פוליטיקה · Alberta referendumAlberta Referendum: 1.2 Million Early Voters, Ten Hand Countsנכתב 18 באוקטובר 2026 בשעה 19:07 UTCצפייהתמליל0:07On October 14th, we reported voting opened.0:10Now early voting tops 1 million.0:12Alberta's 10-question referendum requires 10 separate ballot papers, all counted by0:17hand.0:17The immediate question is whether officials can deliver the count within 48 hours.0:21The latest combined advance and special voting figure is reportedly 1.2 million,0:26including more than 703,000 advance voters.0:30That's participation before referendum day.0:32Each voter can generate 10 papers for workers to sort, check, and count.0:36Advance voting ended Saturday, October 17th.0:39Monday's vote closes at 8 in the evening Alberta time.0:42Elections Alberta hopes to produce results within 48 hours, taking that counting0:46horizon to Wednesday evening.0:48Elections Alberta described 48 hours as a legal completion requirement.0:52Its later promise to aim for that window leaves a practical problem.0:56Former British Columbia election chief Keith Archer warns that staffing could make1:00it difficult to meet.1:01Archer says completion may be unlikely unless recruitment has gone better than1:05described.1:06Elections Alberta says legislative changes ruled out tabulators, the machines that1:10count ballots.1:11Workers will count the separation question first, and release results only after1:15every polling station closes.1:17Results are then expected to arrive as counting proceeds.1:20A slow count can reflect the workload and staffing.1:23Speed alone doesn't tell voters whether ballots were counted correctly.1:26Referendum Day is Monday, October 19th.1:29October 20 is Tuesday.1:31That date error matters for anyone still planning to vote, especially people whose1:35local advance station closed or whose special ballot hasn't reached election1:39officials.1:40More than 105,000 voted on the first advance day, followed by 186,000 on the1:45second.1:46An average advance day in the 2023 provincial election drew around 151,000.1:5120 locations stayed open late on opening day because people were still waiting.1:55Earlier cumulative advance totals passed 360,000, then 518,000, before2:01topping 703,000.2:03Those are successive snapshots.2:05The 1.2 million combined figure already includes advanced voters, so adding them2:09again would double count people.2:11The special ballot processing update rose from 454,000 to more than 490,000.2:17Our earlier application and mailing figures describe different stages.2:20Elections Alberta still hasn't provided a final breakdown connecting applications,2:24packages sent, returned ballots, and accepted votes.2:27The agency printed 45 million ballot papers.2:30That production figure reflects the 10-question workload.2:33Officials describe more than 1 million early voters as roughly a third of eligible2:37voters, but can't predict final participation.2:39Some Calgary voters waited more than 90 minutes.2:42In Athabasca, high winds knocked out power at an advance station for several hours.2:46Officials promised extra opening time to replace the hours lost.2:50A spreading fire closed the Wainwright Communiplex advance station on October 17th.2:55Elections Alberta named Border Inn in Lloydminster and Vermilion Elks Hall as2:59alternatives within the electoral division.3:02Those arrangements applied to advance voting.3:04Monday voters must use their assigned polling place unless officials issue a3:07reassignment.3:08The Wainwright closure notice didn't provide a replacement for Monday.3:12Displaced voters still need their actual election day arrangement confirmed.3:16Elections Alberta operated 310 advanced locations.3:20Space constraints kept some third-party advertisers scrutineers, the observers who3:24watch voting, out of some locations.3:26Earlier concerns also involved seniors' residence polls and transport.3:30The new disruptions don't show which side lost participation.3:34Completed special ballot packages had to arrive by 5 on October 16th.3:38Mailing them that day wasn't enough.3:40Under the previously announced procedure, someone still unmarked as received and3:43voted at 5 on October 18th could vote in person.3:46A later arriving special ballot would then be rejected.3:49Question 10 offers a choice between remaining in Canada and starting the3:53constitutional process toward a later binding separation referendum.3:57The word binding describes that possible future vote.3:59Monday's process choice leaves Alberta inside Canada.4:02The current result is advisory.4:04A process majority could give the government a