Alberta Shoots Down Calgary Council’s Plan to Let Non-Citizens Vote in Municipal Elections

Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver and Premier Danielle Smith introduce legislation addressing agreements between the federal government and provincial entities in Edmonton on April 10, 2024. The Canadian Press/Jason Franson

A Calgary city council motion to pursue voting rights for Canadian permanent residents ran into a roadblock as the Alberta government quickly made clear that only Canadian citizens can vote in municipal elections.

Council voted on April 30 to present the issue to the annual Alberta Municipalities conference scheduled for September. But in a May 1 statement, Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said: “Alberta’s government has been clear since the beginning: only Canadian citizens are able to vote in civic elections. That will not be changing.”

The council motion passed 9–6. Voting in favour were Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Councillors Terry Wong, Raj Dhaliwal, Richard Pootmans, Gian-Carlo Carra, Jasmine Mian, Kourtney Penner, Evan Spencer, and Courtney Walcott.

Opposing the motion were Councillors Peter Demong, Sean Chu, Jennifer Wyness, Dan McLean, Sonya Sharp, and Andre Chabot.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said only Canadian citizens should be allowed to cast ballots in elections.

“Although we welcome people from around the world to work and live in Alberta, in order to vote, one must commit to Canadian citizenship. That’s how it works,” she said in a post on X. “I applaud Minister of Municipal Affairs, Ric McIver, for taking action to ensure integrity in our democratic institutions.”

Protecting democracy “is of the utmost importance,” said Mr. McIver. “Our provincial election legislation, like the Local Authorities Elections Act, has also been clear since its inception that voting is a right of Canadian citizens.”

The government “will continue to protect the integrity of our elections and make sure voting is accessible for all Albertans who are Canadian citizens,” he said.

Council first raised the issue on April 16, when Councillor Walcott made a motion at the executive committee that council consider the issue.

A spokesperson for Alberta Municipalities said the association welcomes resolutions for consideration at its annual meeting.

“Resolutions that meet all the submission criteria are presented at our association’s annual Convention and then voted on. Resolutions that pass are then adopted. The submission deadline is May 31, 2024,” communications manager Scott Lundy told The Epoch Times in an email.

“Our association will wait to comment on members’ proposed resolutions until they’ve been presented at our annual Convention, which takes place in Red Deer this year from September 25 to 27,” he added.

This isn’t the first controversy for Calgary’s council recently. In January, it passed a single-use bylaw requiring restaurants and retail outlets to charge customers for items such as paper bags, and to ask customers if they needed napkins and utensils.

The bylaw was heavily criticized, with some councillors saying they were inundated with emails over the issue.

It was repealed within two weeks of going into effect but led to one resident starting a petition to recall Mayor Gondek.

The mayor had been criticized over a number of recent decisions, including a “safe and inclusive” bylaw that restricted public protests, and her not attending a Menorah lighting at city hall, saying it had become politicized.

The petition fell short of the required signatures needed.

In May 2023, Calgary announced it would do away with the Canada Day fireworks show, another decision that it quickly reversed.

The city originally said the fireworks would be cancelled over concerns about indigenous truth and reconciliation efforts, the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Chinese Immigration Act, and upsetting local animals and wildlife.

Jennifer Cowan and Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.