The key facts

  • The Alberta referendum has 10 questions: immigration, access to public services, constitutional powers and a question on starting the secession process
  • Premier Danielle Smith voted to remain in Canada but urges support for nine questions on autonomy; Mark Carney opposes all ten
  • According to an Ipsos poll (September 18–22), 70% of Albertans want to stay in Canada, 20% favour a mandatory secession referendum, and 14% would vote to leave

Referendum and high turnout

Residents of Alberta are voting early at the start of the week in a provincial referendum, where they must answer ten yes/no questions on immigration, public services, constitutional reform and the province's future within Canada. According to Elections Alberta spokesperson Michelle Gurney, as reported by CTV News, more than 174,000 people voted on the first day of advance voting, and more than 186,000 on the second. For comparison: the average daily turnout during advance voting in the 2023 provincial election was about 151,000 people. Voting on the main day opens at 9 a.m. on Monday.

What is on the ballot

The first question asks whether Alberta should take more control over immigration in order to reduce its volumes, give priority to economic migrants and grant Albertans first right to new jobs. Immigration is under the shared jurisdiction of Ottawa and the provinces, so Alberta cannot change it on its own. Three questions concern access to public services: it is proposed to restrict programs such as healthcare and education to citizens, permanent residents and persons with 'Alberta-approved status'; to introduce a 12-month waiting period for social assistance for temporary residents; and to introduce fees for them for healthcare and education. The government has not defined what 'Alberta-approved' status means; critics say these measures may conflict with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The fifth question proposes requiring voters to prove citizenship — only citizens can vote as it is, and cases of voting by people without the right are registered very rarely. Questions six through nine concern a constitutional amendment jointly with other provinces: to have judges of provincial superior courts appointed by the provinces rather than Ottawa; to abolish the Senate; to allow provinces to opt out of federal programs while keeping the funding; and to give provincial laws priority over federal ones in provincial or shared areas of jurisdiction. Most changes require approval from seven provinces with half the population plus Parliament, and abolishing the Senate requires all provinces. No other premier has supported the proposals on the Senate, judges or the opt-out right. The tenth question offers a choice between remaining in Canada and starting a legal process toward a mandatory referendum on secession — it does not directly ask whether Alberta should leave the country.

Background and leaders' positions

The vote takes place against the backdrop of decades of western grievances and a sense of alienation from Ottawa. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has previously blamed past federal governments for damage to the oil and fuel industry on which the province depends. Financial and constitutional powers are also at stake: Ottawa's 'spending power' allows it to attach conditions to funding for the provinces — an example is healthcare funds under the Canada Health Act; the question on opting out of programs is aimed precisely at this. Smith announced the nine questions in February and added the tenth in May after competing citizens' petitions and a court ruling against the separatist one. Smith says she wants Alberta to remain in Canada and reported that she herself voted that way at an advance polling station. She presents the other nine questions as a way to achieve greater autonomy, pointing to the energy agreement with Ottawa and work on a new pipeline to the west coast. She stated that there will be no second referendum on secession under her premiership if voters choose to stay. Prime Minister Mark Carney in Calgary on Thursday urged voters to remain in the confederation and to reject the other nine questions as well: 'It is hard to imagine a worse time for a referendum,' he said. On Friday he is to speak at a 'Forever Canadian' rally in Edmonton. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who represents a riding in Alberta, said his caucus will campaign for the province to remain in Canada. Opposition NDP leader Naheed Nenshi also calls for rejecting the nine proposals and staying. Alberta separatist leader Jeffrey Rath said they will 'never give up'.

Polls and legal constraints

An Ipsos poll conducted September 18–22 showed that 70% of Albertans want to remain in Canada, 20% favour a mandatory referendum on secession, and 14% would vote to leave. Alberta cannot leave Canada unilaterally: a judge this year rejected the separatist petition, ruling that secession would violate the treaty rights of Indigenous peoples. The government and the petition organizer have filed an appeal. Carney said in May that Ottawa is studying the question of secession under the Clarity Act — a federal law on leaving the federation adopted after the 1995 Quebec referendum. Chiefs of the Indigenous peoples under Treaties 6, 7 and 8 unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in the Alberta government earlier this year, citing the separatist movement and unfulfilled treaty obligations.