Alberta government launches informational website pushing for ‘yes’ votes in October referendum

Ahead of an October referendum set to put nine questions to Albertans on matters of immigration policy and constitutional reform, the provincial government has launched a website it says provides relevant information on the issues to inform voters.

Launched Thursday, AlbertaReferendum.ca, allows voters to go over comprehensive information about questions asked by the government.

It also links to a report compiled by the Alberta Next Panel, which travelled across the province for public engagement in the summer and fall of 2025. The government has said many of the referendum ideas came from conversations that were had during the Alberta Next discussions.

Also presented on the site is data the government is using to advocate for a ‘yes’ vote from Albertans on the nine questions. It says 600,000 people have come to Alberta in the last five years; more than $1 billion is spent per year on provincial programs for temporary residents; and the youth unemployment rate is 15.6 per cent.

“We’re going to be advocating for these positions, I mean, they are government sponsored questions,” said Premier Danielle Smith. “So I’m not just going to be a bystander in this. We’re going to be out actively persuading the public that this is the direction we want to go, but we need an endorsement from them and so I think people need to understand exactly what we’re asking and they’ll give us direction.”

The premier says her government is looking for a mandate on these issues from Albertans.

“I’m of the view that you ask people questions that you want to get the answer to so you can act on them and so, I’ll judge it at that time. But, it’s also the reason why we put questions that we think we already have the majority of Albertans onboard with,” she said.

Smith adding there were questions that could have been added to the ballot but weren’t because it wasn’t clear if Albertans “wanted to go in that direction.”

The questions that have made it on the ballot thus far, can be found here.

It is possible that additional questions stemming from Citizen-Initiated petition could be added to the referendum, Smith says.

Separation being on the ballot is still up in the air due to an ongoing court injunction against Stay Free Alberta, which has paused signature verification ahead of a May 2 collection date.

A petition on the opposite side of the issue, Forever Canadian, successfully gathered the required amount of signatures and is now being examined by a Legislative committee to determine next steps.

Smith saying Thursday a question on coal mining in the Rocky Mountains could also appear on the ballot if Corb Lund’s petition is successful.

However, any information about questions not proposed by the government wouldn’t be made available on the AlbertaReferendum.ca website. But, relevant documents like those from Elections Alberta could be made accessible via a separate tab, according to the premier.

Other elements of the website include links to supporting news articles and columns, informative videos, a frequently asked questions page, a timeline dating back to 2015 showing ‘How did we get here?’

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says the premier is wasting taxpayer dollars.

“Nobody asked for this. Nobody wants this,” Nenshi said Thursday.

He calls the referenda an illegitimate “farce” aimed at blaming newcomers for Smith’s inability to keep pace with a population boom that has subsided.

“These are fake referenda. And no matter what happens, she’s going to do what she wants anyways,” Nenshi said. “We had a referendum on daylight saving time. It failed. The premier institutes daylight saving time anyway. She doesn’t care about democracy. She doesn’t care about listening people. She just cares about distracting from her horrendous record.”

Nenshi says Smith is also trying to distract from a separatist effort that has sparked fierce debate in the province since last April’s federal election.