Municipal Council meetings are generally required to be open to the public. This allows residents to see how issues are discussed and how decisions are made.
There are limited circumstances where Council may close all or part of a meeting to the public. This is commonly called a closed session or in camera.
A closed session does not mean that Council can simply choose to discuss a matter privately. The information being discussed must fall within a legal exception that allows the public to be excluded from that portion of the meeting.
Council cannot close a meeting simply because a subject is difficult, sensitive or controversial.
Under Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA), Council may close all or part of a meeting to the public only when the information being discussed falls within one of the exceptions to disclosure under Alberta's Access to Information Act (ATIA).
Depending on the circumstances, this may include information involving:
personal privacy;
legal advice or information protected by legal privilege;
confidential negotiations or contractual matters;
information that could harm the economic interests of the municipality or another public body;
certain labour or employment matters;
certain intergovernmental information; or
other information that is protected from disclosure under ATIA.
The important distinction is that the information must qualify for a legal exception to disclosure. A matter does not become confidential simply because Council or Administration would prefer to discuss it privately.
Council must begin from an open public meeting.
Before excluding the public, Council must pass a resolution to close all or part of the meeting. The resolution should identify the matter being considered and the legal authority that allows the discussion to be held in closed session.
Only the portion of the meeting dealing with information that qualifies for a legal exception may be closed.
Other people, such as municipal employees, legal counsel or advisors, may be permitted to attend a closed session when their presence is required. The municipality's meeting record must identify those who attend the closed portion of the meeting and the reason they were permitted to attend.
Once the closed discussion is complete, Council returns to the open public meeting before taking any formal Council action.
Council may discuss legally protected information during a closed session, but Council cannot pass a resolution or bylaw while the meeting is closed to the public.
If Council wishes to take formal action following the closed discussion, it must first return to the open portion of the meeting. Any resolution or bylaw must then be considered and voted on in public.
This is an important distinction:
The discussion may sometimes be confidential. The formal Council decision must be made in the public meeting.
After Council returns to the open meeting, an agenda may include an item called “Business Arising Out of Closed Session.”
This is where Council may consider a motion resulting from the matter discussed during the closed session.
The motion and Council's vote occur in public. However, information that is legally protected does not automatically become public simply because Council has returned to the open meeting.
Even when part of a Council meeting is lawfully closed, the closed session still forms part of the Council meeting process.
Residents should be able to see from the public meeting record that:
Council passed a resolution to enter closed session;
the reason or legal authority for closing the meeting was identified;
Council later returned to the open meeting; and
any formal resolution or bylaw arising from the discussion was made in public.
The confidential discussion itself is not included in the public minutes, and information that is legally protected may continue to remain confidential.
Returning to an open meeting does not automatically make the information discussed in closed session public.
Some records or information may continue to be protected under Alberta law. Whether information can later be released depends on the nature of the information and the applicable legislation.
Residents may also request municipal records under Alberta's Access to Information Act (ATIA). A request does not guarantee that every record will be released, as ATIA contains both mandatory and discretionary exceptions to disclosure.
Councillors have a legal duty to protect information discussed in a closed session.
Under Alberta's Municipal Government Act, councillors must keep matters discussed in private at a Council or Council committee meeting confidential until the matter is discussed at a meeting held in public.
This duty helps protect information that Council is legally permitted to consider privately.
It is also important to distinguish between the subject matter and the confidential information discussed about that subject. The fact that Council held a closed session may appear in the public meeting record, while the protected information discussed during that session may remain confidential.
Council cannot pass a resolution or bylaw while a meeting is closed to the public.
Council may discuss information that is legally permitted to be considered privately, but it must return to the open meeting before making a formal Council decision.
When a Council agenda or minutes refer to a closed session, residents can look for or ask:
What item was considered in closed session?
What legal authority was identified for closing that portion of the meeting?
Does the public record show that Council passed a resolution to enter closed session?
Does it show when Council returned to the open meeting?
Was a motion made after Council returned to the public meeting?
Can any of the supporting information be made publicly available without disclosing legally protected information?
Asking these questions does not mean that confidential information must be released. It helps residents understand how the closed-session process was used and what public information is available about the resulting decision.
Official Sources & Learn More
These official Alberta Government resources provide additional information about Council meetings, closed sessions, access to information and municipal government.
Municipal Government Act (MGA)— the legislation governing Alberta municipalities and council meetings.
Access to Information Act (ATIA) — the current legislation governing access to municipal records and exceptions to disclosure. ATIA replaced the access portion of FOIP in 2025
Public Participation in Municipal Government — Alberta Municipal Affairs' plain-language explanation of ways residents can participate, including attending council meetings