On Tuesday, Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott put forward a notice of motion asking Alberta Municipalities to explore allowing permanent residents to vote in local elections.
: In late 2023, the federal government announced plans to maintain previously-set targets of welcoming nearly 1.5 million new permanent residents over the next three years. Anila Lee Yuen with the Centre for Newcomers joins Global News Calgary to discuss the resources needed and some of the misconceptions surrounding newcomers.
Walcott told the council Tuesday that he moved the motion because he wants permanent residents to be engaged in their communities. He said the motion doesn’t mean the council is allowing non-citizens to vote but rather opens up the debate at the provincial level.“For a long time people have said the ability to vote is an incentive for citizenship, but I would argue that being engaged in community is the incentive for citizenship,” he said.
Ward 10 Andre Chabot said while the province is allowed to amend the Local Authorities Elections Act to allow permanent residents to vote, the move will also allow permanent residents to run for office. Premier Danielle Smith said in a social media post on Wednesday that only Canadian citizens should be able to vote in federal, provincial and municipal elections.
Elections Permanent Residents Politics
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Province backtracks, will continue to fund low-income transit pass program in Calgary, EdmontonA day after Calgary's mayor called the Alberta government's decision to pull its funding for the low-income transit pass program 'cruel,' the province is reversing its decision.
Read more »
Province reverses decision to cut funding for low-income bus passes in Calgary and EdmontonCalgary Transit riders hopping on between the City Hall and the Downtown West/Kerby stations will now be boarding the X.
Read more »
Province cancelling funding for low-income transit passes in Calgary and EdmontonNearly 120,000 Calgarians had been issued a low-income pass through March of this year. Both cities said they have seen significant growth in uptake of the program in recent years
Read more »
Mayors say province cutting funding from low-income transit passes in Calgary and EdmontonCalgary Transit riders hopping on between the City Hall and the Downtown West/Kerby stations will now be boarding the X.
Read more »
Province pulls funding for low-income transit passes in Calgary, EdmontonA program providing low-income Calgarians and Edmontonians a financial break on their monthly transit passes is losing millions of dollars in annual support from the provincial government, city councillors confirmed Tuesday.
Read more »
'Disingenuous and misleading': Calgary mayor, province at odds over plan to lower utility billsCalgary's mayor is sparring with the Government of Alberta over the rollout of new legislation meant to lower utility bills in Calgary.
Read more »