2026 Alberta referendums

This article is about the 2026 Alberta referendum questions as a whole. For the independence-related referendum question, see 2026 Alberta independence referendum.

On February 19, 2026, Alberta premier Danielle Smith announced a referendum to be held on October 19, 2026. In her address, she announced that Albertans will be asked to vote on nine questions. Five questions are non-constitutional and pertain to immigration laws and election security in Alberta. The other four are constitutional, and relate to Alberta's relationship with the Government of Canada, seeking amendments to the Constitution of Canada.

2026 Alberta referendums

October 19, 2026

Ten questions related to provincial–federal relations, rights of citizens vs non-citizens, election security measures, and Alberta separatism

Breakdown

Position YES NO Question on independence TBD TBD Constitutional questions TBD TBD Non-constitutional questions TBD TBD

On May 21, 2026, Danielle Smith announced a tenth referendum question, on whether Alberta should remain within Canada or pursue a path toward a binding referendum on separating from Canada.

Background

See also: Alberta separatism § After the 2025 federal election

Referendum process

In early 2026, premier Danielle Smith promised a referendum on immigration, social services, and Constitutional questions arising from the Alberta Next town halls. On March 31, 2026, the Government of Alberta approved two orders-in-council under the Referendum Act which posed nine questions to Albertans on October 19, 2026. The results of the non-constitutional questions are non-binding on the government. In April, the government launched a website intended to educate voters on the referendum questions, however, the website was criticized as a biased use of government funds to persuade voters to vote in favour of the questions.

The referendum will be administered under Alberta's Referendum Act and Election Act. Eligible voters are residents who are Canadian citizens, aged 18 years or older, and an ordinary resident at the time of the vote.

Previous referendums in Alberta

Seven provincially-led referendums have occurred in Alberta. Referendums on prohibition occurred in 1915 and 1923; question on the creation of a public electrical utility in 1948; changes to liquor laws in 1957; daylight saving time in 1967 and 1971; and equalization and daylight saving time in 2021.

Alberta sovereignty petitions

Support for Alberta separatism has increased since the 2015 Canadian federal election, where Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau was elected prime minister of Canada. This would continue after the 2025 Canadian federal election, in which his successor, Mark Carney, would lead the Liberals to a fourth consecutive term in government. Alberta separatism is primarily a right-wing movement, with support coming nearly exclusively from Alberta United Conservative Party voters.

Under Alberta's Citizen Initiative Act, Albertans can petition the government to hold a referendum on a topic once a certain number of signatures are collected. On May 15, 2025, the law was modified to lower the threshold for triggering a citizen initiative petition from 20% of eligible voters to 10% of votes cast in the previous election, and extended the signature-gathering period for petitions from 90 days to 120 days.

Two petitions have allegedly reached the minimum signature triggers. As of May 2026, neither petition question is present on the October 2026 referendum. Thomas Lukaszuk's Alberta Forever Canada petition was verified by Elections Alberta to have collected 404,293 signatures, and asks: "Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?" The Stay Free Alberta petition claims to have collected over 301,000 signatures, and asks: "Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?"

Questions

The following questions will be on the ballot:

Non-constitutional questions

1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. 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 healthcare and education systems?
5. 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?

Constitutional questions

6. 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?
7. 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?
8. 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?
9. 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?

Independence question

Main article: 2026 Alberta independence referendum

• 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?

Polling

A March 2026 Leger poll found the following results.

Question	Support	Oppose	Don't know
Would you support or oppose a policy where only Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and individuals with a provincially approved immigration status would be eligible for provincially funded programs such as public health care, education, and other social services?	63%	24%	12%
Would you support or oppose charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with a non-permanent immigration status for their and their family's use of public health care and education systems?	64%	24%	12%
Would you support or oppose a policy requiring individuals with a non-permanent legal immigration status to live in a province for at least 12 months before qualifying for provincially funded social support programs?	66%	23%	12%

See also

• 2026 Alberta independence referendum
• 2026 Canadian electoral calendar
• Politics of Alberta

External links

• Official website