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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has publicly defended her government’s decision to reverse Edmonton’s 2024 zoning changes, arguing that federal funding incentives amounted to inappropriate interference in municipal housing policy.
Speaking on the radio call-in program Your Province, Your Premier on CHED and CHQR on Saturday, Smith described Ottawa’s financial offer to Edmonton as a bribe. She said the federal government, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, offered Edmonton millions of dollars through the Housing Accelerator Fund in exchange for zoning bylaw changes that made it easier to build multi-unit housing in established neighbourhoods.
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“In Edmonton, they didn’t start seeing what it meant until the bulldozers showed up, took down a single family home and put up a multi-family building so 16 units go up beside them with no parking,” Smith said. “I would say that the overreach happened when the federal government came in and bribed city councils.”
The Housing Accelerator Fund and Edmonton’s Zoning Changes
In February 2024, the Trudeau government announced the Housing Accelerator Fund would fast-track more than 5,200 new housing units in Edmonton over three years. As part of that agreement, Edmonton committed to streamlining zoning bylaw approvals, building more homes near public transit, and using city-owned land for new housing. The city also agreed to shorten project approval timelines.
Edmonton followed through on those commitments the same year. The city introduced new zoning rules designed to increase housing density and accommodate rapid population growth. However, Smith’s United Conservative Party government this week reversed those changes, giving Edmonton three months to undo them.
Smith said the decision followed a surge of public concern. She noted that this week alone, she received hundreds of letters from residents asking her to act on the infill housing issue. “We’re undoing some bad federal policy,” she said.
Pushback from Alberta’s Major Cities
The reversal drew criticism from the mayors of both Edmonton and Calgary. Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said the province was threatening local democracy. He acknowledged that the latest rollback does not directly affect Calgary. However, he warned it sets a dangerous precedent for provincial interference in city council decisions going forward.
Calgary had already repealed its own blanket rezoning rules earlier this year. That decision followed a two-week public hearing that drew more than 400 speakers and nearly 3,300 written submissions. Smith directed Calgary to maintain that rollback this week.
Broader Context: Alberta’s Upcoming Referendum
The housing dispute connects to a wider debate about federal and provincial authority in Alberta. The province plans to hold a referendum on October 19, where Albertans will vote in person on 10 questions.
The first nine questions ask whether the provincial government should have more authority to pursue constitutional reform and place financial limits on certain newcomers. The tenth question — the most debated — asks whether Albertans want to remain in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation.
The provincial government distributed a booklet to homes this month explaining its position on each question. Under the constitutional question, the government argued that Ottawa too often uses federal funding to control provincial affairs. “Over time, this has allowed Ottawa to gain more and more power over provincial affairs,” the booklet stated.
On Saturday, Smith said she has heard from residents across the province that they want more autonomy from Ottawa. On the separation question, she repeated her previously stated position — that she plans to vote to stay in Canada.
