Preparing for the Fall Session – How to Make the Most of the Opportunity
The United Conservative government will look to get back to work when the first sitting of the 31st Legislature kicks off at the end of October 2023. This gives stakeholders across the province just over three months to put a strong government relations plan into place to ensure their issues do not fall off the radar of this government.
Due to the nature of neither the UCP nor NDP tabling “traditional” election platforms during the campaign, stakeholder lobby efforts may look quite different from strategies utilized in the previous legislative term. When Jason Kenney and the UCP won the 2019 provincial election, the party provided a clear policy platform that served as a roadmap for what the party intended to accomplish during their mandate.
Of course, the COIVD-19 pandemic had a significant impact on that platform’s rollout and implementation.
This time, the public does not have the benefit of having an itemized list of policy objectives beyond what was formally announced during the campaign. This provides both a number of challenges and opportunities for stakeholders during the upcoming term.
The benefit is simple – there appears to be significant flexibility in this government’s mandate. Given there were so few platform items released during the campaign, stakeholders have an incredible opportunity to meet with decision makers and have their issue be adopted by the UCP. So if you did not specifically see something you are advocating for excluded during the campaign or in mandate letters to ministers, you have an opportunity to get your ideas on the table.
The downside is that you will also have to compete with a number of other organizations that want to take advantage of the opportunity to hold the government’s attention. With that being said, that is just a reality of lobbying no matter who is in government or what platform they tabled.
1. Make Yourself Known to Government
Although the UCP remain in power in the Alberta Legislature, it would be prudent for you to consider this a “new” government for the purposes of your lobbying efforts. There has been significant ministerial shuffling (including staffers) so there is a good chance that the person who would have been responsible for your file has moved elsewhere in government. It is also worth noting that there are thirty new MLAs to the Assembly between the UCP and NDP – not an insignificant percentage of elected officials.
This doesn’t need to be anything fancy. A simple congratulatory letter to your relevant minister will often be enough to at least put you on the radar. Along with your congratulations, it is good practice to provide a brief (and we mean brief) outline of your organization and what you stand for. You can also ask for an initial meeting with the minister and/or their staff.
This may seem like common sense in practice, but it is good to remember that politicians can only be aware of what is on their radar, so even giving them a small prompt to remember you by like a congratulatory/introductory letter can help you down the road as you work to build relationships in the Legislature.
2. Build a Government Relations Strategy
This is probably the single most important step you can take to forward your government relations goals for the upcoming term. The simple reality of lobbying is that you could have a slam-dunk issue with government officials already publicly supportive of your issue, but failing to have a solid strategy in place can result in significantly delayed outcomes (or no outcome at all in some instances).
You are likely a subject matter expert on your given issues, care deeply (and personally) about their success, and can articulate the importance of your issue’s success in your sleep. Those are all excellent things to have in place when approaching government; however, none of those things alone are enough to guarantee a successful outcome in your lobbying efforts.
When you navigate the legal system, you hire a lawyer to help you through the process. When you need to navigate the political process, you hire a lobbyist.
As you’ve likely figured out, there is far more to lobbying than sending letters and asking for meetings. It is rare for two government relations issues to be identical, so it is important to look at each lobbying effort on a case-by-case basis. This also means stakeholders need to be careful and deliberate in selecting which tools and strategies they choose to apply to a given issue.
This is why many organizations, associations, and corporations elect to hire a lobbyist to help advance their issues to the provincial government. But how do you decide which lobby firm is right for your organization.
· Find an experienced organization. This doesn’t just mean finding someone who has working in the industry. You want to find a lobbyist that has hands on experience in the political world that will help craft strategies for you to get your issue on the table. Some matters call for someone who is experienced in legislative process, others perhaps call for experience in the campaign world, and others may even need issue-specific experience to assist in your advocacy. These are all important things to bear in mind.
· Find a multi-partisan organization. Although we currently have a UCP government in place, it is incredibly important to work with organizations that have positive relationships and experience on both sides of the aisle. In two-party systems like Alberta currently has, there are times where it is prudent to lobby the opposition to become your internal “champion”. The inverse would also be true with an NDP government in place. Leveraging networks and relationships on both sides of the aisle give you multiple avenues to pursue your lobbying goals and shouldn’t be ignored.
· Find an organization that cares about your issue. While lobbyists are often not subject matter experts on a given issue, they should ultimately care about their clients and have a desire to see the client’s goals achieved. A good lobby firm will employ individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to ensure they are well equipped to support a variety of organizations. If you and your lobby firm are aligned in your goals, it makes it much easier to accomplish your lobbying goals.
3. Be Patient
“How long will this take?”
This is a question we in the lobbying industry hear nearly every time we meet with potential clients and stakeholders. And to be clear – it is a fair question. You care about your issues, and you have a vested interest in seeing success in as expedient of a manner as possible.
So do we.
However, it is incredibly important to remain patient and to stick with the plan. Throughout history, there are countless instances of strong government relations plans that ultimately failed because they were rushed or there was a panic decision to change course just before a breakthrough. While there is absolutely a time and place to approach your goals from a different angle, you want to make sure it is the right decision for you and your organization.
Ultimately, it is important to remember that the political climate can be incredibly volatile where government priorities can change with a moment’s notice. Sometimes emergent issues arise that push yours further down on the priority list. Sometimes you hit an unforeseeable obstacle. It’s just the reality of lobbying any level of government.
This is another reason it is wise to hire a government relations firm to be part of your lobbying team. Their sole focus is providing you with the best advice possible to advance your issue in the way that will bring your organization the greatest success in both the short and long term. They will help you navigate the rough waters if they arise to steer you back to calmer seas.
In fact, it is often advisable to bring a government relations professional on board before you begin your lobby efforts as they can help you avoid as many of the rough waters as possible from the start. That way you and your lobbyist are on the same page and ready to work together to bring about positive change for you and the province.