Rules of the Leadership Vote
Table of Contents
Part I – Application and Interpretation
Short Title
Application of the Rules
Definitions and Jurisdiction
Part II – Committees
Leadership Co-Chairs
Dispute Appeals Committee
Search Committee
Green Light Committee.
Part III – The Election
Beginning
Method of Voting
Voting Period
Announcement of Results
Eligibility to Vote
Part IV – Leadership Candidates
Eligibility
Review of Nomination
Sanctions
Disqualification
Access to Party Data
Part V – The Party
Neutrality
Venues
Debates
Part VI – Memberships
Part VII – Contingencies
Call of a General Election
Acclamation of Candidate
No Candidates by the Nomination Deadline
Part I – Application and Interpretation
Short Title
1. This document may be referred to as the “Leadership Rules” or the “Rules”
Application of the Rules
2. These Rules apply to the Leadership Vote conducted under Section 11 of the Alberta
Liberal Party By-Laws.
3. These Rules must be applied in a fair and equitable manner and must be interpreted in a
manner which is fair and reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances, and in the
best interests of the Alberta Liberal Party.
4. These Rules come into full force and effect upon their adoption by the Board of the Alberta
Liberal Party and publication of the Rules on the Party website.
Definitions and Jurisdiction
5. For the purposes of these Rules, the following terms have the following meanings:
5.1. “By-Laws” mean the by-laws of the Alberta Liberal Party as adopted;
5.2. “Official Agent” means a Leadership Candidate’s Chief Financial officer as defined
under Section 29 of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act;
5.3. “CRO” means the Chief Returning Officer appointed under Section 8 of these Rules;
5.4. “Day” means a full calendar day unless otherwise noted;
5.5. “Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act” means the Election Finances
and Contributions Disclosure Act, RSA 2000, c E-2 as amended;
5.6. “Executive” means the Executive Committee of the Alberta Liberal Party as
defined by Article 5 of the By-Laws;
5.7. “Leadership Candidate” means a person accepted by the Alberta Liberal Party as a
leadership candidate under Section 37 of these Rules, who is registered as a
leadership contestant pursuant to Section 9.2 of the Election Finances and
Contributions Disclosure Act, and who has not been disqualified under Section 42 of
these Rules;
5.8.“Member” means Member in Good Standing as defined by the By-Laws.
5.9 “Nomination Package” means the documents contemplated by Section 37 and
found in the Appendices to these Rules; and,
5.10 “Party” means the Alberta Liberal Party.
6. For the purposes of these Rules, all times will be Mountain Daylight Saving Time.
Part II – Committees
Leadership Co-Chairs and CRO
7. The Leadership Co-Chairs, who shall be approved by the Board, shall preside over the
Convention and shall have the authority to interpret and enforce these Rules, decide
on matters which may arise and which are not dealt with by these Rules and delegate
authority as they may determine, subject to any appeal as prescribed by these Rules.
8. The Leadership Co-Chairs shall appoint a Chief Returning Officer who shall have the
final decision on any question relating to:
a) The membership of a person in the Party;
b) The entitlement of a member to vote; and
c) Voting.
9. There shall be no appeal from the decision of the CRO on any of these questions.
10. The Leadership Co-Chairs and the CRO shall observe the same rules of neutrality as
the Executive.
11. The CRO shall be prohibited from voting.
Dispute Appeals Committee
12. There shall be a Dispute Appeals Committee which shall hear all appeals from any
decisions of the Leadership Co-Chairs relating to these Rules apart from matters
surrounding the appointment or under the jurisdiction, of the CRO.
13. The Dispute Appeals Committee shall be comprised of the following individuals:
a) Three people as appointed for the duration of the Leadership race by the Executive;
b) Two other people shall be appointed as backups to step in for a member of the
Dispute Appeals Committee in the event that one of the three aforementioned people
is unable to discharge their duties. The person who steps in shall be appointed by the
Executive.
14. If a further vacancy arises on the Dispute Appeals Committee, the Executive shall fill it.
15. An appeal to the Dispute Appeals Committee may only be commenced by notice of
appeal in writing from a Candidate’s Official Agent and the signature of 25 members
received no later than 72 hours after the decision requiring review has been made.
16. The Dispute Appeals Committee may require appropriate fees or deposits to be paid
by the appellant before any appeal is heard.
17. The appeal shall be decided by a majority vote by the Dispute Appeals Committee.
18. The decision of the Dispute Appeals Committee shall be communicated to the Official
Agent of each Candidate.
