Alberta's 10 referendum questions: What voters need to know

Albertans will be heading to the polls on Oct. 19 to determine not only the fate of the province remaining in Canada, but also potential changes to immigration and the constitution.

The fall referendum will have a total of 10 questions, with the possibility of an 11th if Corb Lund's anti-coal mining petition is deemed successful by Elections Alberta. Lund submitted the petition and signatures to Elections Alberta on Wednesday.

Here's a refresher on what the 10 questions are and how the changes will impact Albertans.

Separation question split into two parts

In late May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that a separation question will be on the Oct. 19 ballot.

The 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?

Elections Alberta confirmed the question will be split into two options, since it is not a clear yes or no question:

Option A: Alberta should remain a province in Canada.

Option B: 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.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in her televised address in late May her government will respect the outcome of all referendum questions being voted on.

If the majority of Albertans vote to separate, the government will then begin the process to hold a binding referendum.

Smith has also appealed a Court of King's Bench ruling that quashed a pro-independence citizen-led petition.

Immigration and constitution questions

There are five immigration questions on the ballot. If Albertans vote in favour of them, it would give Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her UCP government the mandate they've been looking for to make key changes to how some immigrants access certain social services.

The changes would include Alberta taking more control over immigration, introducing a law that would restrict who'd be able to access provincially-funded programs such as health care and education, and charging some immigrants a premium or fee to access the health care and education systems.

Do you support the Government of Alberta taking increased control over immigration for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities?

Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status will be eligible for provincially-funded programs, such as health care, education and other social services?

Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for social support programs as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring all individuals with a non-permanent legal immigration status to reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for any provincially-funded social support programs?

Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for public health care and education as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with a non-permanent immigration status living in Alberta for their and their family's use of the health care and education systems?

Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate or citizenship card, to vote in an Alberta provincial election?

On the ballot there will also be four constitution questions. At a press conference on April 13, Smith said her government will be "actively persuading" Albertans to vote in favour of both the immigration and constitution questions.

If Albertans vote in favour ,Smith and her government will work to amend the Canadian Constitution with other provinces so it can appoint its own judges, abolish the federal Senate and halt what it considers federal overreach.

The constitution questions are:

Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to have provincial governments, and not the federal government, select the justices appointed to provincial King's Bench and Appeal courts?

Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to abolish the unelected federal Senate?

Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to allow provinces to opt out of federal programs that intrude on provincial jurisdiction such as health care, education and social services, without a province losing any of the associated federal funding for use in its social programs?

Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to better protect provincial rights from federal interference by giving a province's laws dealing with provincial or shared areas of constitutional jurisdiction priority over federal laws when the province's laws and federal laws conflict?

The agency overseeing the referendum is currently hiring at least 60,000 workers for the referendum. Elections Alberta says the budget for the referendum won't be ready until the fall.

'Colossal undertaking': Elections Alberta begins recruiting 60,000 workers for Oct. 19 referendum

Alberta Premier Smith announces referendum to stay in Canada — or to have another referendum

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