A Calgary city councillor's plea to allow permanent residents to vote in municipal elections was defeated by Alberta Municipalities. Coun. Courtney Walcott's resolution faced strong opposition, with concerns raised about 'watering down' the privileges of citizenship.
A Calgary city councillor’s plea to have permanent residents be given the right to vote in municipal elections , an idea long dismissed by Premier Danielle Smith as unconstitutional, has been defeated.
If the votes were in his favour, Alberta Municipalities, the organization that represents villages, towns, and cities throughout the province, would have adopted the motion and lobbied the provincial government to make the necessary changes to the Local Authorities Election Act. Barrhead, Alta., town councillor Rod Klumph argued that giving permanent residents the ability to vote in municipal elections would “diminish the right of Canadians to rule themselves.”
“I volunteered for politicians. I made donations to politicians. I went door to door to convince Canadian citizens to vote for a politician. But as a permanent resident for 10 years while I was doing that, I was not able to have my right to vote.” When it was his turn to speak, Penhold, Alta. town councillor Cam Galisky held up a Canadian passport and said it was one of two “sacred” privileges of being a citizen.
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