19. Decisions by the Dispute Appeals Committee are final and not subject to appeal or
review by any other court or adjudicative body whatsoever and Candidates and their
campaigns expressly waive any right they might otherwise have to apply to any court in
Canada concerning any dispute or issue.
20. The Dispute Appeals Committee has all the powers necessary to give effect to its decisions.
21. The Dispute Appeals Committee shall observe the same rules of neutrality as the
Executive.
Search Committee
22. There may be a search committee tasked with identifying potential candidates for
leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party and encouraging them to run. Its specific function
may be determined by the Executive.
23. The Search Committee shall be comprised of any number of individuals that the Executive
may wish to appoint. There are no limits on its composition.
24. The Search Committee has no powers granted to it in this Leadership Vote and therefore
its members need not observe the rules on neutrality.
Green Light Committee
25. There shall be a Green Light Committee tasked with vetting candidates for eligibility and
moral character. This shall mean that they will prepare a questionnaire that candidates
must answer and may require additional documents at their discretion. They will provide
to the Leadership Co-Chairs a recommendation on whether the candidate should be
approved.
26. The Green Light Committee shall be appointed by the Leadership Co-Chairs and shall
consist of three people at their discretion.
27. Because the Green Light Committee has been delegated powers from the Leadership
Co-Chairs, they shall observe the same rules of neutrality as the Executive.
Part III – The Election
Beginning
28. Nominations shall open on Monday, June 13th, 2022 at Noon.
Method of Voting
29. The vote shall take place by online poll.
30. No later than Sunday, August 14th, 2022, the Executive shall approve the procedure for the
online vote.
Voting Period
31. The vote shall take place from Noon on Monday, September 19th, 2022 to 9 pm Saturday, September 24th, 2022.
Announcement of Results
32. The results of the Leadership Race will be announced by the Leadership Co-Chairs no
later than 4 pm on Sunday, September 25th, 2022.
33. The Results will be approved by the CRO and ratified by the Secretary of the Party under
the Seal of the Party.
Eligibility to Vote
34. To vote in the Leadership Election, a person must be a member of the Party as
defined by Article 2 of the By-Laws.
35. Only memberships purchased before or on Monday, September 12th, 2022 11:59:59 PM
shall be eligible to vote in this election.
36. Each member will be entitled to a single vote
Part IV – Leadership Candidates
Eligibility
37. To be eligible for election as the Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party a person must satisfy
the requirements in Articles 4.1 and 4.2 of the By-Laws, be eligible for election to the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta and, in addition, must provide to the Secretary of the
Party or their designate care of the Provincial Office on or before 5 pm on Friday, August
12th, 2022 a completed Nomination Package consisting of the following documents:
a) Signatures from 20 Members of the Alberta Liberal Party as well as their names,
address, telephone numbers, and electoral districts.
b) A fully and frankly completed questionnaire in a form prescribed by the Green
Light Committee on the delegated authority of the Leadership Co-Chairs.
c) An undertaking in writing that:
i. They agree to be bound by the By-Laws and these Leadership Rules;
ii. They will submit all disputes concerning any matter relating to the selection
of the Leader and the leadership vote and the construction or application of
the By-Laws or the Leadership Rules to the Leadership Co-Chairs, the CRO, or
the Dispute Appeals Committee as per these Rules without recourse to any
other court or adjudicative body whatsoever and expressly waive any right
they might otherwise have to apply to any court in Canada concerning any
dispute or issue arising out of any such matter;
iii. They will pay any outstanding fines; and,
iv. They agree to abide by the Code of Conduct.
d) Any documents requested by the Leadership Co-Chairs including, but not
limited to, criminal records, military service records, and tax records.
e) A $6000 fee where $4000 is non-refundable and $2000 is refundable; The
$2000 refundable fee may be withheld, in whole or in part, based on decisions
of the Leadership Co-Chairs or Dispute Appeals Committee as payment for
fines:
i. $1000, $500 of which is refundable and $500 is non-refundable must be
submitted to the Secretary of the Party or their designate before a
Nomination Package is withdrawn;
ii. $2500, of which $1500 is refundable, must be submitted when the
Nomination Package is submitted; and
iii. The remaining $2500 must be paid by the nomination deadline.
Review of Nomination
38. The Leadership Co-Chairs are responsible to review all documents delivered for
compliance with these Rules, the By-Laws, and the Election Finances and Contributions
Disclosure Act. If the documents delivered by a prospective leadership contestant meet all the
requirements, then the Leadership Co-Chairs must direct the Leadership Candidate or their
Official Agent to notify the Chief Electoral Officer and provide them with the documents
outlined in section 9.2 of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.
