Recall Petitions

The representative recall petitioner must submit a notice of recall petition. The representative recall petition 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
• identify the representative recall petitioner by name
• confirm that the municipality may direct any inquiries about the petition to the representative recall petitioner, and indicate the contact information to be used for this purpose

The notice of recall petition must include:

• a statement signed by the representative recall petitioner that provides their street address or the legal description of the land
• the representative recall petitioner’s mailing address (if different from the street address)
• the representative recall petitioner's telephone number or email address (if any)
• confirmation that the representative recall petitioner is 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

There is a required $500 application fee that must be submitted with the notice of recall petition.

The fee can be paid by cash, a certified cheque and/or a bank or postal money order made payable to “City of Edmonton”.

The representative recall petitioner should contact the Office of the City Clerk at city.clerk@edmonton.ca or 780-496-8178 to arrange a time to deliver the original copies of the notice of recall petition to City Hall or to the Edmonton Elections Office.

The City Clerk and Edmonton Elections will verify the submitted notice of recall petition.

Within seven days, Edmonton Elections will inform the representative recall petitioner if the notice of recall petition meets the requirements.

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

Petition Statement

A recall petition must consist of one or more pages. 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 relates to
• Identify the representative recall petitioner by name
• Confirm that the municipality may direct any inquiries about the petition to the representative recall petitioner and indicate the contact information to be used for this purpose

Who Can Sign a Petition?

Only eligible electors may sign a recall petition. This means that they must be at least 18 years old and a Canadian citizen when signing the petition.

• For a Mayoral recall petition, petitioners must be a resident of Edmonton (Section 222 of the MGA)
• For a Councillor recall petition, only residents who reside in the Ward the Councillor represents may sign the petition

An individual shall only sign a recall petition once.

Information Petitioners Must Provide on a Petition

Every petitioner signing the petition must provide the following information in legible print:

• Printed surname and given name(s) or initials
• Original, inked signature
• Street address or the legal description of the land on which they live
• Telephone number or email address (if any)
• The date on which they signed the petition

Witness Obligations

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

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

Number of Signatures

The representative recall petitioner must obtain eligible signatures equal to:

• For petitions to recall the Mayor: 40 percent of Edmonton’s total population
• For petitions to recall a Councillor: 40 percent of the population of the Ward the Councillor represents 

Dates Signatures Collected

Only signatures collected within the 60 day time period following the City Clerk’s validation of the notice of recall petition can be accepted.

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.

The representative recall petitioner must contact the Office of the City Clerk by email or call 780-496-8178 to arrange a time to deliver the original petition.

The Municipal Government Act (MGA) requires the City of Edmonton, through Edmonton Elections, to assess whether the recall petition meets sufficiency requirements. This means counting the number of valid signatures on the petition and confirming that the petition meets all other legislated requirements.

The Municipal Government Act (MGA) requires the City of Edmonton to determine the sufficiency of the petition within 45 days after the date on which a petition is filed.

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

If a recall petition is declared sufficient

• The declaration of sufficiency will be provided to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the representative recall petitioner and the member of Council named in the recall petition.
• Edmonton Elections will publish the declaration of sufficiency online.

If a recall petition is declared insufficient

• The declaration of insufficiency will be provided to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the representative recall petitioner and the member of Council named in the recall petition.
• Edmonton Elections will publish the declaration of insufficiency online.