Bill 14 Amendments to Provincial Electoral Legislation Now in Force

December 12, 2025

EDMONTON – Yesterday, amendments to electoral legislation introduced in Bill 14: Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 came into force upon royal assent.

Bill 14 impacts four provincial electoral legislation Acts: the Election Act, the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act, the Citizen Initiative Act, and the Referendum Act.

“My office is revising our operational processes and website to reflect the amended legislation, including supporting electors’ and political participants’ awareness and participation. Fact sheets will be developed to assist Albertans in understanding the revisions and posted on our website as they are available,” said Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure. “We remain committed to fulfilling Elections Alberta’s mandate to administer fair, inclusive, and impartial electoral events in compliance with legislation.”

Important Impacts to Citizen Initiative Applications Received or in Progress

Citizen initiative petition applications made before December 11, 2025, for which an initiative petition has not been issued are deemed to have never been made.

• This applies to the Alberta Independence application submitted by Mitch Sylvestre on July 4, 2025, and the No New Coal Mining in Alberta’s Rockies application by Corby Lund approved on December 8, 2025, but not issued. These applicants may submit a Notice of Intent with the same subject matter within 30 days to have the required application fee waived. The processes prescribed in the Act as it now reads would apply to the new initiatives.
• This does not apply to Thomas Lukaszuk’s Alberta Forever Canada citizen initiative, or Alicia Taylor’s Alberta Funds Public Schools citizen initiative. As these petitions were issued prior to Bill 14 coming into force, their process will continue under the Act as it read when the petition applications were submitted.

Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referendums.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Robyn Bell
Media Relations
Phone: 780.427.7191
Email: media@elections.ab.ca

Posted in: Press Releases