Albertans head to polls in historic referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada

EDMONTON – The polls are open as Albertans mark their ballots in a historic vote on whether they want to stay in Canada.

In Calgary, voters were bustling in and out of Grace Presbyterian Church on Monday morning with their yellow “I voted” stickers before rushing off to work.

Scott Hill, donning a baseball cap with a red maple leaf, said he’s respectful of everyone’s opinion, but to him, the referendum is “surreal” and his vote was to stay.

“People are angry, I can see that. But we’re Canadian, we need to stand together,” he said, noting his grandfather fought in the Second World War.

“This is without a doubt the most important vote I’ve ever done.”

More than 1.3 million Albertans have already cast ballots by mail or in advance polls in the referendum called by Premier Danielle Smith.

They are being asked whether they want to stay in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation.

The vote caps months of rallies, speeches and analyses from both sides. It also comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney said members of Parliament are “united in grief” over a tragedy that touches every corner of the country.

A fire that ripped through Canadian Forces Base Wainwright’s training grounds in Alberta on Saturday killed four soldiers and injured dozens more.

Smith’s United Conservative Party never campaigned on holding a separation vote in the last election in 2023, but says some Albertans’ anger with the state of affairs under former Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau has boiled over into hundreds of thousands signing petitions for and against Confederation.

A referendum, she has said, is now necessary to resolve the matter once and for all.

At the polls Monday morning in Edmonton, there was a slow-moving lineup at All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral. Jeff Sparks was one of several voters who said he hopes the remain vote wins.

“And that this puts the situation to bed and that we don’t really have to hear about this anymore,” he said.

Shawn Campbell said he voted for the province to start the process toward a binding referendum, even though he doesn’t want the province to separate, and doesn’t believe it ever will.

“It sends a message to Ottawa that Albertans are not happy,” he said.

The separation question is one of 10 on the ballot. The first nine focus on immigration and the Constitution.

The immigration questions ask Albertans whether the province should have more say on who comes to the province to work and whether it’s time to put more limitations — and perhaps introduce fees — on some who arrive and seek access to health care and education.

The constitutional questions ask Albertans for a blessing to pursue talks with other provinces on wresting power from the federal government and abolishing the Senate.

Smith has said the first nine questions are meant to give leverage in the province’s negotiations with Ottawa.

The premier has also said she voted to stay in Canada but says she needs a yes to those remaining nine questions to get a mandate to bargain for a better deal with Carney.

Amneet Mann cast a vote in Calgary, calling some of those questions anti-immigrant.

“I just don’t think that’s what this country stands for,” she said. “I think it’s crazy that we’re here and we have to make that known.”

Carney came to Alberta last week to rally the pro-Canada forces but also to agree to disagree with Smith. He urged Albertans to reject the nine remaining questions.

“(Say) no to the nine,” Carney told a Calgary crowd.

Jamie Fisher went to Mount Royal School in Calgary to vote to move forward with a binding separation referendum, and to support Smith’s other nine proposals.

“I don’t think it’s been fair for a really long time, and I think a lot people need to really hear that message,” she said.

Carney’s statement made her angry, she said.

“(It) just shows that it’s more of a dictatorship than listening to people,” she said.

“Everyone is going to have a different answer and that’s OK, but it feels good to be heard.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.

—With files from Dayne Patterson in Calgary and Timon Johnson in Edmonton