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City charters for Edmonton and Calgary

Learn about Edmonton and Calgary’s city charters and recent changes.

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Overview

The City of Edmonton Charter, 2018 Regulation and the City of Calgary Charter, 2018 Regulation provide the cities of Edmonton and Calgary with additional authorities and flexibility to build strong, vibrant cities that attract trade and investment.

Proposed changes to the city charter regulations

The proposed amendments to the city charter regulations align with the changes made to the Municipal Government Act (MGA), under the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2026 (Bill 28). 

Changes are being proposed to both the Edmonton City Charter, 2018 Regulation and the Calgary City Charter, 2018 Regulation.

Proposed amendments to the city charter regulations must be publicly posted for 60 days before the amendments can be approved and come into force in fall 2026. They are presented in a tracked changes format to allow municipal stakeholders and members of the public to see exact changes. 

Download the proposed changes

What is being proposed

  • Changes to off-site levies

    The amendments prohibit off-site levies from covering costs related to:

    • operational costs
    • retail or commercial facilities not required to deliver the facility’s core services
    • items not permanently affixed to a facility (for example, firetrucks, furniture, equipment) and
    • capital costs incurred to build to a standard higher than required under applicable provincial building codes

    In addition, Bill 28 exempted land developed for school buildings, owned or leased by charter or accredited independent schools from off-site levies.

  • Changes to climate planning requirements

    The proposed city charter regulation amendments will also repeal provisions that require Edmonton and Calgary to establish climate mitigation plans. Climate adaptation non-statutory studies, such as flood protection and stormwater drainage, will still be permitted, but they will no longer be mandatory.

Questions or feedback on proposed changes

Questions or feedback related to the proposed changes to the city charter regulations can be sent to [email protected].

Need for city charter regulations

Just like any Alberta municipality, the cities of Edmonton and Calgary are governed by the Municipal Government Act (MGA). As the 2 largest urban centres in Alberta, the cities of Edmonton and Calgary face unique challenges, complexities and opportunities compared to other Alberta municipalities. As a result, the city charter regulations provide additional flexibilities and authorities to the cities of Edmonton and Calgary with respect to the MGA and other legislation.

About city charter regulations

The city charters are regulations that modify or replace specific provisions in the MGA – along with some other provincial acts and regulations – so they apply differently to the cities of Edmonton and Calgary compared to other municipalities to provide these two cities with additional flexibility and authorities.

Unless explicitly outlined in the city charter regulations, all other legislation will continue to apply to the two cities.

In some instances, the city charter regulations are enabling, where the cities of Edmonton and Calgary can choose if, and when, they would like to use the additional authorities they are granted through the city charter regulations.

The cities are required to hold public hearings when passing bylaws using city charter regulation authorities.

  • Previous changes to the city charter regulations

    In May 2024, changes to the off-site levies, inclusionary housing and building code bylaw authority provisions of the city charter regulations were made to support attainable and affordable housing, including:  

    • off-site levies
    • inclusionary housing and 
    • building code bylaw authority

  • Off-site levies

    Off-site levies were established to enable municipalities to charge developers a portion of the costs associated with servicing a new area. New requirements have now been added, such as responding to stakeholder feedback during levy consultations, and creating an appeal process through the Land and Property Rights Tribunal.

  • Inclusionary housing

    These provisions allowed a municipality to require a developer or other land-use applicant to provide funds or other resources to the municipality to be used for affordable housing units. Prior to the changes, neither Edmonton nor Calgary had used these city charter regulation provisions.

    The changes repealed the inclusionary housing provisions to limit the potential for cost increases to new housing. This change also aligned the city charter regulations more closely with the MGA, where unproclaimed inclusionary housing provisions were also removed.

  • Building code bylaw authority

    Prior to the change, the city charter regulations provided Edmonton and Calgary the ability to make bylaws regarding environmental matters in relation to provincial safety and building codes, including energy consumption and heat retention. The authority had been interpreted broadly by the cities to include the ability to require all construction within their jurisdiction to adopt a standard for energy efficiency higher than the Alberta edition of the National Building Code.

    The provisions granting this authority were repealed to ensure the application of one uniform building code standard across the province in the future. Individual property owners can still choose to build to a higher energy efficiency standard than required by the provincial code.

Contact

Connect with Municipal Affairs: 
Email: [email protected]

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