In Monday’s referendum, Alberta voters backed more provincial control over immigration and tighter rules for temporary residents, according to Elections Alberta’s unofficial count on Wednesday evening. The proposals cover who can use provincial health care, education, and social supports, and whether temporary residents should pay for health care and school. A person’s status, health coverage, and school fees stay as they are until the province passes a law. Official results are scheduled for October 29.
The yes side led on each question:
- 54.6 per cent supported more provincial control over immigration, with the stated aims of lowering intake, favouring economic migrants, and giving Albertans first priority for new jobs.
- 52.3 per cent supported limiting provincially funded programs, including health care and education, to citizens, permanent residents, and people with an immigration status Alberta approves.
- 53.0 per cent supported a rule that people with non-permanent status live in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for provincial social supports. Citizens and permanent residents would keep the access they have now.
- 52.3 per cent supported charging people with non-permanent status a fee for health care and education, for themselves and their families. Citizens and permanent residents would not be charged under that question.
- 59.8 per cent, the widest margin of the five, supported requiring proof of citizenship to vote in a provincial election.
On a separate ballot, 75.1 per cent of the votes counted so far chose for Alberta to remain in Canada.
Premier Danielle Smith said Wednesday she would proceed with caution. Support was weaker in Calgary and Edmonton, where most newcomers live. She said the province would focus first on economic immigration and consult on the other issues, and she wants the changes ready for the spring sitting of the legislature. She also said she told Prime Minister Mark Carney that Alberta is preparing a proposal for Ottawa, using the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord as a reference.
Carney left the door open. Asked whether Alberta could receive authority similar to Quebec’s, he said, “We’ll see.” He added that Quebec is distinct because of its language and culture, and that Ottawa will not move off immigration levels it considers sustainable.
The people discussed in the second, third, and fourth questions could not vote. A provincial ballot is limited to Canadian citizens. As of July 1, 2026, Alberta had 279,477 non-permanent residents. About 12 per cent were asylum claimants. The rest were work-permit holders, study-permit holders, and family members living with them.
