A City Charter is a legislative tool that could provide cities with greater flexibility, power and authority to better meet the needs of citizens. It would allow the City and the Province to define new ways of working more effectively together in a broad range of areas.

The Government of Alberta is working with both the cities of Edmonton and Calgary to develop City Charters that will respect Alberta’s two large cities as economic and social drivers in the province. It is expected that the Charters could also provide the two cities with the tools they need to deliver quality infrastructure and services to citizens, as well as manage growth and compete globally, ultimately benefiting all of Alberta. These changes could allow the Cities to be more responsive to their citizens’ needs while remaining open, transparent, and accountable.

No. City Charters have a long history in Canada, dating back more than 200 years to the Saint John’s City Charter, established in 1785. Today, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver all have City Charters in place that reflect the unique needs of each city. No two city charters are the same, which provides an opportunity for the City of Edmonton, the City of Calgary and the Government of Alberta to tailor it relative to local needs. 

The MGA guides how all 300+ municipalities in Alberta operate. The MGA will continue to be an important piece of legislation for Alberta municipalities, including Edmonton. However, the Charter being developed for Edmonton is an opportunity to allow the City to develop unique approaches to delivering the services that citizens need and expect - services that are at a scale and level of complexity not seen elsewhere in Alberta. The City Charter will give the City flexibility to overcome legislative and regulatory barriers so that City Council can be more responsive to the needs of citizens through innovative solutions that better reflect the uniquely different and complex needs of the city.

The Government of Alberta has recognized that Edmonton and Calgary are important economic and social drivers, as well as service hubs, for all of Alberta. City Charters will lead to increased collaboration between the cities and the Province, resulting in economic efficiencies and improved service delivery for citizens.

The Charters will create the appropriate mechanisms to provide increased authority or flexibility to Edmonton in a wide range of areas, including governance, planning and development, assessment and taxation, social policies and programs, energy and the environment, transportation and economic policies.

Yes. Members of the public and stakeholders will have opportunities to provide feedback during the Charter development. Public and stakeholder engagement on the City Charters are scheduled to take place in fall 2016. In addition, at the end of the three phases of the City Charter development, there will be an online process, as defined by the Province, which would allow an additional 60 days for the public and stakeholders to provide further feedback before the Charter is enacted. 

The expected completion date is Summer 2017.