Bill 50 changes raise important questions about Alberta municipal autonomy

This Insight was prepared with the assistance of student-at-law Joshua Derko. 

Bill 50, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, received royal assent on May 15, 2025, introducing amendments to the Municipal Government Act (MGA). 

Previous requirements under the MGA 

The MGA is the legislative framework under which all municipalities and municipal entities across the Province of Alberta operate. It sets out municipal duties and responsibilities, as well as requirements to ensure transparency and accountability. 

Prior to Bill 50, the MGA included provisions which: 

• Required a council to establish a code of conduct to govern the conduct of councillors in accordance with Part 5 Division 1.1 of the MGA 

• Allowed a council to establish, by bylaw, a code of conduct governing the conduct of members of council committees and other bodies established by the council who are not councillors 

• Allowed municipalities to establish, by bylaw, the procedures to be followed for council meetings, committees and other bodies 

What’s Changed? 

Codes of Conduct 

Bill 50 repeals Part 5 Division 1.1 of the MGA which will have the following impact: 

• All existing municipal bylaws or resolutions addressing council conduct will be repealed 

• All existing complaints, investigations or sanctions related to conduct will be terminated, except those subject to the judicial process, which remain in the jurisdiction of the courts 

A replacement accountability mechanism has yet to be proposed. However, the Minister of Municipal Affairs has stated an intent to engage with stakeholders to create a municipal ethics commissioner to address councillor accountability and ethics issues. Details regarding the engagement process or what (if any) internal municipal processes will replace codes of conduct are not known at this time. 

The removal of the legislated requirement for municipalities to adopt codes of conduct without an interim or replacement accountability mechanism leaves municipalities with a lack of enforcement tools to address problematic behaviour by council members. It is important that municipalities are aware of these changes and their impact. 

Meeting Procedures 

In addition to removing the above provisions, Bill 50 introduces new meeting procedures under subsections 145(4) to (12) of the MGA. Key changes to the MGA introduced by these provisions include: 

• The Minister of Municipal Affairs can establish standard meeting procedures for councils by Ministerial Order 

• Councils may still adopt their own procedural bylaws provided they do not conflict with Ministerial Orders if one is created 

• Councils cannot make a bylaw or a resolution to address the behaviour or conduct of councillors or of members of council committees who are not councillors 

The new provisions under section 145 of the MGA centralize authority over municipal meetings and governance processes at the provincial level. This raises questions over municipal autonomy as municipalities’ procedural rules will now be subject to provincial override. It is important that municipalities that wish to adopt their own meeting procedures are aware of the Minister’s standard procedures, once established, to avoid conflicts. 

Our MLT Aikins Municipal team is equipped to assist municipalities to ensure they are in compliance with the new requirements under the MGA. If you have any questions regarding the changes to MGA and how they impact municipalities, please reach out to a member of our team. 

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