39. Upon confirmation from the Chief Electoral Officer regarding receipt of these documents
and the registration of the prospective candidate by Elections Alberta, the Leadership
Co-Chairs must forthwith notify the prospective leadership candidate that the Alberta
Liberal Party has accepted the person as a Leadership Candidate.
40. No individual will be declared as an accepted Leadership Candidate before Monday, June
13th, 2022. Documents received prior to this date may be reviewed by the Leadership
Co-Chairs.
41. No individual may campaign or pass themselves off to be a Leadership Candidate
approved by the Alberta Liberal Party, either directly or indirectly, between the date
these Rules come into force and the date they are notified by the Leadership
Co-Chairs that they have been accepted as a Leadership Candidate, and have
submitted the documents required by the Election Finances and Contributions
Disclosure Act.
Sanctions
42. If the Leadership Co-Chairs determine that a Leadership Candidate has not complied with
the By-Laws, these Rules, or any undertakings required by these Rules, then depending
on the gravity of non-compliance, the Leadership Co-Chairs may impose one or more of
the following sanctions on the Leadership Candidate:
a) Issue a private reprimand;
b) Make the non-compliance public;
c) Order the payment to the Party of a fine not exceeding $2000;
d) Direct that the speaking time allotted to the Leadership Candidate at any
meetings or debates held in connection with the Leadership Vote be reduced in
comparison to the time allotted to the other Leadership Candidates;
e) Direct that the Leadership Candidate be barred from participating in any
meetings or debates held in connection with the Leadership vote;
f) Disqualification of a Leadership Candidate;
g) Such other remedies as the Leadership Co-Chairs may, in their sole discretion,
consider appropriate.
Disqualification
43. The Leadership Co-Chairs must ensure that the name of a Leadership Candidate is
removed from the ballots for the Leadership Vote if that person:
a) Is found by the Leadership Co-Chairs not to be eligible for election as the Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party
b) Does not pay the deposit contemplated by Section 37(e) of these Rules;
c) Has accrued fines greater than their refundable deposit;
d) Has been disqualified by the Leadership Co-Chairs under Section 42(f) of these Rules; and
e) Withdraws as a leadership contestant.
44. Any Leadership Candidate disqualified under Section 43 (b), (c), or (d), of these Rules
has the right to an automatic appeal to the Dispute Appeals Committee and to hear a
final response within 72 hours. An appeal of this nature must be made in writing by
the Leadership Candidate’s Official Agent but does not require any member
signatures.
Access to Party Data
45. Once a Leadership Candidate has formally completed and passed all nomination
requirements, they shall be entitled to an updated membership list twice weekly, on a
schedule chosen by mutual agreement of the Leadership Co-Chairs and the Executive Director of the Party.
Part V – The Party
Neutrality
46. The Party shall not endorse, support, or in any other way assist a leadership candidate
over any other(s).
47. No member of the Executive, both in their capacity as an executive member and as a
private individual, shall endorse, support, or volunteer for a Leadership Candidate.
48. No Liberal Constituency Association shall endorse or support a Leadership Candidate.
Venues
49. The Executive shall be responsible for the selection of venues for the launch of the
Leadership race, the announcement of results, and any debates or public meetings
associated with the Leadership race.
Debates
50. The format and moderator shall be announced publicly by the Party no less than
30 days prior to the debate.
51. The moderator and format for any debates will be selected by the Co-Chairs and
the President of the Party.
Part VI – Memberships
52. A single unique email address is required for each Member to vote in the leadership
election.
53. Membership can be purchased online at the Alberta Liberal Party website by credit
card or by cheque (either received in the Party P.O. Box by the membership deadline
or otherwise provided in a way agreeable to the Executive Director of the Party by the
membership deadline). Cheques must include the name, phone number, address, and
email of the member.
54. Any membership purchased for an individual by another individual by cheque must be
paid for by way of individual personal cheque. Said cheque must both include the
information specified under Section 53 for the prospective member as well as the
name and email of the person purchasing it on the prospective member’s behalf.
Part VII – Contingencies
Call of a General Election
55. In the event that a general election is called during the leadership campaign, per the
By-Laws, the Board of Directors may reschedule these proceedings.
Acclamation of Candidate
56. In the event that only a single candidate successfully completes the nomination process
before the deadline, the Leadership Vote shall not be held, and the candidate shall be
acclaimed.
No Candidates by the Nomination Deadline
57. In the event that no candidates have completed the nomination package by the deadline,
the Co-Chairs may extend the nomination deadline for an additional two weeks at their discretion.