Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had choice words for Calgary city councilors including Mayor Gondek who voted in favour of the housing rezoning bill that passed earlier this week, projecting that many of them lose their seats come the 2025 municipal election.
A three-week long (and longest ever) public hearing ended Tuesday with city council members voting 9–6 in favour of the contentious rezoning bylaw that allows for the majority of Calgary’s residential districts to be zoned for higher-density construction, such as duplexes, townhomes, and rowhouses.
“I don’t quite know how this is going to turn out for the various members who voted the way they did. I’ve seen the polling in some of those ridings,” Smith said.
“We’ll see in the next election if there’s widespread acceptance then.”
The federal Liberals recently gave Calgary $228 million for housing development, but blackmailed them by saying the funding was contingent on them changing the rezoning bylaw.
Gondek later denied the money was contingent on such, but voted in favour of the amendment anyway.
Smith expressed concern over the agreement on Wednesday, accusing the federal Liberals of potentially being guilty of jurisdictional overreach yet again.
“What had me concerned is that it seemed like the resurgence of this was tied to a bilateral deal that the City of Calgary signed with the federal government,” Smith told reporters during an unrelated press conference.
“I don’t know what the real answer is there but it does concern me if municipalities feel that they have pressure from the federal government to change their policies in order to get a couple hundred million dollars.”
Bill 18 in play
The Provincial Priorities Act, or Bill 18, was recently tabled by Smith’s UCP, and would make it necessary for provincial entities—such as municipalities, colleges, and universities—to get prior approval from the provincial government before signing, modifying, extending, or renewing any kind of agreement with the federal government.
Smith advocated for the bill on Wednesday, saying it “we want to be able to be the advocate for all of our municipalities so that they don’t feel like they have to be pressured into passing policies that will likely get some of them unelected in the next election.”
