Initiative Process

Electors can use the citizen initiative process to have a legislative or policy proposal introduced in the legislative assembly or to have a constitutional referendum conducted.

Who Can Apply for a Citizen Initiative Petition?

To make an application for a citizen initiative petition, an individual must be an elector – that is a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older and a resident of Alberta.

The following persons cannot apply:

a sitting member of the Legislature;
the Chief Electoral Officer, Election Commissioner, an election officer or an individual who is otherwise a member of the Chief Electoral Officer’s office staff;
an individual who is prohibited from being a chief financial officer under section 29(4) of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act;
an individual who, at any time within the previous 8 years, has been convicted of an offence under the Citizen Initiative Act, the Election Act or the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.

How do I Apply?

Applications for a citizen initiative petition are submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer. Applicants must provide:

A completed Application for Citizen Initiative Petition,
Authorized ID demonstrating the elector’s identity and address within Alberta, and
The $500 application fee, paid by cash, a certified cheque and/or a bank or postal money order made payable to “Government of Alberta”.

The Application for Citizen Initiative Petition requires the proponent to provide a statement of the subject-matter of the application that complies with the following requirements.

The statement is clear and unambiguous.
The proposal does not contravene sections 1 to 35.1 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
For legislative proposals:
- The statement sets out the subject-matter of the proposed legislation, and
- The proposal does not exceed the jurisdiction of the Legislature.
For constitutional referendum proposals:
- The statement sets out a question relating to the Constitution of Canada or relating to or arising out of a possible change to the Constitution of Canada,
- The question is factually accurate, and
- The question requires a “yes” or “no” answer.
The proposal is not the same or substantially similar to a proposal that is currently underway or would conflict with the outcome of a petition currently underway.
The proposal is not the same or substantially similar to a proposal determined to be unsuccessful in the previous 5 years, unless the Chief Electoral Officer has determined the previous petition to be unduly delayed taking advantage of this section of the legislation.

When Can an Application be Made?

An application for a citizen initiative petition can be made at any time, except during a Provincial General Election. If a citizen initiative petition is active when a Provincial General Election is called, the petition process is terminated, but the proponent can apply to continue the process within 30 days after Election Day.

What is the Approval Process for a Citizen Initiative Application?

In considering the proponent’s application, the Chief Electoral Officer may:

Consult with the applicant or other persons;
Provide advice and assistance to the applicant as to the form and substance of the proposal or constitutional question; or
State a question in the form of a special case to the Court to seek the opinion of the Court as to whether the proposal is within the jurisdiction of the legislature and not a contravention of sections 1 to 35.1 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Once the Chief Electoral Officer is satisfied that the applicant has met the requirements above, the Chief Electoral Officer will notify the proponent and publish a Notice of Initiative Petition on the Elections Alberta website. This notice will include the application and statement provided by the proponent.

When is the Initiative Petition Issued?

The Notice of Initiative Petition must be published for 30 days prior to the issuance of the initiative petition. During this time, the proponent must appoint a Chief Financial Officer using the Appointment of Chief Financial Officer form.

On completion of the publication period, Elections Alberta will:

Issue the initiative petition.
Publish on this website a notice that the petition has been issued, the dates of the signing period and the number of signatures that are required for a successful petition.
Issue the initiative petition signature sheets and witness affidavits to the proponent in the format that must be used. Signatures collected on other forms will not be accepted. The applicant is responsible to make copies of the forms.

How do I Register Canvassers?

The applicant must register every individual that they wish to canvass on their behalf. Canvassers must be electors.

The Application to Canvass for an Initiative Petition must be submitted to Elections Alberta, along with a copy of Authorized Identification demonstrating the canvasser’s identity and address within Alberta.

Elections Alberta will provide each registered canvasser with identification documents that must be produced on request while canvassing. The identification documents must be returned to the proponent on or before the last day of the initiative petition signing period.

All canvassers must comply with the Canvasser Code of Conduct and any guidelines for canvassing issued by the Chief Electoral Officer.

What are the Requirements for Collecting Signatures?

To be eligible to sign a petition, an individual must be an elector on the date they sign the petition.

An elector signing the petition must:

print legibly their surname and given names;
supply the residential address where they ordinarily reside at the time of signing;
provide their telephone number and/or email address;
confirm that they are an elector; and
date it on the date which they signed the petition.

