Elections Alberta address harassment of petition canvassers, and canvasser conduct

Per Elections Alberta:

Canvassers conduct

All petition campaigns are advised of both Elections Alberta’s and their own role, responsibilities, and requirements in detail as their campaigns begin. During their campaign, Elections Alberta makes every effort to advise them of reported conduct that may not align with the requirements so that they may correct their or their representatives’ conduct. The Recall Regulation and Citizen Initiative Regulation set out the conduct and duties of petition canvassers, supplemented by the Canvasser Code of Conduct and direction by the Chief Electoral Officer. These are applied equally and consistently to all petition campaigns and canvassers.

Registered canvassers represent the citizen initiative proponent or recall petition applicant for whom they are canvassing only. They do not represent Elections Alberta and may not represent themselves as Elections Alberta in any way, including verbally, in advertising, or on signage. Verifiable instances of canvassers not complying with this, or any other requirement of the relevant Act or Canvasser Code of Conduct, should be reported to Elections Alberta.

Harassment of canvassers

As noted above, nearly every petition campaign has reported instances of canvasser harassment, including abusive, derisive, threatening, insulting, offensive or provocative statements, gestures, or actions.

Any canvasser who experiences harassment or feels unsafe should contact local law enforcement. Elections Alberta cannot assist in these matters. There are no provisions or penalties under the Recall Act or Citizen Initiative Act related to harassment of canvassers and neither the Referendum Act nor the Election Act provisions apply; petition campaigns are not elections, votes, or referendums.

To be very clear, Elections Alberta does not condone these behaviours in any way nor is this behaviour unique to any one group or political position. We urge all Albertans to conduct themselves in a civil and respectful manner when engaging with their fellow Albertans in person or online, particularly as it relates to electoral processes and events.

Rights of access

There are no provisions under the Citizen Initiative Act or Recall Act requiring public or private facilities, landlords, businesses, or organizations to provide access or space to petition canvassers or campaign events. Permission must be obtained from the property manager, local government, or business owner, or other individual responsible for the property, and campaigns and canvassers must comply with the facility’s or organization’s processes and rules.

Misinformation

Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referendums. We administer electoral processes as set out in the relevant legislation and ensure compliance with legislation. We are the source of credible, accurate information about electoral processes in Alberta.

Elections Alberta actively monitors media and debunks misinformation on our social media channels regularly. Albertans are encouraged to visit our social media channels and website for accurate, non-AI-generated information related to electoral processes and events in Alberta.

The following addresses some of the most persistent misinformation and disinformation:

All citizen initiative and recall petitions have been conducted according to the relevant legislation in force at the time. Several amendments have been made to this legislation since July 4, 2025, adding or removing requirements. This in no way suggests campaigns and verifications conducted before those changes were enacted are less accurate or credible.
No fraud has been reported or detected during any petition verification process.
The petition validation, count, and verification processes are consistently applied by Elections Alberta and reflect the requirements of the relevant legislation. This includes reviewing every signature on every sheet and contacting a statistically valid random sampling of electors who signed petition sheets to verify their information.
Our Office and staff are not involved in and do not attend canvassing or events supporting or opposing any petition campaign.
Elections Alberta does not endorse or sanction petitions, campaigns or their activities, nor canvassers or their activities during the canvassing period.
Petition proponents and applicants are responsible for sending canvasser applications to Elections Alberta for registration and processing canvasser ID. Elections Alberta sends out approved canvasser ID within 3 business days of receipt of complete applications from proponents via Canada Post Xpresspost. If canvassers have not received their ID in a timely manner, they should contact the proponent to determine the status of their application.
Proponents/applicants are sent the approved official signature sheet template at the beginning of their campaign and are responsible for providing canvassers with the approved petition signature sheets.
Proponents and applicants are solely responsible for answering canvassers’ and the public’s questions about their campaign during the canvassing period.
Canvassers providing refreshments or entertainment is not an inducement unless they require individuals to sign a petition to receive the refreshment or entertainment.

More information on the roles and responsibilities for recall and citizen initiative petitions is available on our website at https://www.elections.ab.ca/recall-initiative/.

Current recalls and citizen initiative petitions can be found at the link above.

by Pattison Media staff