Smith rules out another referendum: “It is time to move forward together”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has ruled out another referendum on the province’s place in Canada after unofficial results showed a strong majority of voters favoured remaining in the country.

In a televised address, Smith said the result gave her government a mandate to pursue greater provincial autonomy while keeping Alberta within Canada and seeking changes to its relationship with Ottawa.

“For as long as I am Premier, I will honour this mandate from Albertans and will not be holding another referendum on this issue,” Smith said. “It is time to move forward together as a strong and free Alberta within a united Canada.”

Smith attributed the inclusion of Question 10 on the ballot to two citizen-led petition campaigns. The signature totals for both petitions require confirmation against Elections Alberta records.

She linked the debate over Alberta’s future to longstanding tensions with the federal government but characterized the referendum campaign as largely civil and respectful.

Smith said her government would continue using legal and political avenues to protect provincial jurisdiction and advance Alberta’s interests.

“Those disputes will be settled within the political and legal institutions of our nation rather than pursuing the option of separation.”

Smith acknowledged that some Albertans voted against remaining in Canada and said their frustrations with Ottawa were legitimate. She cited concerns about employment, business closures and lost economic opportunities.

She urged those voters to reconsider their outlook on the country, arguing that Canada’s political and economic direction had shifted over the past 18 months.

To support that argument, Smith pointed to federal policy changes affecting the energy sector and investments in pipelines, electricity generation, military infrastructure, manufacturing and other projects. The specific projects, funding amounts and implementation timelines require independent verification.

Smith said both the federal Conservatives and Liberals recognized the importance of Alberta’s energy industry to the national economy.

She said Alberta would continue seeking greater provincial authority over immigration policy, measures requiring temporary residents to contribute to public-service costs and citizenship requirements for voters.

Smith also said vote counting was continuing on other proposed measures, including provincial involvement in judicial appointments, abolishing the Senate and further protections for provincial rights. The status of the counts should be confirmed against the latest Elections Alberta results.

The premier said her United Conservative Party government would keep pressing for changes to federal equalization, a longstanding source of disagreement between Alberta and Ottawa.

Smith acknowledged that disagreements with the federal government would continue but argued they should be resolved through Canada’s legal and political institutions rather than through separation.

She called on Albertans to set aside divisions over the referendum and work together on the province’s future.

“Yesterday, Albertans made their choice. Today, we begin the next chapter,” she said. “Let us move forward not as a people divided by how we voted yesterday, but as neighbours, friends, Albertans and Canadians.”

“This is our province. This is our country. This is our home and our family,” she said. “Our true north, strong and free. And together, I know we will keep Alberta and Canada forever strong and free.”

Smith said she remained optimistic about Alberta’s future in Canada and argued that the province should have a significant voice in national economic policy and decision-making.

Nenshi calls on Smith to shift focus to Albertans’ concern

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi urged the province to turn its attention away from the referendum and toward affordability, health care, education and economic stability.

In a video statement, Nenshi criticized Premier Danielle Smith and her United Conservative Party government, arguing that the referendum had done little to resolve the issues facing Albertans.

Nenshi said he anticipated Smith would portray the outcome as a political victory and an endorsement of her agenda, including proposed changes affecting immigrants’ rights and further constitutional discussions. He cautioned against interpreting the results as widespread public support for those priorities.

“We learned that Albertans are frustrated,” Nenshi said. “They’re frustrated and nervous about their jobs, their economic stability, about the ability for their own kids to have jobs and to stay in Alberta.”

Nenshi identified health care, education and public safety as additional areas of concern. He also pointed to the pressure rising living costs place on families, saying parents should not have to ration fruit for their children.

He argued that the estimated $200 million associated with the referendum could instead have been directed toward services and initiatives addressing those concerns.

“There was a cost to us,” Nenshi said. “Families fighting with families, neighbours fighting with neighbours. We got to do better than this.”

Nenshi said Smith could either present the outcome as a political win and continue what he characterized as a culture war, or change direction and govern in the interests of all Albertans.

He said the Alberta NDP would prioritize stronger public services, lower financial pressures on households and the issues residents identify as their most pressing concerns.

Nenshi thanked those who took part in the referendum process, including volunteers who collected signatures, spoke with neighbours and encouraged others to cast ballots.

He also recognized the involvement of Indigenous communities. According to Nenshi, First Nations chiefs and councils had challenged the government in court, while voter participation on reserves had been particularly strong. The turnout claim requires confirmation against official referendum data.

Nenshi said the participation showed that further work was needed to improve the province and make Albertans aware of what he sees as weaknesses in the government’s approach.

“thank you for working so hard. Thank you for saving Canada. Now it’s time to save Alberta.”

Nenshi said the province must now address the underlying concerns that have left many residents frustrated.

Unofficial results as of 7 p.m. Tuesday

According to the latest numbers from Elections Alberta, 90 per cent of ballots cast have been counted, with 504 voting stations left to be reported. Unofficially, 75.15 per cent of the vote have voted in favour of Alberta staying in Canada.

The rest of the question are unofficially breaking down as follows:

Question one – 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?

54.03 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.

Question two – 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?

54.26 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.

Question three – 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?

57.74 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.

Question four – 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 health care and education systems?

56.75 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.

Question five – 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?

63.50 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.

Question six – 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?

51.24 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.

Question seven – 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?

53.6 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.

Question eight – 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?

50.61 per cent of voters have unofficially voted they are not in favour.

Question nine – 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?

51.57 per cent of voters have unofficially voted in favour.