An individual may only sign the initiative petition once and only during the initiative petition signing period.

All signatures must be original signature, no digital or online signatures will be accepted.

Only registered canvassers can collect signatures on the petition and will also sign each petition sheet as a witness to the signatures collected. The witness will also be required to swear an affidavit to the best of their knowledge the individuals who signed were eligible to do so.

For the petition to be successful, the applicant must collect the following:

For a legislative or policy proposal, signatures from at least 10% of the total number of electors on the post-election day list of electors.
For a constitutional referendum proposal, signatures from at least 20% of the total number of electors on the post-election day list of electors, with the 20% threshold met in at least 2/3 of electoral divisions.

It is recommended that additional signatures be collected in case any signatures are invalidated during the verification process.

All signatures must be collected within the 90-day initiative petition signature period.

When Do I Submit the Petition and Financial Disclosure Reports?

The proponent must submit all petition signature sheets and the accompanying witness affidavits to Elections Alberta on or before the 90th day of canvassing. Any petition received after the initiative petition signing period will not be accepted for verification.

Once the petition is submitted, no further signatures may be added to the petition, nor any additional signature sheets submitted.

The proponent’s chief financial officer must submit an initiative petition expense limit report consisting of a financial statement, a contribution report, an expense report, and supporting information and documents. The report is due within 30 days after the signature sheet submission date or within 30 days after the petition signing period expires, whichever is earlier. The report is required even if the petition has been withdrawn or terminated. In addition, audited financial statements must be filed within 6 months after the initiative petition period if initiative petition expenses exceed $350,000. Failure to meet a filing deadline will result in an automatic late filing fee of $500. In addition, failure to submit reports may result in a determination that the petition was unsuccessful.

What is the Petition Verification Process?

Elections Alberta will verify the petition within 60 days of the date the petition was submitted.

The verification process includes:

Confirmation that only the petition signature sheets, as provided to the applicant, were used in the collection of signatures;
Confirmation that only original signatures have been collected;
A review of each signature to ensure that the required information was provided (name, physical address, contact information, date, signature);
Confirmation that each signature of the petition was witnessed by a registered canvasser, and that the witness signed the required affidavit;
A random sampling to confirm that the addresses are within Alberta; and
Contacting a random sampling of electors to confirm that they signed the petition.

As soon as practical after completing the verification of the petition, Elections Alberta will report the results on the Elections Alberta website.

For a successful petition, Elections Alberta will submit a copy of the legislative or policy proposal to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or submit a copy of the constitutional referendum proposal to the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, as the case may be.

What are the Requirements after the Results of the Petition are Published?

Within two days of the publication of the results of the initiative petition, the applicant must:

Return the initiative petition and all canvasser identification documents to Elections Alberta;
Destroy all additional copies made of signatures sheets by the proponent or canvassers, and
Submit to Elections Alberta a signed affidavit confirming that all signature sheets have been returned and all copies destroyed.

What happens following a Successful Petition?

Legislative Proposal

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall lay the proposal before the Legislative Assembly if it is then sitting, or if it is not then sitting, within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting.
Within 10 sitting days, the Government shall bring forward a motion to have the proposal referred to a committee of the Legislative Assembly.
Within 90 days if the Assembly is sitting, or within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting, the committee may either table a report recommending that a bill be introduced at the earliest practicable opportunity or table a report recommending the Chief Electoral Officer hold an initiative vote.
Where the Legislative Assembly concurs with the introduction of a bill, the Government shall introduce the bill at the earliest practicable opportunity.

Policy Proposal

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall lay the proposal before the Legislative Assembly if it is then sitting, or if it is not then sitting, within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting.
Within 10 sitting days, the Government shall bring forward a motion to have the proposal referred to a committee of the Legislative Assembly.
Within 90 days if the Assembly is sitting, or within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting, the committee may either table a report with respect to the policy proposal at the earliest practicable opportunity or table a report recommending the policy proposal be referred to the Lieutenant Governor in Council for the purpose of a referendum.

Constitutional Referendum Proposal

The Minister shall refer to the constitutional referendum proposal to the Lieutenant Governor in Council for the purpose of a constitutional referendum.