a vactruck and tanker services company of which is currently running. And being involved in the community and wanting to get more involved I decided to use my drive, my energy, my skill set give to me by God to put it to good use and run for City council. I must also say I have gone through a divorce and I had. Lawyer for some Time. Non the less I have decided to do it my self as my drive is audacious and I found I was good at t hat too. The skill is of courage, audacity, commitment, boldness, and the ability to sit down and dive deep in areas I put effort into. I find this is the greatest set of skills to have to be able to get people together, dive deep on issues that matter and make changes. Its possible, its doable, and its commendable even by God him self, to be bold, courageous, and audacious in our every day life, unafraid and unashamed of our movements.

3. What do you feel are the key or main election issues in your community, and what are the issues of priority for you?

This question s big, the main concerns are the peoples concerns, and this is child care, affordability, medical professional retention, walk-in clinics open to support the needs of the people, policing, family court restructuring or availability of programs prior to court proceedings, all the play a huge roll on the peoples mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical health in Grande Prairie. But there’s always more work to do, homelessness and the average age on this matter is a serious concern. Addiction goes hand in hand with these issues.

4. Where can people learn more about you?

They can find me on my FB Page – Josh Cercel, instagram – Josh Cercel, X – @JoshCercel, email me at joshcercel_34@hotmail.com, and I’ll put together a webpage aswell soon, I can always meet with and communicate in meetings we can set up im here to be available to the people