The question on separation to be put to Albertans in the Oct. 19 referendum is now official.
Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet have issued an order-in-council confirming the exact phrasing of the question.
The special order from cabinet, signed Thursday, shared how the question will put to electors.
According to the document, the multiple-choice question asks: “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?”
Electors then choose from two options: Option 1, which states”Alberta should remain a province of Canada,” and Option 2, which states “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.”
It matches what Smith said in her TV address last week when she announced the vote.
Smith has said she considers the threshold for a majority to be 50 per cent plus one.
Alberta election officials say the question will be at the top of an ordered stack of 10 ballots.
A spokesperson for Elections Alberta said Thursday the 10 referendum questions to be put to Albertans on Oct. 19 will be colour-coded, and voters are free to skip some or all of the questions.
“As with any election, an elector may refuse any or all ballots at the voting station,” said Michelle Gurney.
The other nine proposals from Smith’s government are on Constitutional and immigration reform.
Gurney said that up to 38 million printed ballots will be required for the vote.
“This will require 60,000 to 90,000 election officers to administer and count the referendum,” she said.
If the staffing level needed is at the higher end of the range, it would be almost enough to fill the seats at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium twice over.
The last provincial general election in 2023 cost taxpayers an estimated $37 million, but only required some 13,000 election officials.
The ballots must be hand counted within 48 hours, provincial law indicates, and the question on whether to hold a binding separation referendum will be counted first.
Smith’s decision to call the question has drawn ire from some of her provincial counterparts, as well as some petitioners on both sides of the debate who characterized her handling of the issue a betrayal.
She has said she shares past frustrations about the federal government, but aims to test the waters of public opinion. Smith has said she and her United Conservative Party want to remain in Canada, and that she will vote accordingly.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this week the “question about a question” does not invoke the federal Clarity Act, which allows Parliament to weigh in on separation questions, because Alberta’s fall vote is explicitly non-binding.
The order-in-council on the separation question states that “the referendum is not to be conducted by mail-in ballot, which does not prevent advance voting as defined in the Election Act, or voting by a special ballot or a secure special Ballot as provided for in the Election Act.”
