Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she’s happy to hear the province doesn’t plan to overturn the recently approved citywide rezoning bylaw.

The bylaw decision, which would see the base residential rezoning in Calgary go to R-CG, allowing single-family detached homes up to rowhouses, was approved by Calgary city council after the longest-ever public hearing in city history.

The province’s proposed Bill 20 would allow them to force the repeal or amendment of any city bylaw on the books. Currently, the Alberta government already reserves the right to force the repeal of land-use and planning items.

On May 16, CBC Eyeopener host Loren McGinnis asked Alberta Premier Danielle Smith if she would consider a repeal of the citywide rezoning bylaw.  Premier Smith said that she was concerned that the bylaw was passed as a requirement of the federal government in order to qualify for housing cash.

LiveWire Calgary has confirmed in multiple stories there is no specific tie between citywide rezoning and the federal housing cash. READ MORE HERE.

When pressed for a clear answer on a repeal of Calgary’s bylaw, Premier Smith said Calgary voters will have the final say come October 2025.

“Calgary has an election coming up in 18 months and it’ll be up to Calgarians to decide whether or not they believe the council made the right decision,” Premier Smith said.

McGinnis: “You won’t intervene?”

Smith: “I won’t. That will be up to Calgarians to decide if they’re upset.”

Throughout the debate on citywide rezoning, citizens against the rezoning have had no qualms in sharing their belief this will cost yes-voting councillors their jobs come next October.

Councillors have said they understood the political capital being expended on the topic and had come to terms with it.

Political ploy, says city councillor

Mayor Gondek said it made sense for Premier Smith to make the comment she did on Calgary’s rezoning bylaw.

“We were fully within our jurisdiction, and frankly our mandate, on the work that we need to do,” she said.

“As duly elected local councillors and the mayor, this was our job and to have intervention from the province would be an overreach.”

Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra was less diplomatic when asked about Premier Smith’s comments. He said her government is far more interested in playing politics than governing for citizens.

Carra believe she knew what had to be done to address housing in Calgary.

“I would suggest that the premier making that statement is a huge political win-win for her because she gets what she knows this province needs, which is an upzoning in Calgary to help address the housing crunch,” he said.

“She also gets to stoke anger, fear and division about that, and her plans to try and take back Calgary city council in the next municipal election.”

The big city charters were a start to redefining the relationship cities have with the province, according to Carra. While he said it was important to have governance checks and balances, he said Bill 20 reduces the due diligence the provincial government would have to undertake to “affect that check and balance on municipal partners.”

“I think it has more to do with sabre rattling and politics than it has to do with good governance,” Carra said.