Government Relations

A provincial election is scheduled to occur by May 29, 2023. As campaigning begins, we would like to remind our community that the University of Lethbridge is a non-partisan organization and does not support or endorse any political party or candidate. A summary of the rules and procedures pertinent to the U of L during election time is outlined below.

The University of Lethbridge recognizes the right of students, employees, and academic staff members to participate as individuals in the political process, but they must not use university resources or time to do so. Consistent with the University’s impartiality during a provincial election, the Impartiality and University Facility Utilization Policy demonstrates this philosophy.

Key points to remember:

1. Individuals who participate in partisan political activities must do so outside of their work time and be careful that they do not present themselves as a representative of the university or in such a manner that a reasonable person would assume that they are representing the position of the university.

2. The University of Lethbridge cannot make contributions (money or donations in-kind) to any campaign or candidate running in an election. Any funds that flow through the university including operating, research or donated funds cannot be used for partisan or election political purposes.

3. University funds cannot be used to cover the cost of attending partisan political fundraising or campaign events.

4. University resources cannot be used to promote partisan political events or campaigns. This would include using your uleth email address for partisan political purposes, including distributing campaign information, forwarding campaign materials received in your ulethbridge.ca inbox, or using university mailing or email lists to distribute campaign materials.

Additionally, the Government of Alberta has issued an updated elections communication policy that articulates rules that post-secondary institutions must follow during an election period, and these can be found here.

These positions do not limit or interfere with academic freedom and do not preclude academic engagement with political parties, their candidates or other political party representatives in conducting teaching and research.

If you have any questions please reach out to Holly Kletke, Government Relations Officer at holly.kletke@uleth.ca.