Petitions

Electors may submit a petition requesting that City Council call a meeting with the public to discuss the matters stated in the petition.

The Municipal Government Act requires that some bylaws and resolutions are publicly advertised. Once they have been publicly advertised, electors may submit a petition that calls for a vote of the electors to determine whether the proposed bylaw or resolution should be passed.

Petitions are not permitted for any proposed bylaw or resolution relating to planning and development, road closures or regional services commissions, even though they are advertised.

Electors may petition for a new bylaw, or a bylaw to amend or repeal an existing bylaw or resolution, on any matter within the jurisdiction of City Council.

Petitions are not permitted for new bylaws or to amend existing bylaws or resolutions relating to financial administration, assessment of property, planning and development, intermunicipal collaboration and taxation.

A local improvement is a project that benefits a specific area of the city, rather than the city as a whole. A local improvement is funded either entirely or in part by a tax. Examples of common Local Improvements include sidewalk reconstruction or installation of alley lighting.

• A group of property owners in the municipality may petition City Council for a local improvement
• Property owners who would be liable to pay the local improvement tax can petition against the local improvement

Petitions are not permitted against necessary local sewer improvements and private connections to water and sewer improvements.

See Local Improvements for more information.

Electors may petition to recall a member of Council from office through the recall petition process.

A petition must consist of one or more pages, each of which must contain an identical statement of the purpose of the petition.

The wording of the statement is very important. It is recommended that legal or professional support be obtained to draft a petition.
 

Each petition must identify a representative.

The representative must sign a statement declaring that they are the representative of the petitioners and that City Administration may direct any inquiries about the petition to them.

The type of petition determines who is eligible to sign it.

Only electors in Edmonton may sign most petitions. An elector is an individual who is eligible to vote and must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and a resident in Edmonton when signing the petition.

The only exception is that only the owners of property who would be liable to pay the local improvement tax can sign a petition regarding a local improvement.

Information Petitioners Must Provide

Every petitioner signing the petition must provide the following information in legible print:

• Printed surname and printed given names or initials
• Original, inked signature
• Street address or the legal description of the land on which the petitioner lives
• Telephone number or email address (if any)
• Date on which they signed the petition

Witness Obligations

Every signature on the petition must be witnessed by an adult person. The witness must sign the document next to the name of the petitioner whose signature is being witnessed.

Each witness must also make an affidavit that to the best of the person’s knowledge the signatures witnessed are those of persons entitled to sign the petition.

Protection of Personal Information

Personal information contained in a petition can only be used to validate the petition and must not be disclosed to anyone except the City Manager, City Clerk and their delegates.

To be sufficient, most petitions must contain signatures from enough eligible petitioners to equal 10% of the City’s population, as determined by Alberta Municipal Affairs.

Petitions for or against a local improvement must contain signatures from at least two thirds of the property owners who would be liable to pay the tax associated with the local improvement. The combined value of the property owned by petitioners must be at least half of the total assessed value of all the property in the local improvement area.

The only names on the petition that can be counted are ones that:

• Were collected during the 60 days prior to the date when the petition was delivered to Edmonton Elections
• Appear on a page with the same purpose statement as all other pages
• Include the elector’s printed name, residential address (or legal description for the residence), signature and the date the elector signed the petition,
• Are witnessed, and
• Have affidavits from the witnesses properly made before a Commissioner for Oaths