Albertans are voting today in a referendum called by Premier Danielle Smith that asks whether to stay in Canada or hold a second binding referendum on leaving Confederation.
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More than 1.3 million Albertans have already cast ballots by mail or in advance polls in the referendum, with preliminary figures from Elections Alberta showing 43 per cent of the province’s roughly 3.1 million eligible voters have voted before the in-person vote date.
The referendum, called by Smith, is asking Albertans whether they want to stay in Canada or pursue a second binding referendum on leaving Confederation. The vote comes after months of rallies, speeches and analyses from both sides.
The separation question is one of 10 items on the ballot. The first nine questions focus on immigration and the Constitution, including whether Alberta should have more say over who comes to the province to work and whether it is time to introduce limitations—potentially including fees—for some who seek access to health care and education.
The constitutional questions ask Albertans to bless talks with other provinces to wrest power from the federal government and abolish the Senate. Smith has said she voted to stay in Canada but needs a “yes” to those remaining nine questions to get a mandate to bargain with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carney visited Alberta last week to rally the pro-Canada side, and also said he would agree to disagree with Smith on the remaining questions. Speaking to a Calgary crowd, he urged voters to reject them, telling Albertans, “(Say) no to the nine.”
Some Albertans interviewed ahead of Monday’s in-person vote said they plan to cast their ballots later, after advance voting and mail-in ballots had already been completed for many voters.
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