Alberta to rework rules for petitions, elections, and referendums

Alberta’s government is proposing sweeping changes to the province’s election, referendum and citizen-initiative laws, introducing higher nomination thresholds.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Alberta’s government is proposing sweeping changes to the province’s election, referendum and citizen-initiative laws, introducing higher nomination thresholds, stricter party-naming rules and a major restructuring of how initiative petitions and constitutional questions are reviewed.

The Justice Statutes Amendment Act would shift key responsibilities from Elections Alberta to the Minister of Justice, remove limits on which initiative proposals may proceed, and introduce steep new fines for mishandling personal information.

“Albertans expect their government to ensure that democratic processes remain fair, transparent, and produce timely outcomes,” said Justice Minister Mickey Amery in a news release. “These changes will strengthen public confidence in the ways that Albertans participate in democracy.”

Under the bill, most of the current limits on citizen-initiative proposals would be eliminated, including constitutional requirements, jurisdictional boundaries, factual-accuracy standards, clarity rules and prohibitions on repeating previously rejected proposals. The Chief Electoral Officer would also lose authority to advise applicants, assess proposals or refer questions to the courts, with those powers transferred to the Minister of Justice.

Amery said in a press conference that the shift was meant to prevent “endless litigation and month-long delays,” arguing petitions should continue moving forward during constitutional review and calling the new system a “permissive environment” that removes barriers for Albertans.

He said the changes were not intended to restrict which topics Albertans may bring forward, including questions related to separation, and argued the Chief Electoral Officer was never meant to decide what questions can or cannot be asked.

“Albertans should be able to advance whatever questions they want,” he said.

Despite confirming that the Recall Act was being “misused and weaponized for political purposes rather than applied as intended,” Amery revealed that after government debate, no changes were planned.

“Our government remains very confident in our record and will continue to advance the important issues entrusted to us by all Albertans, and we remain focused on this work. We will defend our record from special interest groups and left-wing activists any day of the week,” he said.

The bill also gives the Minister of Justice, rather than the Chief Electoral Officer, authority to decide whether an initiative proposal is the same as or substantially similar to one rejected in the previous five years, and whether such a proposal is permitted to proceed. Under the amendments, only the Minister may now refer questions about an initiative to the courts and determine whether an application should proceed after receiving the court’s decision.

Pending petition applications will be deemed never submitted, and any related court proceedings will be discontinued. Amery said applicants will have 30 days to reapply and confirmed that approved petitions, including Forever Canada, will continue unaffected. Independence petitions will be reset but may be refiled, and simultaneous petitions may still advance independently, though no group may “piggyback” on another’s work.

The bill also introduces new identity-verification rules for canvassers and steep penalties for improper use of personal information, including fines up to $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for corporations.

On the election side, the bill increases the number of signatures required for a candidate to appear on a ballot from 25 to 100, aligning with federal rules. Electors would be prohibited from signing more than one nomination paper — a measure aimed at deterring long-ballot interference campaigns that have drawn scrutiny in recent elections.

“The proposed legislation would effectively prevent the occurrence of the long-ballot initiative in Alberta elections by requiring that an elector can only sponsor one candidate at an election or byelection,” said former Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Jean-Pierre Kingsley. “This is meant to safeguard the integrity of the voting process for all electors in Alberta, and the requirement for 100 valid signatures per candidate aligns with federal legislation.”

Political party naming rules would also tighten. The Chief Electoral Officer would be required to reject any party name containing a distinctive word or phrase associated with another party, or any name that could be confused with that of an existing party. The change is retroactive to July 4, 2025.

Amery said the rules protect the “goodwill” of established political parties and prevent protest groups from confusing voters, comparing the approach to how business names are protected from imitation.

A separate amendment to the Referendum Act clarifies that the Alberta government is not required to implement the result of a binding referendum if doing so would contravene Canada’s Constitution.

Other changes include allowing MLAs and their immediate family members to accept non-monetary gifts from prospective candidate associations, granting the Minister authority to direct the Alberta Law Foundation’s bylaws, adding a purpose statement for the Law Society, limiting mandatory training requirements under the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act and providing the Attorney General immunity for actions taken in an official capacity.

The bill also permits justices of the peace to apply for additional five-year terms beyond their initial decade of service and aligns their appointment process with other judicial roles.

The legislation will now proceed through the Alberta Legislature for debate.