Alberta referendum live updates: Voting stations open at 9 a.m. | 1.3 million ballots cast, so far

Albertans are heading to the polls Monday to determine the province’s future in Canada and whether it should make changes to immigration and the constitution.

Follow this page for live updates.

• Polls open at 9 a.m. Monday and close at 8 p.m. If you are still in line after 8 p.m., you can still vote.
• According to Elections Alberta, the unofficial number of ballots cast for the advanced voting period and special ballots so far is 1,356,873.
• Unofficial results are expected to pour in Monday night as more than 47,000 Elections Alberta volunteers begin counting the votes. They will start with question 10 (separation). Official results aren’t expected to be finalized until 1-4 a.m. Tuesday.
• We asked all 47 Alberta UCP MLAs how they will vote in the fall referendum. Here is what they said (and didn’t say)
• Elections Alberta forecasts a voter turnout of between 80 and 85 per cent compared to an average turnout of just over 55 per cent for the last five provincial elections
• Find your local polling station here.

10:55 a.m.

By Rob Brown 

B.C. Premier David Eby has weighed in on Alberta’s Monday referendum vote.

“To everyone in Alberta: we share families, jobs, a border and a lot of history. You have real frustrations with Ottawa, and so do we sometimes. That’s Canada. We argue, and we stay together. Whatever happens tonight, you’re our neighbours and our family, and this country is better with you in it.”

Eby said the politics that brought Canada to this moment can take hold anywhere.

“Nobody wakes up one day and decides to put their country on the ballot,” said Eby. “It starts when fringe ideas get treated as normal, enabled by leaders who won’t take a clear stand against them.”

Eby finds himself amidst a vote with British Columbians going to the polls after Eby called a  provincial general election, with B.C.’s Election Day this week on Oct. 24.

10:05 a.m.

By Rob Brown 

Chief Sheldon Sunshine of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation released a statement about referendum question being asked today of Albertans.  

“On this question, we recommend Canadians vote option 1; to remain in Canada and respect treaties,” he said, adding wording of the question is very confusing.

“Option 1 respects treaties and status quo, we recommend members vote option 1. Option 2 violates our Treaties between us and the Crown. Alberta does not have jurisdiction under our Treaties to end this relationship. Succession cannot happen without our consent, courts have said this. Option 2 will start a more divisive and unlawful process,” he said.

Earlier this year the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation filed a lawsuit challenging provincial legislation a related to any Alberta secession/independence referendum, arguing separation from Canada requires First Nations consent under Treaty 8. Sturgeon Lake Creen Nation is located Northern Alberta near Valleyview.

According to Elections Alberta, voting in today’s referendum will continue as planned with voting stations set up between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Wainwright Communiplex and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 29 Wainwright.

“Elections Alberta extends our deepest condolences to the Canadian Armed Forces, the community of Wainwright, and all those affected by yesterday’s devastating tragedy, and our gratitude to all the first responders, public safety personnel, and Alberta emergency and medical services assisting.”

By Cindy Tran

According to Elections Alberta there were a total of 311 voting locations for the advanced vote which took place from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17.

As of Sunday, the unofficial number of ballots cast for the advanced voting period and special ballots so far is 1,356,873. Of them 837,791 were advanced ballot votes and 519,082 were special ballot votes.

On Saturday, Elections Alberta said all special ballots received by Canada Post by the Oct. 16 deadline at 5 p.m. have been opened and final processing of the ballot packages are happening over the next day.

According to Elections Alberta, 43.1 per cent of the 3.1 million eligible voters voted via advanced ballot and special ballot. In comparison, during the 2023 provincial election which had 2.9 eligible voters it saw a 27.5 per cent voter turnout for advanced and special ballot.

By Cindy Tran

In late May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a separation question would be on the Oct. 19 ballot.

The question asks: Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?

Option A: Alberta should remain a province in Canada.

Option B: 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.

If the majority of Albertans vote to separate, the government will then begin the process to hold a binding referendum.

There are also five immigration questions on the ballot.

The immigration questions are:

• Do you support the Government of Alberta taking increased control over immigration for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities?
• Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status will be eligible for provincially-funded programs, such as health care, education and other social services?
• Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for social support programs as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring all individuals with a non-permanent legal immigration status to reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for any provincially-funded social support programs?
• Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for public health care and education as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with a non-permanent immigration status living in Alberta for their and their family’s use of the health care and education systems?
• Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate or citizenship card, to vote in an Alberta provincial election?

On the ballot, there will also be four constitutional questions, including giving Alberta the ability to appoint its own judges, abolishing the federal Senate and halting what it considers federal overreach. 

The constitution questions are:

• Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to have provincial governments, and not the federal government, select the justices appointed to provincial King’s Bench and Appeal courts?
• Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to abolish the unelected federal Senate?
• Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to allow provinces to opt out of federal programs that intrude on provincial jurisdiction such as health care, education and social services, without a province losing any of the associated federal funding for use in its social programs?
• Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to better protect provincial rights from federal interference by giving a province’s laws dealing with provincial or shared areas of constitutional jurisdiction priority over federal laws when the province’s laws and federal laws conflict?

Bookmark our website and support our journalism:Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.