Elections Alberta pegs separation referendum cost at $84M, extra $60M approved
Posted Nov 6, 2026 8:24 am.
Last Updated Nov 6, 2026 9:26 am.
Alberta’s elections agency says last month’s historic separation vote came with a price tag of $84 million.
Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure says the price tag is nearly $50 million more than the agency’s annual budget could pay for, and that the government has approved his request to cover the rest through additional funding, along with millions more for election prep.
The request included more than $49.5 million to cover the cost of referendum operations, $9 million to prepare for the provincial election in 2027, and nearly $1 million for “additional organizational capacity to deliver on statutory responsibilities.”
McClure says roughly $26 million is needed just to pay staff who counted more than 22 million ballots that were cast in the 10-question vote.
McClure and other officials say the referendum was crushing for staff, with many working 16-hour shifts or longer, and one who developed appendicitis and put off getting treatment.
“The provincial referendum was an unprecedented electoral event, in both scale, scope, and complexity,” Elections Alberta says in a news release issued Friday.
“It is typical for an electoral management body in Canada to manage one or two electoral events each year. Since January of 2025, there were 58 electoral events across Canada with 37 of those electoral events occurring in Alberta alone.”
