Casual Legal: Mandatory Councillor Orientation Post Election
DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.
There has long been a requirement in the MGA for councillors to attend orientation training following an election or by-election. However, prior to recent amendments to the MGA, that orientation training was not required to be completed prior to the first organizational meeting following a general election. That has now changed, and all municipalities must offer councillor orientation training prior to the first organizational meeting on the following topics:
Role of municipalities in Alberta;
Municipal organization and function;
Roles and responsibilities of council and councillors; and
Roles and responsibilities of the CAO and staff.
All municipalities (aside from Summer Villages) must hold an organizational meeting annually not later than 14 days after the 3rd Monday in October. That means that all municipalities (other than SVs) must hold an organizational meeting no later than November 3, 2025. This new requirement means that all municipalities must organize councillor orientation training on the above topics within a relatively small time window, between October 21 (the day after the general election) and November 3, 2025.
In September, ABmunis provided municipalities more details on how to meet these new orientation requirements. Review the information here.
To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1.800.661.7673 or email casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (casuallegal[at]abmunis[dot]ca) and reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please contact riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (riskcontrol[at]abmunis[dot]ca), or call 310.MUNI (6864) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.
