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Preamble:
WHEREAS municipal elections in Alberta have been predominantly free from political party influence; and
WHEREAS this non-partisan structure has afforded local elected officials the autonomy to debate and vote on municipal issues based on the best interests of their community; and
WHEREAS the Government of Alberta is considering formalizing political parties at the municipal level; and
WHEREAS formalizing political parties at the municipal level would restrict individual elected officials from independently pursuing the best interests of the municipality but instead bind them by the ideology of the political party they represent; and
WHEREAS the current Local Authorities Elections Act does not explicitly restrict political party influence in local elections.
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) advocate to the Government of Alberta to refrain from formalizing partisan politics in local government elections;
FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the RMA advocate for the Government of Alberta to amend the Local Authorities Elections Act (LAEA) to prohibit partisanship from infiltrating local elections or politics in any way including political party endorsements of local candidates, donations directly or indirectly from political parties to local candidates, or by way of any other influence.
Member Background:
Local government elected officials are closer to the people they represent than those of any other form of government. These representatives also live in their community, which is not always the case for those elected provincially or federally. Local representatives interact with their citizens often, are accountable to their citizens and are easily accessible.
On any community issue they face, these local elected officials bring their experience and what they believe is best for the overall community and express this through their debate and vote. This is critical in local government and plays a big part in why local government is the most accountable and efficient form of government.
Partisanship in local politics would be a disappointment. No longer could our local elected officials vote on what they believe is best for the community, but instead, they would be beholden to vote based on the ideology of the political party they represent. In the few cases where elected officials in non-local governments dare vote on what they feel is in the best interests of their constituents rather than by their parties’ ideologies, they have been alienated by the party. This has the effect of leaving their constituents frustrated with the feeling their voice has been further eroded.
For our municipalities to remain efficient, effective and accountable, it is critical that we leave no room for partisan politics.
RMA Background:
RMA has no active resolutions directly related to this issue.
Municipal Affairs
Bill 20: Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, amends the Local Authorities Election Act to allow for the creation of municipal political parties. This is intended to provide transparency for electors to select candidates who identify with a local political party platform. It will also establish rules for political party registration, candidate endorsement, financial contributions, and financial disclosures through a regulation. The regulation will be completed in fall 2024. Municipal political parties cannot be affiliated with a provincial or federal political party, and candidates may choose to run independently without affiliation to a political party. For the next general elections in October 2025, political parties will be limited to the cities of Calgary and Edmonton.
Development:
The Government of Alberta’s response clearly indicates that political parties at the municipal level will proceed as planned, despite RMA’s advocacy against them and widespread public disapproval of the change. While political parties are only being trialed in Calgary and Edmonton for the 2025 election, they may be expanded in the future to encompass other municipalities as well.
Two Regulations related to municipal parties were released in fall 2024: the Local Political Parties and Slates Regulation (LPPSR), and the Expense Limits Regulation (ELR).
Unfortunately, the LPPSR appears to allow party-affiliated candidates to incur expenses to a limit equal to non-party affiliated candidates, while also allowing parties to collect campaign funds on behalf of candidates. Although the LPPSR does link the amount of campaign funds a party may collect to the number of party affiliated candidates running in a municipality, it does not require those collected funds to be distributed evenly among candidates. This may allow parties to run many candidates to increase their overall campaign fund collection limit, and use the funds collected on a smaller number of “star” or high priority candidates.
As for the ELR, RMA’s main focus for expense limits was that they were not tied strictly to population as the costs of campaigning in rural communities are driven by unique factors linked to the distance between residences. RMA is concerned that candidates and parties have separate, and apparently cumulative expense limits, as this creates and un-level financial playing field among candidates.
RMA will continue to advocate against political parties in municipal politics, but as the provincial government is unwilling to change their position on them at this time, this resolution has been assigned a status of Intent Not Met.
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