Alberta Says It May Legislate to Protect Jurisdiction as Ottawa Approaches Municipalities on Housing

Sean Fraser, the federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities, speaks to reporters during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, on Aug. 21, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese)

The federal government is getting increasingly involved with municipalities as it seeks to boost housing supply, prompting Alberta to mull tabling legislation to uphold and protect its jurisdictional power.

Alberta’s Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said in a Nov. 20 statement that he is “concerned about the repeated public comments” from federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser “indicating they will continue to deal directly with municipalities.”

Mr. McIver said his government will seek to protect the province’s constitutional right to oversee its municipalities.

“This may mean that Alberta tables legislation similar to Quebec, which requires the federal government to engage in negotiations with our province, rather than side-stepping us by engaging only with municipalities,” he said.

Alberta is not alone in contemplating such a move, with Canada’s premiers raising similar concerns in a joint statement after their Nov. 6 meeting in Halifax.

It says that premiers “agreed to explore legislative frameworks similar to Québec that require provincial authorization before municipalities or public agencies enter into any agreements with the federal government.”

Premiers also said federal programs shouldn’t pit provinces and territories against each other or prescribe certain kinds of infrastructure projects over others.

Mr. McIver’s statement also raised concerns over comments made by Mr. Fraser on Nov. 20, the day before the Liberals delivered the fall economic update, relating to the government’s intent to intervene in the short-term rentals space.

Mr. Fraser told reporters that tax measures could be implemented against property owners who do short-term rentals in a bid to increase the supply of regular housing.

“The federal government doesn’t necessarily have jurisdiction to prescribe exactly what may happen on the ground, which typically would fall to municipalities or potentially to provincial governments, but we do have the authority to make changes through the federal system of taxation,” he said.

Mr. McIver said that Mr. Fraser’s comments “hinted at his government’s interest in meddling” with provincial and municipal decision-making in the field.

“This is just the federal government’s latest attempt to bypass Alberta and other provincial governments and overstep their authority,” he said.

Courts have recently ruled against the federal government in that regard, finding unconstitutional the environmental impact assessment legislation and Ottawa’s designation of all manufactured plastic products as “toxic.”

The Liberal government has been under pressure to address housing affordability, with soaring home prices, a rapid rise in mortgage rates, and record rental prices.

Liberal ministers have been multiplying announcements with municipalities to unveil deals under its programs such as the Housing Accelerator Fund or the Rental Construction Financing Initiative.

Also on Nov. 20, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the mayors of Saskatoon, Edmonton, Regina, and Winnipeg in Ottawa to discuss urban housing.

“We spoke about housing, addictions, and other issues downtown cores across the Prairies are facing – and I let them know the federal government is here to work with them,” wrote Mr. Trudeau in a social media post after the meeting.