CASUAL LEGAL: Home is where the Heart is – Municipal Elections and the Rules of Residence

Home is where the Heart is – Municipal Elections and the Rules of Residence

By Kelsey Becker Brookes

Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP

AMSC Casual Legal Service Provider

With the 2021 General Election quickly approaching, the conjoined issues of eligibility and residency arise more and more frequently. With residency a requirement for both candidate eligibility and elector eligibility, as well as continued eligibility of councillors, determining a person’s place of residence is one of those highly fact-specific areas of law. What may seem clear to one person, may not to another.

Section 48 of the Local Authorities Election Act (the “Act”) sets out the Rules of Residence applicable to elections under the Act. In summary, a person’s place of residence is governed by the following rules:

1. a person may be a resident of only one place at a time;
2. if a person has more than one place of residence in Alberta, that person shall designate one place of residence as the person’s place of residence (a person designates their place of residence in the following order of priority: address on driver’s licence, address for income tax purposes, mailing address);
3. the residence of a person is the place where the person lives and sleeps and to which, when the person is absent, the person intends to return;
4. a person does not lose their place of residence by leaving home for a temporary purpose;
5. a student who attends an educational institution and temporarily rents accommodation but has family members who are resident in Alberta and with whom the student ordinarily resides,  is deemed to reside with those family members; and
6. if a person leaves the area with the intention of making the person’s residence elsewhere, the person loses the person’s residence within the area.

With Albertans owning more and more recreational properties (excluding those in Summer Villages, which boast their own eligibility rules), designating a person’s place of residence is something both candidates and electors need to consider. Temporary absences can also create challenges, as the reason, length of time and continuing connection to the community, not to mention the party’s intentions, will all be relevant.   

Candidates are encouraged to ensure they meet all of the eligibility requirements on nomination day, including residency, and that their electors also “live and sleep” where they vote.

To access AMSC’s Casual Legal Helpline, AUMA members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or email casuallegal [at] amsc.ca (casuallegal[at]amsc[dot]ca) and reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please contact riskcontrol [at] auma.ca (riskcontrol[at]auma[dot]ca), or call 310-AUMA (2862) to speak to AUMA’s Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of the AUMA can access the Casual Legal Service.

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.