Alberta Funds Public Schools Petition Signing Today
Oct 25 2025
Medicine Hat Residents Can Weigh In on Education Crisis as Petition Circulates Today
As the Alberta government moves to legislate an end to the teachers' labour dispute, a citizen-led initiative is gaining momentum, aiming to give the public a direct voice in the contentious debate over education funding.
A petition for a Citizen's Initiative, a formal process enabled by Alberta law, will be available for signatures today outside McBride's Bakery in Medicine Hat until 12:30 p.m. Yesterday the provincial government tabled Bill 2, the Back to School Act, which would impose a contract on teachers and legally bar them from striking.
The citizen's initiative, officially registered with Elections Alberta, is focused on a single, clear question: “Should the Government of Alberta end its current practice of allocating public funds to accredited independent (private) schools?”
The initiative seeks to use a direct democratic tool to force the Legislative Assembly to debate and vote on the matter.
How the Citizen's Initiative Process Works
According to the Elections Alberta application form, a Citizen's Initiative is a multi-stage process:
Application: A proponent must apply and have their proposed question approved.
Petitioning: The proponent has 120 days to gather signatures of support from eligible voters. This is the stage currently underway.
Signature Threshold: To be successful, the signature sheets for the initiative petition must be signed by a total number of electors equal to at least 10% of the total number of votes cast in the previous general election.
Legislative Debate: Policy Proposal
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall lay the proposal before the Legislative Assembly if it is then sitting, or if it is not then sitting, within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting.
Within 10 sitting days, the Government shall bring forward a motion to have the proposal referred to a committee of the Legislative Assembly.
Within 90 days if the Assembly is sitting, or within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting, the committee may either table a report with respect to the policy proposal at the earliest practicable opportunity or table a report recommending the policy proposal be referred to the Lieutenant Governor in Council for the purpose of a referendum.
A referendum must be held on or before the fixed date of the next provincial general election. If that date is less than one year after the date the recommendation is tabled, the referendum must be held before the provincial general election following the next provincial general election.
Initiative Launches Amid Heated Political Climate
The timing of the petition drive is pivotal. The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) has been in a bitter stalemate with the government over a new contract, with key issues being class size and complexity.
On October 23, the government introduced Bill 2, the Back to School Act, which would defer the wage component of the dispute to binding arbitration but unilaterally dictate terms on classroom conditions, effectively stripping the issue from the bargaining table.
In a statement on its website, the ATA responded forcefully, stating, “Bill 2 won’t fix the crisis in Alberta classrooms.” The Association argues that the legislation fails to address the core problems of overcrowding and underfunding, and instead imposes a solution that ignores the concerns of teachers and parents.
Where to Sign:
What: Citizen's Initiative Petition on Education Funding
Where: Outside McBride's Bakery, Medicine Hat
When: Today, until 12:30 p.m.
The petition must be signed in person on paper in front of a registered canvasser who will be wearing an official badge.
For more information go to the Alberta Funds Public Schools website
