Dear Chief Administrative Officers:
As you are aware, Bill 20: the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 received Royal Assent on March 30, 2024, and modifies two key pieces of legislation for Alberta municipalities – the Municipal Government Act and the Local Authorities Election Act. The legislation is intended to help municipalities accelerate housing development, strengthen provincial oversight, and update the rules for local elections and locally elected officials.
The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 will be proclaimed October 31, 2024, which will bring most of the legislation into force. The provisions pertaining to assessment and property tax matters will come into force January 1, 2025. In addition, two new regulations for local political parties and slates, and campaign expense limits will be in place. These regulations can be found here:
Local Political Parties: https://kings-printer.alberta.
Expense Limits: https://kings-printer.alberta.
To assist you with implementing these amendments in your municipality, Municipal Affairs will share documents outlining the key changes to the legislation and what it means for your municipality. These documents will also be available online within the next two weeks, at https://open.alberta.ca/
If you have any questions about these changes, please contact the Municipal Advisory Team at [email protected].
Yours truly,
Gary Sandberg
Assistant Deputy Minister