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EDMONTON — The results of Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum are now official, confirming 74.95 per cent of voters supported remaining in Canada while rejecting four proposed constitutional changes.
Elections Alberta released the official results on Oct. 29, confirming voter turnout reached 70.4 per cent, compared with 60.5 per cent during the 2023 provincial general election.
The referendum asked Albertans to vote on 10 questions covering immigration, access to provincial services, voting eligibility, constitutional reform and the province’s future within Confederation.
The final question asked whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or begin the constitutional process required to hold a binding referendum on separation.
Official results show 1,556,316 voters supported remaining in Canada, representing 74.95 per cent of valid votes.
Another 520,233 voters, or 25.05 per cent, supported beginning the legal process toward a binding separation referendum.
A total of 2,216,505 ballots were cast on the question, including valid, declined and rejected ballots.
Voters also rejected all four proposals seeking constitutional changes involving federal-provincial powers.
A proposal to give provincial governments, rather than Ottawa, the authority to select justices appointed to provincial King’s Bench and Appeal courts was defeated, with 54.64 per cent voting against it.
Another 52.72 per cent opposed working with other provinces to abolish the unelected Senate.
A proposal allowing provinces to opt out of federal programs involving provincial jurisdiction without losing associated federal funding was rejected by 57.56 per cent of voters.
Meanwhile, 55.83 per cent opposed giving provincial laws priority over federal legislation when the two conflict in areas of provincial or shared constitutional jurisdiction.
The remaining five questions received majority support.
A proposal for Alberta to take greater control over immigration, reduce immigration to more sustainable levels and prioritize economic migration received 54.86 per cent support.
Another 52.46 per cent supported restricting eligibility for provincially funded programs, including health care, education and social services, to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status.
A proposal requiring people with non-permanent legal immigration status to live in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for provincially funded social support programs received 53.12 per cent support.
Another 51.78 per cent supported charging reasonable fees or premiums to non-permanent residents and their families for access to Alberta’s health care and education systems.
The strongest support among the five questions came from a proposal requiring proof of Canadian citizenship to vote in Alberta provincial elections.
That measure received 58.06 per cent support, with 41.94 per cent voting against it.
Elections Alberta reported 3,148,205 eligible electors for the referendum, including people already on the voters list and those who registered during voting.
Advance voting, held from Oct. 13 to 17, accounted for 37.9 per cent of votes cast across all questions, while election day voting on Oct. 19 accounted for 31.8 per cent.
Special ballots submitted by mail represented 29.4 per cent of votes, while mobile voting at facilities including hospitals, long-term care centres and emergency shelters accounted for one per cent.
The official results include vote totals and percentages for each referendum question, with breakdowns by electoral division and voting method.
Elections Alberta says results from 14 voting locations are reported at the voting-place level rather than by individual voting area because ballot boxes were shared between voting areas.
The agency advises turnout figures for those locations should be assessed at the electoral division level.
Detailed results, including individual electoral division breakdowns, are available through Elections Alberta at Elections Alberta.
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