Major cities, Bow Valley vote 'no to the nine,' immigration questions still get majority support

A breakdown of the referendum results by riding shows that most of Calgary, Edmonton and the Bow Valley voted ‘no’ to questions one through nine — largely in opposition to the rest of the province.

With 98 per cent of the vote counted as of Thursday evening, the first nine questions remain close, with slight majorities in favour of the questions regarding immigration, and against the constitutional questions.

The vote is nearly 50-50 on most of the questions — the major cities and Bow Valley versus the rest of the province — with a few outliers tipping the scales, including Lethbridge, Lesser Slave Lake and a handful of Calgary ridings.

But when it comes to the immigration questions, political scientist Lori Williams said it’s not surprising that the places with higher concentrations of newcomers were opposed to the proposed policy changes.

“The more people are accustomed to, or familiar with, or working with, or in the community with immigrants — with people who look and sound different in particular — the more they see of that, the less threatening it is,” said Williams, a professor of political science at Mount Royal University. “It’s almost a fear of the unknown.”

In places where it’s common to meet and interact with newcomers, she said, “you have some idea of who they are, and that makes all the difference in the world.”

Sally Zhao, president and CEO of The Immigrant Education Society (TIES), said she wasn’t surprised to see the major cities and the Bow Valley vote in opposition to the first five questions, and echoed Williams’ analysis that it comes down to familiarity.

People in communities with higher newcomer populations typically see the value, knowledge and experience they bring, she said. Those living in areas with fewer immigrants, however, may fear that newcomers are taking their jobs or housing.

“They don’t realize immigrants are building the houses, immigrants are creating the jobs, immigrants are filling up the job gaps, which local people do not want to take,” she said. Some also may not know that the vast majority of immigrants pay the same taxes as everyone else.

“As an immigrant-serving organization, going forward, I feel we really need to do more education (for) the people who do not have any opportunities to connect with the immigrant population.”

Initially, upon seeing that a majority of Albertans voted in favour of the immigration questions, Zhao said she was disappointed and frustrated.

“That shows the government is considering different factors and proceeding with caution,” she said.

But she worries that the policy changes could deter newcomers from choosing Alberta, which could lead to labour shortages and a lack of skilled workers in some industries.

“We want Alberta to remain competitive — attracting talented people, the highly skilled workers,” she said. “They may choose other provinces or even other countries. That is a concern.”

The policies, if implemented, could have negative repercussions in areas such as Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore, which rely on temporary foreign workers to bridge the gap between small local populations and booming seasonal tourism.

But it’s not just temporary workers that make up the fabric of those communities, said Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert. In fact, one in three residents of the Bow Valley were born outside of Canada, he said.

“Temporary foreign workers and immigrants are absolutely crucial for the well-being of our economy, but the area in which we live is attractive to people from all over the world,” he said. “We have people that come from other parts of the world to retire here, or to live here, or to move their work here because they can work from home, so they might as well live in a beautiful place.”

Krausert said he would encourage the provincial government to consider the ripple effects the changes could have on the economy province-wide.

“These sorts of measures can create uncertainty and barriers for people. They divide, and I think will have overall negative economic consequences,” he said.

“Immigrants pay their way through the taxes that they pay and the businesses that they run. I don’t believe that they are a drain on Alberta — quite the opposite. I believe that Alberta is strong because of the people that we’ve attracted from all over the world.”

Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno said the changes could aggravate existing labour force gaps and recruitment challenges.

“We currently have a reputation of welcoming the world, not only as visitors, but as labour force to come and work here and potentially end up building a life here,” she said.

“We’re certainly worried about what this could mean for recruitment of folks to come help our tourist economy.”

The result of the vote on the immigration policies, she said, was “gutting.”

“Those are our friends, our neighbours, our colleagues, and they make up such a vital part of our neighbourhood and our community,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate that others have voted to put up a barrier for folks to be able to access essential services like health care and social supports and education when they contribute to our province the same as any other Albertan. They pay taxes. They’re volunteering, they’re working, and they’re raising their families here.”

Catch up with the day’s headlines, curated by our editors and delivered to your email inbox at lunchtime on every business day. Sign up now for the Calgary Herald Noon News Roundup.