The UCP will require Edmonton to repeal its zoning bylaw

Danielle Smith is about to kill all that remains of municipal autonomy.

Sources tell me that tomorrow morning she will announce the UCP is forcing Edmonton to repeal its zoning bylaw.

The province's media advisory went out tonight. It's dressed up as "responsible housing growth across Alberta," but undoing years of robust, expert-driven consultation is anything but responsible.

Government of Alberta media advisory, October 7, 2026: Growing responsibly. Premier Danielle Smith and Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams will announce provincial direction to support responsible housing growth, Thursday, October 8 at 11 a.m. Participants: Danielle Smith, Dan Williams, and Jaclyn Soroka, co-founder, Edmonton Neighbourhoods United.

Voters already said no

The people asking her to do it, Edmonton Neighbourhoods United, had their agenda rejected by Edmonton voters just a year ago.

Infill ranked 11th among voters' concerns heading into the last Edmonton election, according to Leger. That's below garbage pickup.

Leger poll of Edmonton residents, September 2025, top voting issues: lowering taxes 37%, safety in the downtown core 28%, reducing poverty 25%, and further down, basic services like garbage pickup and snow clearing 14%, then infill housing and redevelopment 14%.

Anti-infill candidates ran, and lost handily. Andrew Knack's opponent ran on a moratorium on infill. Voters chose Knack as mayor.

The most consulted bylaw in the city's history

The zoning bylaw had an unprecedented consultation. Meetings, hearings, surveys, a mailer to every single taxpayer, and an extra year to get it right.

So they went to their friend

But Edmonton Neighbourhoods United, a third-party advertiser run by UCP loyalists, refused to accept the result. So they went to their friend the Premier to intervene.

And she's doing just that.

When separatists couldn't get their question on the ballot, Smith defied the courts and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help them.

She'll be standing shoulder to shoulder with Edmonton Neighbourhoods United tomorrow morning, as they undo local democracy.

Same friends, same playbook, same sign

An Edmonton Neighbourhoods United lawn sign: a heart around a house, trees and a family, beside Your voice for responsible infill and a QR code.

A Let Alberta Decide sign: Alberta coat of arms, Let Alberta Decide, Vote Option 2, Oct 19, authorized by Let Alberta Decide, referendum third party advertiser.

Update, October 8: It happened. The province ordered Edmonton to go back to its pre-2024 zoning rules within three months, and to bring back parking minimums. I wrote about what Edmonton Neighbourhoods United's organizers had to say next in "Who cares about an election?" (spoiler: it was basically "we don't care about democracy")