Edmonton referendums and plebiscites - votes on electoral reform and money bills as part of city-level Direct Legislation

Voter opinion was frequently polled in plebiscite questions, which may or may not have been held as binding city councils.

Only a few instances of citizen-initiated plebiscites - the 1979 vote on preservation of the old city hall and the survival of the downtown airport.

(At the time of the 1992 Edmonton municipal election, a referendum was held on the airport, which resulted in 54 per cent of respondents stating that the City Centre Airport should remain open to the traffic it could handle. This result was ignored by city council.)

Most plebiscites were held in conjunction with municipal elections. This happened in many cases including the 1961 Edmonton municipal election, the 1968 Edmonton municipal election, the 1970 Edmonton municipal by-election, and the 1974 Edmonton municipal election.

(Rek, Municipal elections in Edmonton, p. 47-48)

Voters had chances to vote on questions of changing to wards (1966?, 1968, 1974, and 1981), to and from proportional representation (1922 and 1927), size of wards (1981), street numbering/naming system (1914), fluoridation (1957, 1959, 1966, 1968), and construction of large projects such as the Omniplex (later built as the Commonwealth stadium) (1970) and the Edmonton convention centre (1979).

Plebiscites held aside from the municipal elections were uncommon in Edmonton's history. The only ones for general electorate to vote on were held in 1918, 1979, and 1981. (Wiki has articles on last two)

On March 4, 1918, a vote was held on the question of whether council was right in its hiring of an outside man to be fire chief, against wishes of the firefighters. They had threatened to strike on the issue. A majority of city voters voted in favor of the firefighters' position; the final vote tallies being 6539 against the council's decision to 2250 in favour. Showing the seriousness of the situation, the total turnout was larger than had been cast in the previous city election to fill the mayor's post.

("Sweeping victory for the firemen", Morning Bulletin, March 5, 1918, p. 1

https://archive.org/details/EDI_1918030501/mode/2up?view=theater )

see wiki "Canadian Labour Revolt" -- "Edmonton"

In 1979, voters voted on cancelling a municipal law passed authorizing construction of a Trade and Convention Centre. Despite an adverse vote, the project was built and is now known as the Edmonton Convention Centre.

see 1979 Edmonton municipal plebiscite.

In 1981, voters voted on three separate questions --

- a yes or no question on designation of the old city hall as a historic resource;

-a choice of three options for how to house city hall workers, and

-a two-part question on the ward system - first a yes or no question on wards, then if you voted in favor of wards, whether the voter wanted one-seat wards, two-seat wards or wards that had more than two seats.

(Wards had been adopted in 1971 after a favorable vote in a plebiscite held in 1968.)

(Rek, Municipal elections in Edmonton, p. 470

see wiki 1981 Edmonton municipal plebiscite

wiki 1968 Edmonton municipal plebiscite

wiki 1971 Edmonton municipal election

As well, in the early years ratepayers (property owners) also voted on money proposals alongside many municipal elections and at other times as well.

(Strathcona city money bylaw vote, Edmonton Bulletin, December 15, 1908, p. 2)

("Citizens to vote on bylaws today", Edmonton Bulletin, March 25, 1912, p. 6)

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