Overview
- Alberta’s UCP government tabled Bill 23 on Monday, creating a two‑year window that blocks citizen initiative and recall petitions for 12 months before and after a general election and exempting petitions already underway.
- The bill would drop the rule that requires a referendum on a successful petition by the next election, which could push votes past a fixed election date.
- It would ban AI‑made deepfake media that could mislead voters about politicians or election officials, with fines up to $10,000 for individuals and $100,000 for organizations, and officials say a broader deepfake bill is planned for the fall.
- The proposal adds oversight by letting lawyers watch Elections Alberta’s signature checks and by extending storage of successful petition sheets to two years.
- It would also lower the public‑sector Sunshine List threshold to $130,000 and shift severance disclosure to one annual release.