Recall Petition

Step 1: Submit a Notice of Recall Petition to the Municipality

An eligible elector (representative recall petitioner) must submit a notice of recall petition to the Municipality. The representative recall petitioner is the person who represents those who have signed the petition.

The Notice of Recall Petition must:

• identify by name the member of Council to whom the recall petition relates to;
• identify the representative recall petitioner by name; and
• confirm that the Municipality may direct any inquiries about the petition to the representative recall petitioner and provide the contact information to be used for this purpose.

The Notice of Recall Petition must be accompanied by: 

• a statement signed by the representative recall petitioner that provides:
  • their street address or the legal description of the land on which they reside;
  • their mailing address (if different than their street address or legal land description);
  • their telephone number or email address (if any);
  • confirmation that the representative recall petitioner is an individual eligible to sign the recall petition and consents to the responsibilities of leading the recall petition, gathering signatures, and otherwise undertaking the role and discharging the duties of a representative recall petitioner.
• The required $500 application fee, which can be paid by cash, certified cheque, or money order payable to the “Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo”.

The representative recall petitioner should contact office of the Chief Legislative Officer at legislative.assistants@rmwb.ca or 780-743-7001 to arrange a time to deliver the original notice of recall petition with accompanying statement and to pay the application fee.

Step 2: The Municipality verifies the submitted Notice of Recall Petition

The Chief Legislative Officer and the Elections Office will verify the submitted notice of recall petition.

Within seven days of receipt of the notice of recall petition, the Municipality will inform the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the representative recall petitioner, and the Member of Council named in the notice of recall petition if the notice of petition meets the legislated requirements.

Step 3: Create the Recall Petition and Collect Signatures

Recall petitions must meet the requirements of the Municipal Government Act (MGA).

Petition Statement

A recall petition must consist of one or more pages and conform to any regulations set by the Government of Alberta. Each page must contain the following information from the notice of recall petition:

• identify by name the member of Council to whom the recall petition.

• identify the representative recall petitioner by name; and

• confirm that the Municipality may direct any inquiries about the petition to the representative recall petitioner and provide the contact information to be used for this purpose.

Who Can Sign a Petition?

Only electors who are eligible to vote under the Local Authorities Election Act for the member of Council that the petition relates to may sign a recall petition for that member of Council.

Eligible electors must be at least 18 years old and be a Canadian citizen when signing the petition. In addition,

• For a Mayoral recall petition, eligible electors who sign the petition must be a resident of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

• For a Councillor recall petition, eligible electors who sign the petition must reside in the Ward the Councillor represents.

An individual shall only sign a recall petition once.

Information Petitioners Must Provide on a Petition

Each petitioner who signs the petition must provide the following information in legible print:

• Printed surname and given names or initials;

• Original inked signature;

• Street address or legal description of the land on which they live;

• Telephone number or email address (if any); and

• The date on which they signed the petition.

All signatures must be original signatures; (no duplicate signatures) and digital or online signatures will not be accepted.

Witness Obligations

Every signature on the petition must be witnessed by an adult person, who must sign the document next to the name of the petitioner whose signature is being witnessed.

The witness must make an affidavit that to the best of the person’s knowledge the signatures witnessed are those of persons entitled to sign the petition. The affidavits must be attached to the petition.

Number of Signatures

The representative recall petitioner must obtain eligible signatures equal to:

• For a Mayoral recall petition: 40% of the total population of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

• For a Councillor recall petition: 40% of the of the population of the Ward the Councillor represents.

Signature Collection Period

Signatures can only be collected within the 60-day period commencing from the date that the notice of recall petition has been published to the Municipal website.

Step 4: Submitting the Petition

The representative recall petitioner must contact office of the Chief Legislative Officer at legislative.assistants@rmwb.ca or 780-743-7001 to arrange a time to deliver the original petition.

Submission Deadline

The representative recall petitioner has 60 days from the date that the notice of recall petition has been published to collect signatures and submit their petition to the Municipality.

Step 5: Municipal Review of Petition 

The Municipal Government Act requires the Municipality to assess whether the recall petition meets sufficiency requirements, which means counting the number of valid signatures on the petition and confirming that the petition meets all the legislated requirements.

Step 6: Report of Sufficiency of Petition 

The Municipal Government Act requires the Municipality to determine the sufficiency of the petition within 45 days after the date on which the recall petition is filed.

A declaration stating whether the recall petition is sufficient or insufficient must be made to Regional Council at the first Council meeting after the determination of sufficiency is made.

If a Recall Petition is Declared Sufficient

If a recall petition is declared sufficient, on making the declaration at the Council meeting:

• The Member of Council named in the notice of recall petition is recalled (removed) from office and is no longer a member of Council or any Council Committees;

• The seat is declared vacant, and a by-election would be held for that respective Ward if a Ward Councillor is removed or for the entire Municipality if the Mayor is removed.

The Municipality will publish the declaration of sufficiency on the Municipal website and provide the declaration to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the representative recall petitioner, and the Member of Council named in the notice of recall petition.

If a Recall Petition is Declared Insufficient

If a recall petition is declared insufficient or if no recall petition is submitted before the end of the 60-day recall petition signature period, the Municipality will publish the declaration of insufficiency on the Municipal website, and provide the declaration to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the representative recall petitioner, and the Member of Council named in the notice of recall petition.