THE PROS AND CONS OF CITY POLITICAL PARTIES
Provincial government needs to study risks and rewards , Brendan Boyd says.
On Thursday, April 25, Alberta's UCP government introduced Bill 20, The Municipal Affairs Statute Amendment Act. While the act contains many items, one of the most anticipated and discussed is a pilot program that introduces political parties to municipal politics in Edmonton and Calgary.
If passed, the bill would allow candidates for local elections in Alberta's two largest cities to run as a member of a local party, a slate of candidates (presumably a looser affiliation than a party) or, as they have previously, as an independent.
In an earlier interview, Premier Danielle Smith argued that having political parties would formalize the partisanship that already exists at the municipal level in Calgary and Edmonton and make it more transparent to voters. When speaking about Bill 20, Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver echoed these sentiments saying: “Party official affiliation at the local level is something that happens already, particularly in the bigger cities.”
Municipalities in Alberta have pushed back. Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek said “I think if we fall into this quagmire of becoming partisan at the local level, it hinders our ability to work across orders of government.” while Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi called Bill
20, which includes several major changes to municipal governance, an “attack on local democracy.” There also appears to be little appetite from the general public, as demonstrated by polling conducted for Alberta Municipalities and the provincial government's own consultation.
There are still many unanswered questions about how parties will be defined and formed and how they will select candidates, so, as with most legislation, the devil may be in the details. The bill is working its way through the legislative assembly and, if it passes, government has indicated it will consult as it develops regulations, which makes this an opportune time to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of introducing parties to municipal politics.
Political parties have been a defining feature of democracies because they provide several benefits to the public. Municipal politics researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University and University of Calgary highlight that parties provide an efficient means for voters to determine the positions that candidates have on different issues before casting their vote.
At the local level, citizens choosing a councillor or school board member are likely to have a better idea of candidates' priorities and views if those candidates are affiliated with a party. The researchers suggest that parties also help citizens hold elected officials in government accountable by making it clear who is responsible for policy and administrative decisions. In addition, parties play a role in vetting candidates, as they hold internal competitions to determine who will run under their banner. Theoretically, this provides a better list of candidates for citizens to choose from.
Bill 20 excludes provincial and federal political parties from participating in local Edmonton and Calgary elections, so expect a plethora of local parties and slates to emerge. In Vancouver and Montreal, where political parties are an established feature of their elections, there has been constant flux as parties form, reform, rebrand and change candidates. Thus, the benefit of informing voters may be reduced as the system is less likely to have the stability that citizens are used to with parties at other levels of government.
Despite their benefits, political parties tend to be the least trusted among political institutions in Canada. Part of this is because of the perception that they are a place where independent thought goes to die as members are forced to toe the party line on most, if not all, issues. The party leader often takes on an outsized role and the party becomes more of a cult of personality or a brand than an engine for political discourse and policy development.
This creates three issues. First, a candidate who is a member of a political party may be less willing or able to represent the interests of their constituents if those interests do not align with their party's position. This turns the democratic process on its head as elected leaders spend less time representing their constituents' interests to the party, and more time representing the party's interests to their constituents.
Second, increased partisanship means that elected officials, within and across levels of government, are less likely to collaborate to solve problems and work for the public good as they seek to differentiate their party from those with which they are competing.
Third, internal party politics, often resulting from leadership contests, can turn politicians' focus away from governing and the broader public good. Albertans need only think back to the 2022 UCP leadership review that ousted Jason Kenney and the subsequent leadership race won by Smith to be reminded of how internal party politics can take over the public agenda.
It could be argued that the drawbacks of party politics are unique to the provincial and federal level where the media spotlight and scale of government necessitate tight discipline and a concentration of power at the top. But many municipal parties in Vancouver and Montreal have been formed by and branded around mayoral candidates and leadership contests have at times been controversial, which suggests that similar issues can emerge at the local level.
In summary, political parties can help citizens, who have scarce time and resources, to meaningfully participate in a complex modern democracy. To that end, introducing political parties at the municipal level could increase voter turnout, which is typically lower than at the federal and provincial level.
However, trust of government tends to be higher at the local level than at the federal and provincial level in Canada and, while there are likely several factors, the lack of partisan politics and the ability of elected officials to represent their constituents is an important difference.
The Alberta government, municipal leaders in the province and citizens need to carefully consider the risks and rewards of introducing political parties at the local level as the details of the new system are determined.
I think if we fall into this quagmire of becoming partisan at the local level, it hinders our ability to work across orders of government.
JYOTI G ON DE K, Calgary mayor