Medicine Hat, Alta., mayor to stay in office as recall petition falls short

A petition to recall Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark was started in October. (File)

A recall petition, signed by residents who are concerned about the effectiveness of Linnsie Clark as mayor of Medicine Hat, has failed.

Officials say Clark, who was elected in 2021, will remain in office after a petition to remove her from office only received one-third of the signatures required to do so.

Nicole Frey started the petition after she was unable to receive a response from the mayor's office over a number of concerns such as high utility prices and the dysfunction of council.

In her petition, Frey said she and other residents had been repeatedly trying to get in touch with the mayor for 20 months and had no response.

"She doesn't answer our emails, she doesn't answer our messages, and so it's just become like the city has closed ranks and the citizens are suffering because of it and have no transparency," Frey told CTV News in October.

In order for the petition to pass, it would have needed to acquire signatures from 40 per cent of eligible voters or about 25,000 residents.

Frey's petition only received about 7,900 signatures.

The City of Medicine Hat has not provided any comment to CTV News about Frey's allegations.

Medicine Hat is located approximately 293 kilometres southeast of Calgary.