Mike Savage sought another term as mayor, competing for the position against incumbent councillor Matt Whitman and social media personality and copywriter Max Taylor.

A record number of women were elected, achieving gender parity on Halifax council for the first time.

In October 2019, longtime Spryfield councillor Steve Adams (District 11) announced that he would not re-offer in the following year's election.

[10] District 12 candidate Eric Jury attracted controversy after publishing a video in which he promised, if elected, to "bring any motion you want forward" on behalf of anyone who donated over $100 to his campaign.

Richard Zurawski, the incumbent councillor for District 12, stated that he was "absolutely floored" by the video, and expressed concern that municipal staff had apparently not vetted material posted to the elections website.

A city spokesperson responded, "the returning officer for the election has reached out to this candidate, and the video has been removed.

A record number of women (eight) were elected, achieving gender parity on council for the first time in history.

[15] Of the 11 incumbent councillors that ran for re-election, nine retained their seats while two (Steve Streatch and Richard Zurawski) did not.

However, the race in District 11 was too close to call, as Patty Cuttell led Bruce Holland by a small margin and results from two polls had not been published.

[14] The municipal returning officer attributed the delay to confusion surrounding the tallying of two advance polls, as well as a large number of new, inexperienced election staff.

[16] Holland requested an official recount, commenting that the number of spoiled and rejected ballots was greater than the 28 votes that won the race.

[20] A professor of political science at Cape Breton University commented that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have prompted a stronger interest in community affairs.

[21] The new council was sworn in on October 29, 2020 at the Halifax Convention Centre with the exception of Patty Cuttell, who had to await the results of the District 11 recount.

[24] Becky Kent, who served as regional councillor for the former Woodside-Eastern Passage district from 2004 to 2007, was elected.

[29][30] Three candidates for the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial were elected by acclamation, namely: Jeff Arsenault, Katherine Howlett, and Marc Pinet.