The association representing Alberta’s municipalities is calling on the provincial government to abandon its push to introduce political parties to municipal elections, saying the plan has little public support and could intensify divisiveness.
Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities, said during a press conference on Thursday that political parties are unnecessary at the local level. He argued introducing partisan politics would restrict collaboration between elected officials and compel representatives to vote in alignment with their affiliated party rather than based on the unique needs of their communities.
“Local governments should be safe spaces for conversation and dialogue among neighbours without the divisiveness or vitriol we are seeing at the provincial and federal levels,” said Mr. Gandam, who is also mayor of Wetaskiwin, southeast of Edmonton.
“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: Listen to regular Albertans who have repeatedly said they simply aren’t interested.”
He pointed to a survey conducted by pollster Janet Brown for Alberta Municipalities last September. The survey found 68 per cent of respondents would prefer to see municipal candidates run as individuals and 81 per cent of respondents agreed that municipal officials would vote along party lines and “not necessarily in the best interest of the community.”
Mr. Gandam said a resolution that expressed opposition to the proposal also received 95 per cent of the vote at the association’s annual convention that same month.
Premier Danielle Smith has expressed interest in this idea since at least October, 2022, when she told Postmedia that people in Alberta’s two largest cities had lobbied her on the issue. Since then, the government has asked for public feedback through surveys related to the local election process, the results of which have not been released publicly. However, Postmedia later reported that documents obtained through a freedom of information request showed that 70 per cent of respondents were opposed to adding party labels next to municipal candidates on election ballots.
Mr. Gandam, on Thursday, pointed to Vancouver and Montreal, whose municipal candidates run under party banners, in response to claims that this change would improve voter turnout. In Vancouver’s last election, in 2022, voter turnout was roughly 36 per cent and, in Montreal, it hovered around 43 per cent in 2021. Calgary and Edmonton’s general elections, both in 2021, had voter turnout of 46 per cent and almost 38 per cent, respectively.
Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia, said the concerns voiced by Mr. Gandam are valid but comparing Vancouver to Alberta’s big cities is not suitable because of the different architecture of their municipal systems. Councillors in Vancouver are elected at-large, he noted, whereas, in places such as Calgary and Edmonton, councillors are elected to represent specific wards. Vancouver has had municipal parties since the 1930s, added Dr. Prest.
What it did in Vancouver, he said, is simplify the choice for voters, who decide on the mayor, councillors, park board commissioner and school trustees on the municipal ballot, sometimes with dozens upon dozens of candidates listed. He said there is also not the same degree of political polarization in B.C. when compared with Alberta, which raises its own concerns.
“Polarized political environments tend to make it very difficult for members of any particular political coalition to express different views, heterodox views, to say something that is not preapproved,” said Dr. Prest.
“By having independent municipal politics, you create spaces where those conversations can continue to occur. So, I think maintaining some insulation between the more polarized provincial level and that less defined municipal space – there’s value there.”