Starter Pack: Alberta Referendum

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On October 19, Albertans will vote in a referendum. That is to say: Albertans will to go vote, but they’re answering a question instead of electing people. 

There are 10 questions on the ballot, including one asking whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or start the process to legally separate from the country.

If Albertans vote to leave, the process won’t start right away. Instead, the province will hold a second referendum that could begin the legal process of separation, depending on the outcome.

There were two petitions in Alberta that were organized by citizens — one arranged by people who want Alberta to remain in Canada, and the other organized by those who want the province to leave – but neither one succeeded in having their specific question added to the ballot. In the end, the Alberta government created its own question on separation for the referendum.

Although the question about separation gets the most attention, it is actually only one of 10. Of the remaining nine questions, five are related to immigration and four ask Albertans about possible changes to the Canadian Constitution. 

The immigration questions ask about different measures to increase the province’s control over the number and type of immigrants allowed in Alberta. Setting immigration policy is usually the federal government’s job. But the referendum’s immigration questions suggest changes that would give Alberta new powers. Alberta wants the power to put immigrants moving there for work at the front of the line. The province also wants to limit the ability of immigrants who don’t have “permanent resident” status to access services like education and health care.  

Four other questions also aim to give powers traditionally held by the federal government to the province. Constitutional questions ask Albertans about allowing the provincial government to select judges and prioritizing provincial over federal law in areas where they overlap, like agriculture and the environment. Others ask about giving the province the power to opt-out of federal social programs for things like health and education and abolishing the federal Senate.

Each of these questions would require changes to the Canadian Constitution, the country’s highest law. To do that, Alberta would need to work with other provinces. It requires a minimum of seven provinces representing at least 50 per cent of Canada’s population to approve a constitutional change. It would also have to pass through both the House of Commons and the Senate. To abolish the Senate, all 10 provinces would need to agree.

Like the separation question, if Albertans vote “yes” to any of the other nine questions, it doesn’t mean the policy will change immediately. It just means the provincial government will start taking steps toward those changes.

These questions may sound unrelated to the question about separation, but they are actually all coming from the same place. The Alberta government wants to redefine its place in Canadian confederation, whether that means leaving Canada or not. 

Glossary:

Referendum: a democratic process where the government puts a question directly to the people, who can vote on their answer. 

Confederation: a type of government in which several provinces or territories with their own governments form a union beneath one government. 

Separation: also called secession, separation refers to the legal process by which a regional government leaves the larger political unit it is part of and becomes its own country.

Constitution: the most important legal document in the country, the constitution lays out the rights and freedoms of Canadians and the powers of each level of government across Canada. 

Non-permanent residents: people who live in Canada under temporary authorizations, like international students, temporary foreign workers, or asylum seekers.

Senate: one of two legislative bodies that pass federal laws. After legislation passes through the House of Commons, which is made up of elected officials, it has to get approval from the senate, which is made up of appointees, before it becomes law.

Go Deeper: 

Fears of US foreign interference and voter safety hang over Alberta referendum

They’re trying to replace us’: the conspiracy theories driving the man behind Alberta separatism