Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's seeking a mandate for her government's policy proposals in a referendum scheduled for Oct. 19.Todd Korol/The Canadian Press
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has launched her government’s campaign to persuade residents to vote in favour of constitutional changes and restrictions on public services for some immigrants in a referendum later this year.
She was unclear on what she would do if voters reject her policy proposals.
“We think we’ve done that initial culling of the questions to make sure that we found the ones that are likely to get majority support, but I’m asking them so that I can get a mandate,” Ms. Smith said Thursday.
“And if I don’t get a mandate, then we’ll have to address what we do at that time.”
Late on Thursday evening, her spokesperson, Sam Blackett, attempted to clarify her comments, writing in a statement that the government would “re-evaluate our approach to align with the will of Albertans” if it didn’t receive a mandate on any of the nine questions proposed in the province-wide referendum scheduled for Oct. 19.
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Earlier at a news conference in Edmonton, Ms. Smith unveiled a government-funded website that outlines the province’s position on the referendum questions.
The site, branded with an outline of the provincial borders overlaid with a maple leaf, reads: “Stand for a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.” It’s a phrase Ms. Smith has coined in her effort to extract more autonomy from Ottawa. There is no mention on the site of the potential secession question that may be included in the referendum.
Alberta’s separatist advocates are about a week from the deadline to collect and submit the nearly 178,000 signatures needed to force an independence referendum, though a Court of King’s Bench judge is currently mulling whether to let the petition process continue.
On the pro-Canada side, a UCP-controlled committee is working to decide the fate of a highly successful petition that proposes Alberta remain in the country and adopt that as an official policy. The committee will decide whether it goes to a referendum or is voted on by legislative members.
On Thursday, Ms. Smith said: “My position is that we should remain in Canada.”
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Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi called the referendum a “gigantic waste of taxpayer money” that nobody asked for.
The Premier’s unveiling of the website marks the beginning of her government’s campaign to get the answers it wants in the fall referendum.
The website includes lengthy videos explaining why the government believes Albertans should consider voting for abolishing the Senate, wresting control over judicial appointments and playing a greater role in immigration, among other proposals.
Ms. Smith said the site provides “a detailed, plain-language explanation” of the referendum questions her government has crafted, adding it provides “facts and background information on how our province got to this point.”
But whether Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party government will respond to voters’ wishes was cast into doubt this week when she announced Alberta would be doing away with daylight time. Alberta residents rejected the idea in a 2021 referendum.
Ms. Smith suggested people were confused about what they were voting for because of how that question was phrased. The question asked: “Do you want Alberta to adopt year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is summer hours, eliminating the need to change our clocks twice a year?”
Five of the upcoming referendum questions centre around Alberta taking more control of immigration, a job largely handled by Ottawa.
In her February address announcing the referendum, Ms. Smith partly blamed the province’s projected $9.4-billion deficit on high immigration and the strain that has put on publicly funded services. (About a week later, the U.S. launched its first attacks on Iran, leading to skyrocketing oil prices that could buoy Alberta’s budget to a surplus.)
Asked at the time, how much newcomers cost Alberta’s social programs, Ms. Smith said she didn’t know.
The new website estimates non-permanent residents cost the province about $1-billion every year. It does not explain in detail how it reached that figure, breaking down those costs by education ($600-million), health care ($400 million) and other social services ($100-million.) The Premier’s Office did not respond to a request asking how it calculated those figures.
One referendum question introduces the concept of an “Alberta-approved immigration status.” While the definition of that status had been a mystery, the website describes an Alberta-approved immigrant as an economic migrant who meets a criteria the government will develop with the help of industry.
Another question proposes that non-permanent residents must live in the province for a year before being eligible for social support programs. And it suggests charging non-permanent residents “a reasonable fee” for health care and education.
The site also outlines the government’s position on its constitutional proposals, describing the Senate – which no province can abolish unilaterally – as “a house of patronage.”
Mr. Nenshi called the referendum “illegitimate” and said the government’s website tells one side of the story using “made-up facts that have no bearing in reality.”
“We have one side of the question spending untold hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of taxpayer dollars telling their side of the story," Mr. Nenshi said.
“Anyone who wants to tell the other side of the story? Well, you gotta go raise money yourself.”