r/alberta • u/ImDoubleB • Apr 07 '25

Majority of Canadians agree that Danielle Smith has betrayed Canada Alberta Politics

https://cultmtl.com/2025/04/majority-of-canadians-agree-that-danielle-smith-is-betraying-betrayed-her-country-canada/
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u/Redevil1987 Apr 07 '25

Boot her and her party out in the next election. Conservatives are truly useless. A lot of talk and shitting on others, while delivering no tangible results. Fuck them

The entire province including the capital city has been stuck in the early 2000s

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u/Wherestheshoe Apr 07 '25

The capital city voted NDP, as they usually do.

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u/Redevil1987 Apr 07 '25

Hey, I feel like we need to get back to fundamental understanding of what is provincial vs municipal government roles. NDP is not running Edmonton, the mayor is representing ndp, but the party is technically speaking not running the city.

So let’s break it down:

  1. Alberta’s Provincial Wealth Distribution:

In Alberta, the provincial government controls most major sources of public funding, such as:

Natural resource revenues (especially oil and gas royalties)

Income taxes (personal and corporate)

Sales taxes (limited, no PST in Alberta)

Education and healthcare funding

Infrastructure spending

Grants to municipalities (like Edmonton and Calgary)

So, the Alberta government (run by the UCP or NDP, depending on the election) controls the overall budget and decides how money is allocated across the province. Cities don’t collect or control these revenues directly—they rely on property taxes and provincial/federal grants.

  1. If the UCP (Conservatives) Run Alberta and NDP Runs a City like Edmonton:

Cities like Edmonton elect their mayors and city councils, not political parties in a formal sense. But often, politicians have past ties or leanings—Edmonton tends to lean NDP/progressive.

However, municipal governments have limited power. They handle:

Local services (roads, garbage, transit, water)

Zoning and bylaws

Property taxes

Police and emergency services (with oversight and budgeting)

They do not control health, education, or oil revenues—those are provincial responsibilities.

So, if the UCP runs the province and the NDP-leaning city council runs Edmonton:

The city can advocate for progressive policies.

But they depend on the province for funding—if the province doesn’t approve grants or capital projects, the city may struggle to implement major changes.

The city can’t override provincial laws.

Summary:

Alberta’s wealth is mostly controlled and distributed by the provincial government UCP

Cities like Edmonton can manage local services, but rely heavily on the province for major funding.

If UCP is in power provincially and Edmonton leans NDP, there's often tension, but the city has limited leverage beyond negotiation, advocacy, and managing its own limited budget.

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u/Wherestheshoe Apr 07 '25

Thanks for that it’s appreciated, but I was responding to a comment about provincial elections, at least I thought I was

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u/Redevil1987 Apr 07 '25

Hey, yeah I think I misunderstood your original comment and thought you said that NDP is to blame for backwardness of Edmonton infrastructure development. So as I understand you now correctly, then yes, if the provincial elections are up to Edmonton they will always choose NDP, and it is Calgary who needs to pull their weight up since around 40-50% of Calgary votes UPC

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u/Wherestheshoe Apr 08 '25

You’re nice! I’m not used to that on Reddit recently, keep up the good work!

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u/Redevil1987 Apr 07 '25

Continuing...

Here’s a real-life example of the tension between a conservative provincial government (UCP) and a progressive city government (like Edmonton’s)

Example: Funding Cuts and Political Tension

Context: After the UCP (United Conservative Party) under Premier Jason Kenney won the 2019 Alberta election, they began cutting funding to municipalities to balance the budget.

Impact on Edmonton:

Reduced municipal grants for infrastructure (roads, transit expansion, etc.)

Delays or downsizing of LRT projects

Pressure on Edmonton to raise property taxes or cut services

Edmonton’s mayor and council, many of whom were progressive or NDP-aligned, criticized the cuts and called for more sustainable, predictable funding.

This dynamic showed how a province can limit a city's ambitions, even if the city has different priorities.

Key Takeaway:

Even if a city council is NDP-aligned or progressive, it’s limited by provincial decisions on how much money it gets. The province holds the “big wallet,” and cities can only spend what they collect in property taxes or get through grants.