A referendum on Alberta's independence from Canada is scheduled to conclude on Oct. 19, with results expected between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time on Oct. 20, due to the large number of ballots. Elections Alberta has received 290,000 applications for mail-in ballots, four times higher than in the 2023 general election. The agency is facing an "extreme workload" from counting millions of ballots across 10 questions, including one on secession and nine others on issues such as immigration and the Constitution. The hand-counting process will determine how long the count takes, with smaller ridings likely reporting results earlier in the night.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Elections Alberta says much of the country will likely be asleep when it finishes tabulating millions of expected ballots and announces the results of the province’s independence vote next month.
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it → say → vote
The results from the separation question – which asks voters whether they wish to remain in Canada or lay the legal groundwork for a second, binding secession referendum – are expected on Oct. 20 between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time, the agency said.
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agency → ask → a.m.
Results from the other nine referendum questions, about issues such as immigration and the Constitution, likely won’t be publicly reported until the next morning, on Oct. 21.
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Results → report → Oct.
Elections Alberta on Thursday provided some details on how it expects the 10-question referendum will unfold.
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referendum → provide → details
It is the first time a vote in Alberta has been solely dedicated to referendum questions.
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vote → dedicate → questions
The gargantuan task has stressed the electoral agency, which has been forced to respond to a tsunami of changes to provincial elections law in recent years under Premier Danielle Smith’s government.
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which → stress → government
Many of those have focused on making it easier for Albertans to take part in what she calls “direct democracy.”
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she → focus → what
Elections Alberta says it has received 290,000 applications for mail-in ballots for the Oct. 19 referendum, which is four times higher than in the 2023 general election.
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which → say → election
The ballots list 10 questions, including one asking if Alberta should stay in Canada or if there should be a second, binding referendum on separation.
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Alberta → list → separation
“Not only has Alberta never done anything like this – nowhere in Canada has done anything like this before,” Dallas Stoesz, deputy chief electoral officer, told reporters at a news conference.
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Stoesz → do → conference
“Yes, we’ve had referendums.
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we → have → referendums
”
While Ms. Smith’s question on secession has dominated the conversation in recent months, she is also hoping voters will endorse nine additional questions that propose dramatically curtailing the public services Alberta offers certain immigrants and starting conversations with other provinces about lobbying for changes to the Canadian Constitution.
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Alberta → dominate → Constitution
Elections Alberta will first count and report the votes for the secession question and then move to counting ballots for the nine others, the agency said.
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agency → count → others
Ballots will be reported live from each of Alberta’s 87 electoral districts after polls close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 19, Jennifer Maskoske, the agency’s director of elections operations, said.
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Maskoske → report → operations
Smaller, less populous ridings will likely report results earlier in the night, Ms. Maskoske said.
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Maskoske → report → night
Voter turnout will also determine how long the count takes, she added.
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she → determine → long
The referendum will be Alberta’s first provincewide vote to be hand-counted since Ms. Smith banned the use of electronic tabulators for vote counting, arguing the machines have failed to produce faster results or increase confidence in elections.
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machines → count → elections
The extreme workload facing Elections Alberta has fuelled concern over the agency’s ability to run a smooth referendum.
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workload → face → referendum
The agency said roughly 35,000 people have applied to work the referendum – still well short of its target of hiring 60,000 people.
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people → say → people
The Globe reported last month that the agency is recruiting a pool of skilled, experienced election staff from other provinces to help.
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agency → report → provinces
Elections Alberta will have 48 hours to count the ballots, though provincial law doesn’t dictate the consequences for failing to meet that deadline.
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law → have → deadline
If turnout matches that of Alberta’s 2023 election at 1.7-million people – roughly 60 per cent of all eligible voters – the agency will be forced to count at least 17-million ballots in that window.
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agency → match → window
This week, the first special ballots – otherwise known as mail-in ballots – were sent to some of the roughly 290,000 Alberta residents who have requested them.
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who → know → them
Until last year, special ballots required voters to sign a declaration form testifying that they couldn’t otherwise vote in-person.
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they → require → person
Ms. Smith’s government removed that requirement last year.
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government → remove → requirement
Now, any voter in Alberta can request a special ballot in lieu of going to the polls.
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voter → request → polls
Yet, despite the change, voters this week reported that their special ballots include a section requiring signed testimony that they’re unable to vote in-person, underlined by the threat of a fine up to $50,000 or prison time.
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they → report → fine
Ms. Stoesz, the deputy chief electoral officer, said electors can strike out that specific declaration without being penalized, and it will be removed from all ballot packages that haven’t already been sent.
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that → say → packages
“If electors are uncomfortable, if electors want, they can strike that out on their declaration,” she said.
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she → want → declaration
“[If] they complete the rest of the declaration, sign it, send it back, we will accept those.”
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we → complete → those
Elections Alberta did not say how much it will cost to run the election, but a former Alberta chief electoral officer recently estimated the vote will cost roughly $120-million.
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vote → say → million
(The 2023 provincial election cost about $37-million.)
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election → cost → million
Ms. Stoesz said Elections Alberta will send the final budget to a government committee after the referendum.
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Alberta → say → referendum
