Get the party started: Why the Edmonton election will be unlike any other
'It's the place where independent thought goes to die,' political scientist says
Political parties making a foray into the 2025 municipal election in Alberta could frustrate voters, lose the public's trust and change how candidates express their views, experts warn.
The Alberta government announced last spring that formal parties will be allowed to run candidates in Edmonton and Calgary in the Oct. 20 vote.
Brendan Boyd, an associate professor of political science at MacEwan University, said there's a reason the general public doesn't like the party system at the provincial and federal levels.
"It's the place where independent thought goes to die because you've got to toe the party line," Boyd said in an interview with CBC News in December.
"So, that leads to what people call the democratic deficit. It undermines trust where people don't feel like, 'I voted for you, but you don't represent my interest because you have to say whatever the party tells you to say.' "
Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said political parties will make candidates' positions on issues more transparent.
"I voted for candidate L and that candidate said they were NDP or said they were conservative and yet they voted the opposite way, then there's an accountability issue there," McIver said during the announcement last spring.
"You promised me you would vote along this ideological line and you didn't, then that's another way to hold elected officials accountable."
Political watchers are still confused by the province's decision, as their own public survey showed 70 per cent of respondents disagreed with introducing the party system.
Alberta Municipalities, representing cities, towns and villages around the province, also opposed the move.
Edmonton city councillor Andrew Knack said he believes freedom of expression and choice will be lost with the change.
"It's going to be one perspective. It's the party's perspective because that's how the system works," he said in an interview with CBC News in December.
"So you lose the ability to understand the complexity that exists in every single issue means you make a less informed decision, which ultimately harms the people we're trying to serve."
Some current city councillors say they plan to run as independents, but Boyd said there are advantages to running with a party.
"I think there's going to be a bit of a lowest common denominator where people are going to find out that if they don't participate in the party system, they're at a disadvantage," Boyd said.
"Part of that is the fundraising rules. It allows you to spend more money, essentially, if you're part of a party, because you can spend it as a candidate but you could also have the party behind you spending it."
Tim Cartmell, Ward pihêsiwin councillor and Edmonton mayoral hopeful, plans to form his own party, which he said will not be partisan.
"We're going to take a team approach to this and present to the people of Edmonton a clear choice of a team that is willing to come and give them the governance and the management and direction that they're looking for," Cartmell said in a November interview.
One group in Edmonton is actively seeking party status: PACE, the Principled Accountable Coalition of Edmonton. At an event in November, group spokesperson Doug Main said they were not describing themselves as a right, centre or left-leaning ideology.
Edmonton Elections reviews applications before approving a political party.
The entity needs signatures from 1,000 party members who are eligible voters in Edmonton and a list of candidates endorsed by the party who meet specific legal requirements under the Local Authorities Election Act.
The city says it could take 10 to 15 business days to review and approve an application.
Not common in Canadian cities
Some other Canadian cities have party systems, including Montreal, Quebec City and Vancouver.
Vancouver has no wards — councillors are elected at large.
Frances Bula, a long-time civic affairs reporter in Vancouver, said she doesn't know how the party system will look in Edmonton and Calgary.
"That's going to be a bit strange, because you do have a ward system that allows people to know their candidates more intimately but then you also have a party system, so you're going to have two systems that normally aren't together in Canadian cities," Bula said.
Existing provincial and federal parties cannot register in Alberta's civic election under the province's rules.
That means neither the United Conservative Party nor the New Democratic Party in Alberta can register on the civic ballot. The Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party and the federal NDP also can't run candidates.
That might make ticking off the ballot a little trickier, Bula suggested.
"So people tend to get quite confused, who are these parties? Who are they really aligned with?" Bula said.
"I don't know how to vote because this isn't really the Conservatives. This isn't really the Liberals. What is this new party? I don't know. So that's something that, you know, these people campaigning in Alberta will struggle with a bit."
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