Ten Questions
Alberta votes on October 19, 2026. You get ten ballots, one per question.
Nine questions come from the Alberta Next panel's town halls in 2025. They cover immigration, provincial programs and the Constitution. The tenth, added in May 2026, asks whether to start a legal process toward a separation vote.
No answer changes a law by itself. Poll workers cannot explain the questions, so read them here first.
1Control over immigration
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta try to take over more of the immigration decisions that Ottawa makes now, with the goal of admitting fewer people, favouring economic immigrants, and giving Albertans first priority for new jobs?
Vote Yes if you want the province to push for more control over immigration and lower immigration numbers.
Vote No if you want immigration handled the way it is now.
Immigration is shared between Ottawa and the provinces. Alberta cannot set national intake levels on its own, so a Yes directs the province to negotiate for more say.
2Who can use provincial programs
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta pass a law so that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and people whose immigration status the province has approved can use provincially funded programs like health care, schools and social services?
Vote Yes if you want people with a temporary status, such as international students, temporary foreign workers and refugee claimants, excluded from these programs unless the province approves their status.
Vote No if you want eligibility for these programs to stay as it is.
312-month wait for social supports
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should people with a temporary immigration status have to live in Alberta for a year before they can get provincially funded social supports? Citizens and permanent residents would not be affected.
Vote Yes if you want a 12-month waiting period for temporary residents before they can get social supports.
Vote No if you do not want a waiting period.
4Fees for health care and schools
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta charge people with a temporary immigration status a fee or premium for their own and their family's use of health care and public schools? Citizens and permanent residents would keep the coverage they have now.
Vote Yes if you want temporary residents to pay a fee for health care and education.
Vote No if you want temporary residents covered the way they are now.
5Proof of citizenship to vote
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should you have to show proof that you are a Canadian citizen, such as a passport, birth certificate or citizenship card, before you can vote in a provincial election?
Vote Yes if you want proof of citizenship required at the polls.
Vote No if you want the current voter ID rules kept.
Only Canadian citizens can vote in Alberta elections today. This question is about what documents you would have to show to prove it.
6Who picks judges
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta work with other provinces to change the Constitution so that provinces, not Ottawa, choose the judges of their Court of King's Bench and Court of Appeal?
Vote Yes if you want provinces to appoint those judges.
Vote No if you want the federal government to keep appointing them.
A Yes does not change the Constitution. It tells Alberta to try to negotiate an amendment, which needs Parliament plus at least seven provinces with half of Canada's population.
7Abolish the Senate
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta work with other provinces to change the Constitution to get rid of the Senate?
Vote Yes if you want the Senate abolished.
Vote No if you want to keep the Senate.
A Yes does not change the Constitution. Abolishing the Senate needs the agreement of Parliament and all ten provinces.
8Opt out of federal programs
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta work with other provinces to change the Constitution so a province can opt out of federal programs in areas like health care, education and social services, and still receive the federal money to spend on its own programs?
Vote Yes if you want provinces to be able to opt out of federal programs and keep the funding.
Vote No if you want the current arrangement for federal programs kept.
A Yes does not change the Constitution. It tells Alberta to try to negotiate an amendment, which needs Parliament plus at least seven provinces with half of Canada's population.
9Provincial law over federal law
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta work with other provinces to change the Constitution so that when a provincial law and a federal law conflict in a provincial or shared area, the provincial law wins?
Vote Yes if you want provincial laws to override federal laws in those areas.
Vote No if you want the current rule, where the federal law generally prevails in a conflict.
A Yes does not change the Constitution. It tells Alberta to try to negotiate an amendment, which needs Parliament plus at least seven provinces with half of Canada's population.
10Separation process
On the ballot
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?
In plain words
Should Alberta stay a province of Canada as it is now, or should the government start the legal steps toward a separate, binding vote on leaving Canada? This ballot has two options instead of Yes and No.
Option 1 "Alberta should remain a province of Canada." Pick this if you want Alberta to stay in Canada and no separation process to start.
Option 2 "The Government of Alberta should commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada." Pick this if you want the government to begin the process that leads to a future binding vote on separation.
The second option is not a vote to separate. It starts a legal process that would end in another referendum, where the actual separation question would be put to voters.