Official Alberta referendum results show 74.95 per cent voted to stay in Canada

Elections Alberta published official results on 29 October for the 19 October referendum. Turnout on the separation question, Question 10, was 70.4 per cent, the agency said. That was the highest for a provincewide vote since at least 1975, though below the 81.8 per cent record set in the 1935 general election.

Elections Alberta said Questions 5 and 10 had the highest turnout, both at 70.4 per cent. The referendum asked 10 questions and was non-binding.

Separation result

On Question 10, 74.95 per cent of voters chose to remain in Canada rather than begin the constitutional process required to hold a future binding referendum on independence. Nearly one-quarter chose the other option. The vote did not trigger separation; it asked whether Alberta should stay in Canada or start the process toward a binding vote.

Immigration questions

The other nine questions saw voters approve the province pursuing changes to immigration policy while rejecting questions that urged it to take more action to wrest power from Ottawa, according to the official results. The five immigration-related questions passed narrowly, CityNews reported. CBC reported that support for those five questions across Alberta ranged from 52 to 58 per cent.

Province-wide, 53 per cent supported the province cracking down on immigration numbers, with 47 per cent against, the Rocky Mountain Outlook reported. The rural-urban divide was clear. In Banff-Kananaskis, 55 per cent voted no to the province taking increased control of immigration from Ottawa. Preliminary counts showed about 80 per cent voted no to the first five questions at the Siksika Piiksapi Memorial Arbour polling station southeast of Calgary, CBC reported.

Premier Danielle Smith said after the vote she would prioritize adjusting Alberta's approach on economic migrants and "proceed with caution" on the rest of the immigration questions. Her government's House leader said no immigration-related laws would be tabled in the fall sitting, and the province said it would work with Ottawa instead, CityNews reported.

Opt-out question rejected

Voters rejected the UCP proposal for a blanket constitutional rule that would let provinces opt out of federal programs while keeping Ottawa's money, with 57 per cent voting no. A government spokesperson said Alberta will keep pursuing its own dental and drug plans despite the result.

As of 30 September, 349,000 Albertans were enrolled in the Canadian Dental Care Plan for the 2026-2027 benefit period, federal figures show, and 91,000 had an approved claim. André Lecours, a University of Ottawa political scientist, called the opt-out question's failure "the most interesting, surprising and maybe important" of the results, CBC News reported. He said the question was really about how federalism works in Canada.

Political fallout

The Globe and Mail reported that Gurnam Dodd, a former Progressive Conservative candidate in southeast Edmonton, asked the UCP to cancel his membership, calling the immigration questions "deeply concerning." The same report said separatists have pledged to remove Smith as UCP leader, and the party said this week it did not expect those attempts to succeed.

What happens next

The Alberta legislature begins its fall session Tuesday, CityNews reported. The government has said the earliest Albertans could see legislation on immigration is next spring.