First Nations staff with the Confederacy of Treaty Six are helping organize get-out-the-vote efforts ahead of the Oct. 19 referendum on Alberta separating from Canada.
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Angel Houle says she has never voted in an Alberta provincial election, but is casting a ballot and helping First Nations leaders and organizers prepare for the Oct. 19 referendum on whether Alberta should stay within Canada or hold a second binding referendum on breaking away.
Houle, who works with the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, has been organizing workshops aimed at building voter outreach teams among member nations, with the teams acting as “boots on the ground” to spread information about where and how to vote.
She said the referendum matters specifically to treaty people and future generations, adding that “silence could be consent in this referendum.” Houle also said community members have been asking for more information, which she said indicates they want to participate so “that they know their voice is heard.”
Other organizers and campaigns are active on both sides of the referendum, which will ask Albertans to answer 10 questions. Nine questions focus on immigration and constitutional issues, and the last question addresses separation.
The campaign has been shaped by rifts involving First Nations and the United Conservative Party government led by Premier Danielle Smith. Smith has said First Nations remain valued partners, while First Nations leaders have questioned that characterization, saying their people, land and treaties—signed before Alberta became a province—have been treated as an afterthought in separation debate.
Houle’s work is part of broader support efforts that include outside organizers. Tania Cameron, an Ojibwa woman from Ontario, said she recently spent more than a week in Alberta providing get-out-the-vote presentations and working with leaders across communities, including Treaty 8 Sovereign First Nations.
Cameron said momentum is building, citing organizations that are working on voter registration drives, educating others about treaties and participating in ceremonies that recognize the importance of the work. She also referenced turnout in the 2015 federal election, saying on-reserve voting rose by about 25 percentage points and that some communities ran out of ballots.
She said the focus now is ensuring First Nations voters participate in the referendum, adding that the message is that “separation is off the table.”
Organizers said there are practical hurdles to address, including identification requirements, getting voters to polling stations, and overcoming language barriers. Houle said First Nations groups are translating the questions for voters whose first language is not English, and are planning to have chiefs and other officials at polling stations to help sign special forms verifying voters’ eligibility if needed.
Houle said groups are also reaching out to off-reserve members and preparing for an information session ahead of voting.
Elections Alberta has dispatched more than 652,000 mail-in ballots. The agency estimates the referendum could see an 85 per cent turnout, exceeding the provincial record of nearly 82 per cent set in the 1935 general election.
The legal and political dispute surrounding the referendum followed earlier calls from First Nations chiefs to stop separatism discussions. In March, chiefs converged on the Alberta legislature and called on Smith’s government to nip the separatist movement in the bud.
A coalition of First Nations later launched a court fight arguing a citizen-initiated petition to hold a separation vote was invalid because the province had not followed its constitutional duty to consult First Nations. In May, a judge quashed the petition, and Smith subsequently announced the government would appeal.
Tsuut’ina Nation Head Chief Ellery Starlight said the vote is critical, but also said the division it has brought has been destructive. He said Canada is based on treaties and that all Albertans have a responsibility to vote for unity, while asking why the separation campaign is seen as being carried primarily by First Nations, describing them as “the poorest demographic in Canada.”
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