The Alberta NDP have amended Bill 50, Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, to allow Indigenous citizens living on reserve to vote in local elections.
On-reserve Indigenous people are still unable to vote in municipal elections in Alberta. Meanwhile provinces such as British Columbia have extended the right to vote to people living on reserves adjacent or surrounded by a municipality.
In a news conference prior to the tabling of the bill, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), said his reserve is in Fort Chipewyan and once it changed to reserve status, residents were unable to vote on municipal affairs, even though it directly impacted them.
“And now, because we changed it into a reserve status, we’re taking our democracy away from us because we’re not allowed to vote on municipal affairs, yet it controlled 100 per cent of all the municipal services to the ACFN,” said Adam.
He added by not allowing Indigenous people on reserve to vote, up to 60 per cent of the eligible voters are excluded from having their voice heard.
Adam compared it to living in 1956, when Indigenous people didn’t have the right to vote at all.
“I think it’s a slap in the face to the First Nations…Alberta still follows the same process in 2025.”
Trevor Mercredi, grand chief of Treaty 8, said while Indigenous people may not pay rates, the decisions made by municipal government directly affect them.
“What bothers me about that is they say we’re not rate payers but they don’t mind using our numbers for hospitals, schools, facilities that help their children grow up to be healthy people, while our communities are suffering,” he said.
He added his people just want to have their voices heard.
“We aren’t looking to become a fourth level (of) government here, but we are looking to have our voices heard in democratic processes.”
Adam said that the money they should receive from the federal government goes directly to the municipal government after making an agreement with the municipality.
“In other words, we are part of the municipality regardless of what, because the money, we should have been given…from the federal government.”
He added that the money was intended for roads, modern treatment plants and schools, but the people don’t get a say in how its used without a vote.
Mercredi said Indigenous Albertans many issues with the Alberta government and they just want their voices heard.
“We do have issues, it’s not just Bill 54, there’s many other issues that we’re dealing with when it comes to our children: the water, the land, all of the resources that are stripped from our people. We’re taking them back and it’s hard for the general public, it’s hard for governments to understand or want to give us what truly belongs to us back. “What we do have control of, we will stay in control of; we’re not giving up any of our rights, not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”
Mercredi also pointed out that the relationship with the Canadian government is not perfect and many programs are underfunded, but they wanted to make people aware people are aware of the Indigenous issues in Alberta and Canada.
“I wouldn’t say we have a perfect relationship, we never did and it’s going to be a long time before the issues that we face are rectified to the point that we can say we have a good relationship with any level of government at this point and time.”
