Alberta Institute – Provincial Election Roundup – Day 1

Submitted by Alberta Institute

Campaign Roundup – Day 1:

The writs for the Alberta 2023 election were issued today, meaning the election campaign has officially begun.
The UCP kicked off their campaign with a big tax policy announcement, promising to lower taxes for every Albertan. Danielle Smith announced that, if reelected, the UCP would create a new 8% tax bracket, meaning that Albertans would only be taxed at 8% instead of 10% on the first $60,000 of their income. This would be a substantial saving for every Albertan, capped at a maximum of roughly $760 per year for those earning over $60,000.
The UCP also promised to index all tax thresholds for inflation and extend the Fuel Tax Holiday until December 31st, 2023, saving Albertans 13 cents per litre at the pump, approximately equivalent to the cost of the federal government’s carbon tax.
The NDP, by contrast, kicked off their campaign with a rally instead of a policy announcement. Rachel Notley didn’t commit to any specific action or platform item today, but promised to focus on what she believes to be Albertans’ priorities – health care, education, affordability, and job creation.
In a piece in The Hub, economist Trevor Tombe made the case that the election could be very tight. He argued that based on his projections, just a few hundred votes in a handful of ridings could be all it would take to change the outcome of the entire election.
Former Calgary Councillor, Jeromy Farkas, made the opposite argument on Real Talk with Ryan Jesperson, noting that based on his experience talking to Calgarians on the ground, he’s feeling things swing more back towards the UCP, with Danielle Smith dominating the airwaves, ensuring the media and public are talking about the issues she wants to be talking about, and quickly retaking control of the narrative when distractions come up.
Finally, if you don’t know who your local candidates are yet, there’s now a handy searchable database online with an interactive map. If you don’t know which riding you’re in yet, head to the Elections Alberta’s website to figure that out first.

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2023 Election

Elections Alberta releases official list of electors, and information on recalls and petitions

Published on April 2, 2024

Government of Alberta

Elections Alberta releases post election day list of electors

Following a Provincial General Election, Elections Alberta releases an updated List of Electors to registered political parties and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

The number of names on the Post Election Day List of Electors is also used to determine the number of signatures required for petitions relating to citizen initiatives, recall of MLAs, or forming a new political party. These thresholds will be in place until a new list is generated after the next Provincial General Election.

The total number of names on the Post Election Day List of Electors is 2,939,762.

Citizen Initiative Petitions

Electors can use the citizen initiative process to have a legislative or policy proposal introduced in the Legislative Assembly or have a constitutional referendum conducted.

Petitions for a legislative or policy proposal require signatures from 10 per cent of provincial electors, or 293,976 signatures.
Petitions for a constitutional referendum require signatures from 20 per cent of provincial electors (587,952 signatures), with the 20 per cent threshold reached in at least 2/3 of electoral divisions.

Threshold numbers for successful petitions are available at https://www.elections.ab.ca/recall-initiative/initiative/number-of-signatures-required-for-initiative.

Recall Petitions

A recall petition for a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) requires signatures from 40 per cent of the electors in the electoral division on the Post Election Day List of Electors. The number of signatures required in each electoral division for a successful recall petition is available at https://www.elections.ab.ca/recall-initiative/recall/number-of-signatures-required-for-recall.

The threshold numbers are only applicable for recall petitions relating to MLAs and do not impact recall petitions for municipal officials.

Petitions to Form a New Political Party

One of the methods to register a new political party is submitting a petition containing signatures from at least 0.3 per cent of the total number of electors that were eligible to vote in the last general election. Based on the Post Election Day List of Electors, the number of signatures required for a petition is 8,819. For more details on registering a new political party visit: https://www.elections.ab.ca/political-participants/parties/how-to-register-a-party.

Additional Details

List of Elector counts by electoral division and historical List of Elector counts are available at https://www.elections.ab.ca/resources/statistics-research/elector-counts.

The Chief Electoral Officer’s Report on the 2023 Provincial General Election will be released in May 2024. The report will include additional information on processes used to update the List of Electors and current demographics of the Register of Electors.

Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referenda.

2023 Election

Campaign Update – Alberta Election 2023

Published on May 25, 2023

Todayville

From the Alberta Institute

Campaign Roundup – Day 25:

Pierre Poilieve, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, endorsed Danielle Smith. “[Notley] will help Trudeau attack the energy sector, putting you out of a job,” said Poilieve in a video message, adding that Smith would stand up for Alberta and fight the carbon tax.
Adriana LaGrange, UCP Candidate for Red Deer-North, noted that the NDP removed the Red Deer Hospital expansion from their capital plan in 2018 while the UCP has invested $1.8 million into the project.
NDP Candidates Sarah Hoffman (Edmonton-Glenora) and Jaelene Tweedle (Red Deer-North) promised to immediately increase funding by $100 million for children with complex needs. They also promised to modernize or build 125 schools.
Rachel Notley announced Bill 1, 2, and 3 of an NDP government. Bill 1 will be the “Save Albertans Money Act” and will include capping power bills and auto insurance, freezing tuition, and implementing $10/day childcare. Bill 2 would repeal the Sovereignty Act, and Bill 3 is designed to prevent any future government from leaving the Canada Pension Plan.
Shaun Fluker, the NDP Candidate for Airdrie-Cochrane, said yesterday that when he argued in favour of the No More Pipelines bill, that he was simply representing a client. More information has since come to light though, and it turns out that Fluker intentionally sought out that client.
The UCP promised to dedicate $80 million over four years to a fund that would build recreation facilities in growing communities.
UCP Candidates Brian Jean (Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche) and Rebecca Schulz (Calgary-Shaw) held a press conference in Calgary to highlight the NDP’s poor record on the economy and how the UCP will continue to move the province forward.