The councilor's request aims to extend municipal voting rights to permanent residents

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A group of Calgary city councilors wants the province to expand local voting rights to include people who have permanent resident status but are not yet Canadian citizens.

A notice of proposal sent to Calgary City Council's executive committee for technical review on Tuesday seeks to support the provincial government to extend voting rights to permanent residents in municipal elections.

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Councilor Courtney Walcott introducing the notice of motion sponsored by Councilors Terry Wong, Raj Dhaliwal, Jasmine Mian and Courtney Penner.

Walcott told Postmedia that the proposal is about recognizing that permanent residents who are on the path to Canadian citizenship are still an integral part of the fabric of society.

“Typically, people become permanent residents on their way to becoming citizens,” Walcott said Saturday. “Sometimes the citizenship process takes some time. Maybe a few years.

“People can stay in Canada, make contributions and pay taxes — literally building a country — but cannot participate in the most local form of democracy. I think that's something that needs to be acknowledged.”

If finally approved, the council will forward the resolution to AB Munis' next annual conference in September. If it passes, AB Munis (who represents Alberta's municipalities) will lobby the Alberta government to amend the Local Government Elections Act (LAEA) to expand voter rights to include Canadian permanent resident status.

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Section 47 of the LAEA currently states that to be eligible to vote in municipal elections, voters must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and a permanent resident of Alberta.

The notice of motion is only about amending municipal election rules, Walcott said, and has nothing to do with provincial or federal voting rights.

He said Penhold's city council will consider a similar proposal in the coming weeks, and if Calgary's proposal goes to AB Munis as a resolution, the small municipality south of Red Deer would be “second to none.”

“This is about municipal elections, this is about local government,” Walcott said. “It's about parks, roads, transit — it's not about national defense spending.

“It's actually a separate law.”

If the notice of motion passes technical review Tuesday, it will be sent to the next regular council meeting on April 29 for more discussion and a vote.

But there appears to be a difference of opinion among some councillors, with even Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver saying on social media that the Alberta government would have little appetite for the proposal.

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“I'll save us all some time,” McIver wrote on Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Only Canadian citizens can vote in municipal elections. That won't change.”

Penner responded by accusing McIver of being a “gatekeeper.”

“Keeping the gate doesn't say anything about not wanting to entertain the conversation,” he wrote, noting that permanent residents can already serve in the military, pay taxes and own property.

Counselor Jennifer Wyness then responded to Penner, arguing that the right to vote includes the right to run for and hold public office.

“Our governments cannot open the door to allow non-Canadians to run our government,” he wrote. “While I understand the intent, it is important to protect our institutions.”

Walcott said he wanted his announcement of the move to be a “conversation starter” and the first step in a long process, and acknowledged the proposal has sparked some online discussion.

“It seems to me that McIver to Councilor Wyness is preemptively debating before we even get a chance to talk to each other,” he said.

“I'm waiting for a chance to talk about this clearly before we make a bold statement.”

A spokesman for AB Muniz declined to comment Saturday, saying it was too early to do so.

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