political mandate, but wouldn't4:08automatically compel another referendum.4:11Our October 14th report described that preliminary status.4:14No date has been set for a further separation vote.4:17Question 1 concerns immigration control.4:20The separation choice is question 10.4:22Five questions address immigration, while nine questions sit alongside the4:26separation choice.4:27Those counts describe different parts of the same 10-question ballot.4:31Question 1 seeks greater provincial control over immigration, lower immigration to4:35sustainable levels, and employment priority for Albertans.4:38The government hasn't put a number on sustainable levels or defined how its proposed4:42Alberta-approved immigrant category would work.4:45Other proposals would charge some temporary residents for health care and education,4:49delay some social benefits for a year, or tie access to provincial approval.4:53Smith has floated a $1,900 annual health premium.4:57It's a proposal awaiting policy decisions.4:59More than 43,000 temporary residents from Ukraine could have a stake in those5:03service rules.5:04Alberta's population reportedly grew by roughly 600,000 over five years.5:09About 20% of that growth came from other provinces, and two-thirds from5:13international migration.5:14The province estimates temporary residents pay $150 million in annual taxes and5:19receive more than a billion dollars in services.5:22A University of Calgary economist challenges that comparison because average5:25Albertans also receive services worth more than the taxes counted this way.5:29That leaves the claimed savings unresolved.5:32Residents could face new bills or delays in schooling, care, and support, depending5:36on the rules governments eventually adopt.5:39A September survey found 54% supported greater provincial immigration control.5:44About 45% supported limiting free health and education access.5:48The stated margin of error was 2.8 points, 19 times out of 20.5:53Those responses don't settle every proposed rule.5:56Former premiers Rachel Notley, Ed Stelmeck, and Alison Redford urged voters to6:00reject the immigration proposals.6:02They warned Alberta could become less attractive to the talent it needs.6:06Smith is asking for yes votes on questions one through nine.6:09Question nine seeks constitutional changes allowing provincial laws to prevail over6:13conflicting federal laws in provincial or shared areas that requires support from at6:16least seven provinces representing half Canada's population.6:19Alberta can't make that change by voting alone.6:22Federal authority has also protected roads important to Alberta, including against6:26British Columbia's unsuccessful effort to obstruct the original Trans Mountain6:29project.6:30Question 7's Senate abolition proposal would likewise need constitutional change,6:34including agreement from every province.6:36Concordia professor Brooke Jeffrey calls the nine questions deliberately misleading6:40and too complex.6:41She argues they suggest options that require reopening the Constitution.6:45Her criticism is a political assessment.6:48Courts haven't invalidated the ballot on that basis.6:51Samuel Crowfoot is chief of Sixica Nation.6:54He says First Nations were excluded from early meaningful engagement in treaty6:57rights must be addressed before separation proceeds.7:00He says members received hateful calls and threats.7:02and his nation arranged buses for voters.7:04Crowfoot also says the nation sought help from the Prime Minister's office.7:09A court quashed an earlier separation petition on May 13th.7:13May 20 was the date of legal commentary rather than a second confirmed judgment.7:17That earlier petition and Monday's question follow separate legal tracks.7:21The later partial stay allowed signature verification and public reporting while7:25other restrictions remained.7:27The appeal's final outcome is still unresolved.7:30First Nations consultation and treaty impacts remain part of the legal dispute7:34surrounding the earlier petition.7:35Kearney and Smith have campaigned together for Alberta to remain in Canada.7:39Smith says she marked her own ballot that way.7:42Poileva has also urged Albertans to stay.7:45Carney wants voters to reject the other nine proposals, putting him at odds with7:48Smith.7:49Kearney's Calgary rally took place October 15th, followed by the Edmonton Expo7:53Center event.7:54Thousands attended the Unity events.7:56Those appearances have moved beyond the plans we described October 14th.8:00But their effect on voters will emerge only through the vote.8:02Kearney tied unity to economic projects, including the