ATHABASCA – The Town of Athabasca will be adding its voice to the list of municipalities opposed to the idea of provincial parties in municipal politics.
During their March 5 council meeting, councillors discussed a request from Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis) to “Join the call to keep political parties out of local elections.”
The call was put out after a November 2023 survey from the government of Alberta asked residents if they wanted provincial parties, like the UCP or NDP, in municipal politics. 70 per cent of respondents said they were opposed, but ABMunis has kept up its advocacy on the issue.
“The current municipal government model ensures elected officials, selected by most voting residents, stand for the best interests of their residents and businesses,” said Tyler Gandam, ABMunis’ president, during a Feb. 22 press conference. “Today’s model allows mayors and councillors to debate and vote on issues from independent points of view, be open-minded, and find solutions to their community’s complex problems.”
Gandam said these norms would be lost in a system with parties, a sentiment which Athabasca councillor Ida Edwards agreed with.
“We’re all regions; the North has different issues, and the south has different issues and we could have to toe the party line for a provincial agenda instead of our municipal agenda,” said Edwards.
ABMunis has done its own survey, with the assistance of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The data aligned to what Alberta heard as well — 68 per cent of respondents told ABMunis they would prefer candidates run as individuals, and 81 per cent agreed that municipal officials who are part of a party would vote along party lines, and not necessarily in the best interest of the community.
Currently, nothing in the Municipal Government Act (MGA) prohibits candidates from running on a slate, or for a political party. Instead, municipalities arguing against the idea have said it’s a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
"No one has clearly explained what real problems precede the introduction of political parties to municipal elections would fix. While political parties serve a purpose at the national and provincial level, due to differences in scale, they are unnecessary at the community level,” said Gandam.
Coun. Dave Pacholok pointed out that, while it could make a degree of sense in a larger city, it wouldn’t fit with the day-to-day realities small town politicians deal with.
“There, they could be swaying multiple dollars going forwards,” said Pacholok. “Possibilities exist there if they were putting in a new train line or something, and I think that’s where the effect would be noticed.”
Athabasca councillors voted unanimously to send a letter to MLA Glenn van Dijken, Ric McIver, Alberta’s minister of municipal affairs, and Premier Danielle Smith’s office. The letter will express concern that political party alignment may increase public polarization, and challenge governance and engagement at the local level by distracting from the community rooted shared values that support municipal engagement and participation.
-with files from Brett McKay
