ABmunis' analysis of Bill 54 now available

The Government of Alberta introduced Bill 54, the Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, on April 29. The bill proposes amendments to the following seven pieces of legislation:

• Local Authorities Election Act
• Recall Act
• Election Act
• Alberta Senate Election Act
• Referendum Act
• Citizen Initiative Act
• Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.

Most of Bill 54 applies to provincial matters outside the scope of municipalities, but some proposed changes directly affect municipalities. These include:

• The requirement for candidates for council, school boards, and third-party advertisers to report their campaign finances by September 30 of the election year instead of months after the election.
• Removal of the authority of municipalities to pass bylaws related to use of signage during a provincial election.
• Amendments to clarify matters related to Senate elections as part of a municipal election process.

Bill 54 also proposes several changes to provincial election rules that create alignment with last year’s Bill 20 changes to the Local Authorities Election Act.

Alberta Municipalities notes that in many cases the provincial government is clearly attempting to create greater alignment and integration of the rules that apply to provincial and local elections. In some instances, greater consistency has merit, but municipal governments are unique and we are concerned that Bill 54 may set a precedent for policy matters that are expected to be reviewed for municipalities in the future.

For example, the proposed changes to recall of an MLA could create a standard for potential changes for recall of a municipal elected official, even though municipalities have not yet been consulted on those rules. We hope that the unique aspects of local governments will be considered, regardless of how recall is handled at the provincial level.

For more information, we encourage you to read our preliminary analysis of Bill 54.