Natural disaster risk: Alberta moves election date

 

Alberta moves spring election date to avoid natural disaster The provincial government has passed legislation in this regard. Accordingly, Alberta's fixed election date, which follows a similar format to municipal elections, was moved from the last Monday in May to the third Monday in October. Speaking about the date change, Premier Danielle Smith said in an interview with the media that dealing with natural disasters during elections is a challenge.

May is the time when wildfires spread. A number of activities will be carried out including evacuation of people, fire control activities and forest fire prevention measures. Smith indicated that holding an election at this time would be impractical and challenging.

Last month, Smith introduced the Emergency Statues Amendment Act 2024, Bill 21, in the Alberta legislature to help the province better respond to emergencies. The bill also includes several policy changes related to emergency situations. This will allow the province to quickly adopt local emergency response efforts that consider the circumstances.