On Oct. 19, Albertans will head to polls to vote on 10 referendum questions. The most polarizing question asks whether the province should stay in Canada or if a binding referendum on Alberta independence should be held.
While public opinion is strongly against separation, experts warn that anything but an overwhelming rejection of the referendum question is unlikely to quiet the separatist movement. In September, influential separatist Jeffrey Rath pledged that the movement is “never giving up.”
There are also five questions about immigration, authored and endorsed by the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) and Premier Danielle Smith. If successful, these questions will provide the government with a mandate to lower immigration to the province and strip some non-permanent residents of access to publicly funded services like health care and education.
Polling suggests that these questions, which are part of a larger effort by the UCP to scapegoat immigrants for the province’s economic woes, are supported by a majority of Albertans.
The separatist movement, and the government’s capitulations to it, have thrown the province into chaos. Smith and the UCP continue to bleed support, while a September poll showed that the party is in a deadlock with the Alberta NDP. In a recent byelection, the NDP flipped a conservative stronghold in Calgary. The next provincial election is scheduled for October 2027.
This article appeared in the 2026 Oct/Nov issue.
