Alberta’s referendum draws 174,000 ballots on day one of advance polls. Premier Smith says she voted to stay
Albertans cast about 174,000 ballots on the first day of advance polling, Global News reported; CTV News said mayors welcomed the turnout. Premier Danielle Smith said in a social-media video that she voted to stay in Canada and urged support for the other nine questions on the ballot, per Global News, Castanet, Radio-Canada, TVA Nouvelles and the Journal de Montréal. Voting day is Monday. The Globe and Mail described the nine as policies that would upend immigration rules and require reopening the Constitution. CBC reported that the premier put the immigration and constitutional questions on the ballot as easy winners, but that officials in her party worry she could lose some of them, and that three former Alberta premiers joined to urge a no on the immigration questions. Global News quoted a campaigner warning that a lead in the polls breeds complacency. The Globe and Mail cited a survey indicating that hundreds of doctors would leave if Alberta became independent; we have that from one outlet.
The ballot asks whether Alberta should stay in Canada and, in nine further questions, whether to change immigration and constitutional rules. Even a clear result on the first question leaves the other nine to be decided.
If you live in Alberta, advance polling began on Wednesday and voting day is Monday; check Elections Alberta for locations and hours. Elsewhere in Canada, the result will shape the federal agenda and can move markets.
The premier’s supporters say the nine questions put long-standing grievances over immigration and the Constitution directly to voters.
Critics, including three former premiers on the immigration questions, say the questions are too broad, and CBC reports that some officials in the premier’s own party worry about losing some of them.
Turnout is the number to watch. 174,000 ballots on day one is large, but the reports we read gave no comparison with an earlier vote. The risk the campaigner flagged, a lead breeding complacency, applies to the nine questions as much as to the first.
DailyDrop Canada edition No. 11 · Morning · THU., OCT. 15, 2026