proposed Pacific Link8:07pipeline.8:07He projected more than 140,000 jobs in one speech.8:11A separate description referred to thousands of Alberta jobs with a different8:15apparent scope.8:16These are employment projections.8:17The West Coast project was described as the first national interest project8:21designated under the Building Canada Act.8:23That designation supports Kearney's campaign argument.8:26While construction, costs, and the assumptions behind the employment forecast still8:30need decisions and explanation, 70% of those surveyed wanted Alberta to remain in8:35Canada.8:3623% supported a binding separation referendum.8:397% were undecided or wouldn't vote.8:42That survey measures intentions about Alberta's future, while actual ballots will8:46decide Monday's result.8:47The poll surveyed more than 800 Albertans.8:50Its field dates and full methodology weren't supplied, so it can't be treated as an8:54update of the different September Ipso sample we discussed earlier.8:58Support for moving towards separation was 29% outside Edmonton and Calgary.9:0220% in Edmonton, and 21% in Calgary.9:06Those geographic differences describe the survey.9:08They don't reveal how many supporters will actually cast ballots.9:11Hundreds attended a Let Alberta Decide independence rally outside the legislature.9:16Corey Morgan says the movement will continue, whatever the result.9:19Keith Wilson also describes this vote as a step in a longer campaign rather than its9:23final decision.9:24Some Diamond Valley residents who prefer staying in Canada say they'd choose the9:28process option to pressure Ottawa.9:30Others fear damage to economic and social ties.9:33A process vote can therefore express different intentions, complicating claims about9:36an independence mandate.9:38Farmers and businesses rely on trade across provincial boundaries, including British9:42Columbia ports and pipeline routes.9:44Any eventual separation would require negotiations over those arrangements.9:49Monday's preliminary vote leaves existing borders and export routes in place.9:53The Supreme Court's 1998 secession ruling requires negotiation after a clear9:58majority supports a clear secession question.10:01The Clarity Act sets no fixed percentage.10:03Borders, debts, assets, minority protections, and indigenous and treaty rights would10:07all need to be addressed.10:08Smith has promised to avoid a binding separation vote after a remain result while10:12she's premier.10:13Her promise is political and limited to her tenure.10:16Monday's 10 decisions still await voters, followed by 10 hand counts within the10:21stated 48-hour window.קריאת הכתבהציר הזמן של הסיפורHeyDexהסרטון הקצר ↗מי דיווח על מהנקודות שדיווח עליהן יותר מכלי תקשורת אחד✓Date of Alberta’s referendumאושר באופן עצמאי · 5 כלי תקשורתCarney urged voters to keep Alberta in Canada5 כלי תקשורתSeparatists’ response to an unfavorable result5 כלי תקשורת✓What the referendum question asksאושר באופן עצמאי · 4 כלי תקשורתPierre Poilievre made a public appeal for Albertans not to leave Canada.4 כלי תקשורתVoters rejected the referendum proposal3 כלי תקשורת✓Advance voting began in Albertaאושר באופן עצמאי · 3 כלי תקשורתFinal vote shares for the referendum options3 כלי תקשורתSmith’s pledge if voters choose to remain3 כלי תקשורת✓Reported number of ballots already castאושר באופן עצמאי · 3 כלי תקשורתIpsos polling support for a binding separation referendum3 כלי תקשורתProjected consequences of Alberta separation3 כלי תקשורתLegal deadline for completing the ballot count3 כלי תקשורתAdvance ballots reported by Elections Alberta3 כלי תקשורתImmigration-related referendum questions3 כלי תקשורתThe report says polling has consistently found a majority of Albertans plan to vote for Alberta to …3 כלי תקשורתJohn Santos said the referendum result would depend greatly on turnout.3 כלי תקשורתElections Alberta officials said they were preparing for turnout of about 85%, citing requests for …3 כלי תקשורתJC Busher described the federal response to foreign influence as timid, citing a lack of political …3 כלי תקשורתJeffrey said holding the referendum gave credibility to a small group advocating Alberta separation.3 כלי תקשורתEditorial advice on immigration questionsשני כלי תקשורתProjected increase in Alberta’s debt after separationשני כלי תקשורתMAGA influencers’ support for Alberta separatistsשני כלי תקשורתSmith said she voted to remain in Canadaשני כלי תקשורתכל שורה היא הטענה כפי שתיעדנו אותה מהדיווח של אותו כלי תקשורת. הושווה נכון ל-20 באוקטובר 2026 בשעה 23:59 UTC.סיקור קשוררקע·21 באוק׳, 8:33 UTCWainwright orders urged morning firing. Soldiers were engulfed at 4 p.m.
