Alberta
Writ drops for Alberta provincial election on May 29
United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith, centre, speaks at a campaign launch rally in Calgary, on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Smith is expected to call a provincial election during an announcement later this morning in Calgary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Calgary
Writs issued for the 2023 Provincial General Election
Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler, confirms that Writs were issued today to administer elections across Alberta. The 31st Provincial General Election will be held on May 29, 2023.
Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler, confirms that Writs were issued today to administer elections across Alberta. The 31st Provincial General Election will be held on May 29, 2023.
“We are excited to welcome Albertans back to the polls this month,” said Resler. “Returning Officers have been appointed, and we are in the process of recruiting and training nearly 20,000 Election Officers to conduct voting in the 87 electoral divisions across the province.”
Voter Eligibility
Canadian citizens who reside in Alberta and are at least 18 years of age or older on Election Day are eligible to vote in the Provincial General Election.
Voter Registration
Electors may register to vote online at www.voterlink.ab.ca until May 17, 2023, by contacting Elections Alberta or their local returning office before 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 20.
Electors can also register to vote at any advance voting location in Alberta or at their assigned voting place on Election Day.
Electors who are already registered to vote at their current address do not need to register again.
Voter Identification
To vote in the 2023 Provincial General Election, electors are required to prove their identity and current address. There are several ways to do this, including:
- Providing one piece of Government-issued photo ID, including the voter’s full name, current address, and a photo.
- Providing two pieces of ID, both containing the voter’s full name and one that lists their current physical address.
- Having another registered elector with identification that resides in their voting area vouch for them.
- Having an authorized signatory complete an attestation form.
More than 50 different types of identification have been authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer to be used as identification to vote.
Key Timelines
Electors have 28 days to vote by Special Ballot beginning today. Special Ballots may be completed in the returning office, picked up by a designate of the elector, or mailed to the elector anywhere in the world. Applications can be submitted online on the Elections Alberta website.
Candidate nominations are now open and end on May 11, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
Advance voting begins on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, and ends on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
Election Day is Monday, May 29, 2023. All voting places will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Unofficial results will be available after voting closes on Election Day.
Official results will be announced on June 8, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.
Returning Offices
Returning offices in all electoral divisions open today across Alberta. Returning offices are open on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and on Voting Days from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Returning Office addresses and contact information can be found at: https://elections.ab.ca/
New for 2023, Satellite Offices are also being opened in six geographically large electoral divisions to provide more service options for electors. These include:
- 54 – Cardston-Siksika
- 55 – Central Peace-Notley
- 59 – Drumheller-Stettler
- 60 – Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche
- 77 – Peace River
- 80 – Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre
Satellite Offices are open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and on Voting Days from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
For any questions or concerns regarding the provincial election, visit www.elections.ab.ca, call 1-877-422-VOTE, or email [email protected].
Information for media will be available throughout the election period at https://www.elections.ab.ca/
- Information sheets on topics such as Registering to Vote, Voter Identification, Accessible Voting and Tabulators and Voter Assist Terminals.
- Photo and video assets.
- Processes for accessing a voting place on voting days.
Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referenda.
Alberta
Alberta government should create flat 8% personal and business income tax rate in Alberta
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America
Over the past decade, Alberta has gone from one of the most competitive tax jurisdictions in North America to one of the least competitive. And while the Smith government has promised to create a new 8 per cent tax bracket on personal income below $60,000, it simply isn’t enough to restore Alberta’s tax competitiveness. Instead, the government should institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Back in 2014, Alberta had a single 10 per cent personal and business income tax rate. As a result, it had the lowest top combined (federal and provincial/state) personal income tax rate and business income tax rate in North America. This was a powerful advantage that made Alberta an attractive place to start a business, work and invest.
