Plastic bags to Stampede: 2023 petitions Calgarians felt most passionate about
Thousands of Calgarians signed petitions this year, but some causes were definitely more popular than others, according to data from Change.org.
The petition platform says over 47,000 Calgarians use its site and many of the petitions people engaged in this year were created locally by “united Calgary residents calling for changes in their own communities.”
It looks like Calgarians were most passionate about three causes in particular: the 2023 Calgary Stampede Parade Marshal, residential parking permits, and plastic bags!
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Earlier this year in March, many Calgarians wanted to see Pedro Pascal chosen as the 2023 Calgary Stampede Parade Marshal. The Last of Us star was exploding in popularity city-wide after starring in the highly successfully locally filmed TV series and was even seen wearing socks with Calgary Tower on them! The petition made rounds on social media and collected over 12,000 signatures but the star never got the white hat — instead, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen got the title.
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Thousands of Calgarians also opposed the highly controversial changes to the City of Calgary’s Residential Parking Permit Program that were approved by City Council in 2023. Changes included increasing fees for homeowners in single detached homes, and the Market Permit that lets residents of high-rise apartments built after 1945 get permits and park within 150 metres of their buildings. Despite many calling the changes “discriminatory,” the changes came into effect on December 4 after delaying the start of the program.
And the most signed petition this year by Calgarians was to exempt Calgary Co-op’s compostable grocery bags from the federal single-use plastics ban. It’s an ongoing battle, with Co-op telling the Daily Hive, “The federal government is expected to appeal the federal ruling in advance of the December 20 ban.” Instead, Co-op will be selling its compostable bags as bin liners until the issue is resolved.
It seems that these causes definitely brought Calgarians together, but unfortunately didn’t produce much change. Maybe we’ll see a shift in 2024!