UCP aims to bring back Alberta senate elections
Premier Jason Kenney is fast-tracking legislation to bring Alberta senate elections back from the dead.
The UCP tabled Bill 13, dubbed the Alberta Senate Election Act, on Wednesday. If passed, the legislation would revive senate nominee elections, providing the prime minister with up to three names for consideration after votes are counted.
The 1989 Senatorial Selection Act lapsed in 2016. Kenney said during the election he would reinstate the law should the federal government — and senators — fail to kill Bill C-69 and C-48.
He has criticized both pieces of legislation, arguing they hinder Alberta’s oil and gas industry and pipeline projects.
Last week, after a handful of Alberta senators didn’t do what he wanted on the controversial federal bills, he decided to accelerate his pledge.
“Our response to the senators from Alberta who voted against this province will be to hold senate elections,” Kenney said on June 21.
“Last night’s votes clearly demonstrated that elected senators — who have a direct line of accountability to Alberta voters — are much more likely to vote to defend our vital strategic and economic interests.”
If Bill 13 passes, Albertans will see senate candidates on a separate ballot when they cast their municipal vote in 2021.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the idea retreads old politics and could be a wasteful proposition given the cost of running elections.
“We haven’t seen the bill yet, but generally anything that would cost Albertans millions of dollars in order to legitimatize a body within which Albertans are incredibly under-represented makes no sense,” she told reporters Tuesday. “Electing people for life doesn’t make them more effective,” she added.
The theory is the act will allow Albertans to elect representatives to the upper chamber.
However, those elections will hold zero sway at the federal level, because Alberta cannot compel the prime minister to appoint the province’s preferred candidates.
Kenney said Wednesday the point of the bill would be to submit a list of senators chosen by Albertans, and then challenge the prime minister to ignore democracy.
“Senators who are elected by Albertans have shown that they effectively stand up for Alberta’s economy, jobs and families,” he said. “They set a strong example to other provinces of the benefits of having effective voices with the moral legitimacy of having been elected.”
The legislation caps senatorial election spending at $500,000 per candidate.
It also makes candidates subject to the Election Finance and Contributions Disclosure Act and third-party advertising rules, capping individual donations to political candidates at $4,000.
Bill 13 also stipulates that election nominees need 500 signatures, down from the previous 1,500 signatures requirement. Provincial political parties would be allowed to support senatorial candidates, but contributions would be limited to $100,000.