Alberta separation question to be atop stack of ten colour-coded ballots in fall vote

EDMONTON — Alberta election officials say while the province’s question on quitting Canada hasn’t been written in stone, it will be at the top of an ordered stack of ten ballots.

Elections Alberta says 10 referendum questions to be put to Albertans on Oct. 19 will be colour-coded, and voters won’t need to mark the box on every question.

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Premier Danielle Smith has promised one question will offer a choice between Alberta remaining in Canada or starting the legal process to hold a future binding referendum on separating.

A special order from cabinet, expected in the coming weeks, is yet to make the wording official.

The other nine proposals from Smith’s government are on Constitutional and immigration reform.

Elections Alberta says a potential 38 million printed ballots will require as many as 90,000 elections officers to count — enough to almost fill Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium twice over.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2026.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press