WATCH: City of Calgary admits Let Alberta Decide referendum signs were 'removed by mistake'

CALGARY — Let Alberta Decide is raising questions about the City of Calgary’s handling of referendum campaign signs after footage appeared to show a City worker removing one of the organization’s signs.The pro-independence campaign alleges multiple Let Alberta Decide signs were removed in Calgary while nearby “No to the Nine” signs supporting Alberta remaining in Canada were left in place.The City of Calgary has since confirmed that some signs were removed by mistake and later returned.“Specific to the social media post, The City can confirm that some signs were removed in error and later returned to the original owner,” the City told the Western Standard.“The larger sign for the social media post has not been removed and was left in place. We are currently in the process of investigating this matter further.”Let Alberta Decide had characterized the removals as unlawful and questioned whether referendum signage was being treated consistently by the City..The City’s response confirms some signs were mistakenly removed but does not indicate that the removals were deliberate or politically motivated. Calgary has not yet released the results of its investigation.Let Alberta Decide is a registered referendum third-party advertiser with Elections Alberta and is campaigning in support of Option 2 on the referendum's separation question.The “No to the Nine” campaign is associated with Alberta’s Voice, another registered referendum third-party advertiser. Its campaign urges Albertans to remain in Canada and oppose the other nine questions appearing on the referendum ballot.Amendments to Alberta’s Election Act passed in 2025 prohibit municipal councils from passing bylaws or resolutions regulating election signs or election advertisements. The provincial government said the changes shifted authority to establish rules around election signs and advertisements to the province..Let Alberta Decide has previously challenged municipal restrictions on referendum signs elsewhere in Alberta. In August, the organization argued that Strathcona County could not use municipal rules to prohibit its referendum signs from municipal property, citing Section 206.5 of the Election Act.Calgary has not provided further details about how the signs were removed in error or whether any signs belonging to other referendum campaigns have also been removed.The City says the matter remains under investigation.

WATCH: City of Calgary admits Let Alberta Decide referendum signs were 'removed by mistake'

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