In 2015, however, the provincial NDP government replaced the single personal income tax rate of 10 percent with a five-bracket system including a top rate of 15 per cent, so today Alberta has the 10th-highest personal income tax rate in North America. The government also increased Alberta’s 10 per cent business income tax rate to 12 per cent (although in 2019 the Kenney government began reducing the rate to today’s 8 per cent).
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America, all while saving Alberta taxpayers $1,573 (on average) annually.
And a truly integrated flat tax system would not only apply a uniform tax 8 per cent rate to all sources of income (including personal and business), it would eliminate tax credits, deductions and exemptions, which reduce the cost of investments in certain areas, increasing the relative cost of investment in others. As a result, resources may go to areas where they are not most productive, leading to a less efficient allocation of resources than if these tax incentives did not exist.
Put differently, tax incentives can artificially change the relative attractiveness of goods and services leading to sub-optimal allocation. A flat tax system would not only improve tax efficiency by reducing these tax-based economic distortions, it would also reduce administration costs (expenses incurred by governments due to tax collection and enforcement regulations) and compliance costs (expenses incurred by individuals and businesses to comply with tax regulations).
Finally, a flat tax system would also help avoid negative incentives that come with a progressive marginal tax system. Currently, Albertans are taxed at higher rates as their income increases, which can discourage additional work, savings and investment. A flat tax system would maintain “progressivity” as the proportion of taxes paid would still increase with income, but minimize the disincentive to work more and earn more (increasing savings and investment) because Albertans would face the same tax rate regardless of how their income increases. In sum, flat tax systems encourage stronger economic growth, higher tax revenues and a more robust economy.
To stimulate strong economic growth and leave more money in the pockets of Albertans, the Smith government should go beyond its current commitment to create a new tax bracket on income under $60,000 and institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Author:
Alberta
Province to stop municipalities overcharging on utility bills
Making utility bills more affordableAlberta’s government is taking action to protect Alberta’s ratepayers by introducing legislation to lower and stabilize local access fees. Affordability is a top priority for Alberta’s government, with the cost of utilities being a large focus. By introducing legislation to help reduce the cost of utility bills, the government is continuing to follow through on its commitment to make life more affordable for Albertans. This is in addition to the new short-term measures to prevent spikes in electricity prices and will help ensure long-term affordability for Albertans’ basic household expenses.
Local access fees are functioning as a regressive municipal tax that consumers pay on their utility bills. It is unacceptable for municipalities to be raking in hundreds of millions in surplus revenue off the backs of Alberta’s ratepayers and cause their utility bills to be unpredictable costs by tying their fees to a variable rate. Calgarians paid $240 in local access fees on average in 2023, compared to the $75 on average in Edmonton, thanks to Calgary’s formula relying on a variable rate. This led to $186 million more in fees being collected by the City of Calgary than expected.
To protect Alberta’s ratepayers, the Government of Alberta is introducing the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024. If passed, this legislation would promote long-term affordability and predictability for utility bills by prohibiting the use of variable rates when calculating municipalities’ local access fees. Variable rates are highly volatile, which results in wildly fluctuating electricity bills. When municipalities use this rate to calculate their local access fees, it results in higher bills for Albertans and less certainty in families’ budgets. These proposed changes would standardize how municipal fees are calculated across the province, and align with most municipalities’ current formulas.
If passed, the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 would prevent municipalities from attempting to take advantage of Alberta’s ratepayers in the future. It would amend sections of the Electric Utilities Act and Gas Utilities Act to ensure that the Alberta Utilities Commission has stronger regulatory oversight on how these municipal fees are calculated and applied, ensuring Alberta ratepayer’s best interests are protected.
If passed, this legislation would also amend sections of the Alberta Utilities Commission Act, the Electric Utilities Act, Government Organizations Act and the Regulated Rate Option Stability Act to replace the terms “Regulated Rate Option”, “RRO”, and “Regulated Rate Provider” with “Rate of Last Resort” and “Rate of Last Resort Provider” as applicable. Quick facts
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