Alberta Releases Official Wording of Separation-Related Referendum Question

Alberta’s government has released the official wording and procedural details for the referendum question to be held Oct. 19 on whether Alberta should stay in Canada or begin the legal process to hold a binding referendum to separate.

Smith and the cabinet of her United Conservative Party (UCP) government issued an order in council that confirmed details of the timing of the vote and the precise referendum question that will be on the ballot Oct. 19.

The referendum question will offer voters two options. The first states “Alberta should remain a province of Canada,” while the second reads that “the Government of Alberta should commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.”

The question will be one of 10 referendum questions on Oct. 19, with several others dealing with judicial reform, immigration, and constitutional matters that affect Alberta.

The order in council emphasizes that mail-in voting will not be permitted for the referendum and that the results will be non-binding.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has previously indicated that a winning result for the referendum will be 50 percent plus one and has stated that her government will respect the outcome of the vote.

Details of Vote

Officials from Elections Alberta announced some details of the vote May 28, noting that the separation question will be the first of the 10 questions in the referendum, which will contain a number of colour-coded ballots.

Spokesperson Michelle Gurney said voters can choose to skip any of the 10 questions they don’t wish to vote on.

“As with any election, an elector may refuse any or all ballots at the voting station,” Gurney wrote in a statement, adding that up to 38 million ballots will have to be printed out in order to carry out the referendum as well as 60,000 to 90,000 elections officers to staff the referendum and tally results.

Under Alberta law, ballots must be counted by hand within 48 hours of voting day, and the separation referendum question result will be tallied before the result of the nine other questions, according to Elections Alberta.

Background

Smith announced the upcoming referendum question on separation in a May 21 televised address. While noting that she personally supports Alberta remaining in Canada and will campaign to that end, as will her party, Smith said the referendum question is important to include in order to uphold the “democratic rights” of Albertans.

“Despite my personal support for remaining in Canada, I am deeply troubled by an erroneous court decision that interferes with the democratic rights of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” she said, referencing a May 13 ruling by Justice Shaina Leonard.

Leonard’s decision found that First Nations had not been adequately consulted before Elections Alberta approved a separatist petition drive to proceed. Stay Free Alberta, the separatist group behind the campaign, said it had gathered more than 300,000 valid signatures, almost double the required amount to trigger a referendum vote.

Supporters of separation such as Stay Free Alberta and the Alberta Prosperity Project say they are ramping up efforts to get more Albertans “onboard” ahead of the vote this fall, including plans to host “hundreds” of events across the province in the coming months.

Some separatist organizers are also trying to bring forward a review of Smith’s leadership of the UCP or change the referendum question so it’s more direct in asking about separation, while Alberta independence supporter and lawyer Keith Wilson launched the Alberta Transition Council in mid-May with the goal of constructing the “institutional, fiscal, and legal foundations” to make Alberta separation a functional and clear concept.

Smith’s move to include the additional referendum question this fall has led to criticism from Prime Minister Mark Carney as well as several premiers including Wab Kinew of Manitoba and David Eby of B.C.

At the provincial level, Smith is also facing pushback from Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and former Alberta Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk, author of the Forever Canada petition calling on Alberta to stay in Canada.

For his part, Carney has called the inclusion of the separation question on the referendum a “dangerous bluff” and emphasized that Alberta is better off remaining in Canada in his view.

Ahead of the referendum, Smith has called on Albertans to treat each other with respect.

“The vast majority of those advocating for separation love our province profoundly. Many are also proud Canadians, but have simply lost hope that their families can flourish within Canada,” she said May 21. “So, instead of attacking these loyal Albertans, let’s work together to restore hope in their country again.”

The Canadian Press and Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.