Albertans will vote on 10 referendum questions on Oct. 19, and the window to cast a ballot early opens Tuesday, Oct. 13, according to Elections Alberta. Advance voting runs Oct. 13 to 17, and polling places on referendum day are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Here is how voting works, what you need to bring and what the questions cover.
Advance voting takes place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, and electors can use any advance voting location within their electoral division, Elections Alberta says. On Oct. 19, however, voters must go to the location assigned to them. The agency’s online Where to Vote tool at map.elections.ab.ca shows your location, and a Where to Vote card was due to be mailed to households at the end of September.
The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot has already passed. It was originally set for Oct. 9, but Elections Alberta moved it up to Sept. 25 because of heavy demand. If you applied and have your package, it must be received by Elections Alberta in Edmonton by 5 p.m. on Oct. 16, not simply postmarked by then. The mail-in process asks voters to include a photocopy of government-issued ID showing proof of Alberta residence, according to CP24 and Global News coverage.
If you have not mailed your package yet, move quickly or consider dropping off in person during advance voting instead. Elections Alberta says it has more than 50 accepted forms of identification, and vouching is no longer accepted as ID. Bring your documents even if you voted in previous provincial elections, because the rules differ from what many voters remember.
Demand for mail-in voting has been extraordinary. CP24 reported that Elections Alberta received 639,000 applications, a figure corrected from an initial report of 673,000 (a number Canada News Media also published on Sept. 25, and which should be read as 639,000). That compares with roughly 60,000 mail-in requests in the 2023 general election, about ten times as many.
On the ballot, voters will receive 10 separate, colour-coded ballots, one per question. Questions 1 to 9 are yes-or-no. Question 10 asks voters to choose between two options: that Alberta remain a province in Canada, or that the Government of Alberta begin the legal process under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on separation. That question sits on top of the stack.
The first five questions deal with immigration and social programs, including whether Alberta should take more control of immigration, restrict provincially funded services to citizens, permanent residents and people with an Alberta-approved status, require 12 months of residence for people with non-permanent status before they qualify for supports, charge fees to them for health care and education, and require proof of citizenship to vote. Question 6 asks about working with other willing provinces to amend the Constitution so provinces, not Ottawa, pick judges to the Court of King’s Bench and Court of Appeal. The remaining constitutional questions are listed on Elections Alberta’s referendum page.
The wording has drawn scrutiny. CTV News has reported on experts questioning the phrasing of some questions, and Canada News Media has reported on critics who say the immigration questions single out newcomers and racialized communities for blame. That matters for readers in immigrant, Indigenous and Black communities in Alberta, who are directly affected by how these questions are framed and by the outcome.
Turnout is the open question. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said he would like an 80 per cent turnout and an 80 per cent vote to stay in Canada, according to CP24. Whether the record mail-in demand turns into record turnout will not be clear until results come in on the evening of Oct. 19.
If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.
Via CP24 and Elections Alberta. Additional reporting from Global News and CTV News.
