Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s in favour of establishing political parties at the municipal level for larger cities, suggesting legislation on the matter could come during the spring sitting.
It’s a move that would potentially introduce formal political affiliations on city councils.
Such parties are in place already in British Columbia and Quebec, but so far polling has suggested a tepid response to the idea in Alberta.
“I’m in favour, especially for the largest municipalities — maybe not everyone,” Smith said on her Saturday morning radio program, Your Province. Your Premier.
“We’ve got 355 municipalities. The smaller the municipality, I don’t know that they’re as partisan. But when you get into a city the size of Calgary or Edmonton, you better believe it’s partisan.”
Formalizing that would bring more transparency, she said.
A file photo of Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver. A spokesperson for McIver says the ministry is reviewing the overall results of an engagement around implementing potential changes to the Local Authorities Election Act. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
The premier added that she’s communicated her support for such an idea to Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver, but she noted that any decision would need to be put in front of cabinet, caucus, and receive consultation and feedback.
“[There will] very likely be … there’ll be legislation that addresses this in this spring session,” Smith said.
Last year, the provincial government ran two online surveys between Nov. 7 and Dec. 6, 2023, with an eye toward implementing potential changes to theLocal Authorities Election Act and the Municipal Government Act. The former sets the rules for elections in the province.
In response to a request for more information, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs wrote in an email that the results of those surveys are being reviewed, including the possibility of updating the Local Authorities Election Act.
“Alberta’s government reviews local election laws regularly to make sure the rules continue to strengthen transparency and accountability in our local elections and election officials,” wrote Scott Johnston.
Most Albertans opposed to idea, poll suggests
In early September, a survey conducted by pollster Janet Brown for Alberta Municipalities, the association representing 260 of Alberta’s municipalities, suggested 68 per cent of Albertans would like candidates to continue to run as individuals and not members of political parties.
From there, the poll went on to give people reasons why political parties in municipalities would or would not be a good idea in municipal politics, Brown said in an interview.
The biggest concern people had was that municipal politicians would start to act in the best interest of a political party, not necessarily in the best interest of their community.
“They thought it would make politics more divisive. They thought maybe high-quality candidates would be discouraged from running at the municipal level,” Brown said.
Survey respondents were presented with five statements and asked the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with each. (Janet Brown Opinion Research)
In January, Postmedia reported more than 70 per cent of respondents to the government’s online survey were opposed to having political parties in municipal elections, citing a freedom of information request. CBC News has not seen the survey results.
Brown noted those numbers would track closely with what her survey indicated.
On the positive side, Brown said her survey suggested people thought adopting political parties would make it easier for people to identify the policies of local candidates.
“But it is really clear that the negatives around this idea outweigh the positives,” she said.
Alberta Municipalities, which commissioned the poll, has been critical of the idea.
Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities, spoke during a press conference last Thursday, saying there was little support for the provincial government’s proposal to introduce political parties at the local level. (Alberta Municipalities)
Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities, participated in a press conference last week in which he said a resolution expressing opposition to the idea received 95 per cent of the vote at the Alberta Municipalities annual convention in Edmonton in September.
“Our association’s message to the Government of Alberta and special interest groups that are eager to see partisan politics introduced at the local level is clear, unwavering and unequivocal,” said Gandam, who is also the mayor of Wetaskiwin, Alta. “Listen to regular Albertans who have repeatedly said they simply aren’t interested.”
Political analyst Lori Williams of Mount Royal University said there were open questions around “whether this government recognizes the autonomy of municipalities and wishes of those who live in them.”
“I don’t think that ideology is a primary concern at the municipal level. People are concerned about quality of life, they’re concerned about things like managing transit … things that are very much to the municipal level,” Williams said.
“The question of ideology, or partisanship, is much less important.”
Councillors at odds on issue
Local council members have weighed in at various times since the provincial government’s interest arose in municipal political parties.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek has come out against the idea, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that “our service to the people relies on us being non-partisan.”
Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has said in the past he believes the current system works well.
Calgary councillors, meanwhile, have voiced different opinions over the past number of months.
Coun. Dan McLean told CBC News in 2023 that there could be merit in allowing political parties at the local level, adding it could help voters better understand where candidates stand.
“I’m not 100 per cent in favour of doing it though as there should be room for some independents. I’m not completely sold on political parties, but I’d like to get some more input and explore it further,” the Ward 13 councillor said last year.
McLean’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian, on the other hand, said she was concerned implementing such an idea would ensure that council would start to attract only people who wanted to be highly partisan.
“We need really good [talented] people who are willing to put up their hand and volunteer for these roles. The challenge is a party banner can make people not want to get involved,” she said in an interview.
“I think being able to individually represent your community, not having to toe a party line if it’s not the right thing for your citizens, is something that I think we should preserve.”
She cited the recent appeal of a contentious single-use items bylaw as evidence of the ability of local government to adjust course and not get locked down in partisanship.
Gerald Baier, an associate professor of political science at the University of British Columbia, noted municipal political parties in B.C. have not been a replication of pre-existing provincial parties. (Kevin Li/CBC)
Meanwhile, in British Columbia, municipal political parties have a long history, particularly in Vancouver and some of the surrounding cities. In fact, there is an expectation that elections will be organized around political parties, explained Gerald Baier, an associate professor of political science at the University of British Columbia.
“It’s partly a consequence of having an at-large electoral system in the city. It kind of organizes the vote a little bit, because we could have — for the six or eight council seats at any given time — there could be 30 or 40 candidates, and we need some way to organize that kind of group for voters to understand,” Baier said.
It does have an effect on the way council works, as mayors will hope to get elected with like-minded councillors to have a majority on council to realize their goals, he said.
Introducing a polarized political system to Alberta councils could serve to make municipal politics more of a training ground for a leap to other levels of government, he said.
In B.C., political parties already look for strong candidates to come out of municipalities — if they have already expressed a political party affinity or an ideological affinity with parties at the provincial or national level, said Baier. He added there is a degree of party discipline that exists on councils.
The Janet Brown Opinion Research survey questions of 900 Albertans aged 18 and over were administered through the TrendWatch Alberta Omnibus Survey between Aug. 29 and Sept. 12, 2023, with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
