By Lisa Johnson
Posted April 23, 2026 8:35 am
Updated April 23, 2026 2:37 pm
2 min read
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to deliver an update Thursday on her government’s plan to hold a referendum in October that will ask Albertans’ opinions on a number of immigration and constitutional issues.
Smith announced in February that she will put nine questions to Albertans, including proposals to restrict social services from some immigrants, whether the government of Alberta should push to have the federal Senate abolished, whether the Canadian Constitution should be amended to allow provincial governments to select the justices appointed to provincial King’s Bench and Appeal courts and if the Constitution should be amended to give provincial laws, that deal with areas of shared constitutional jurisdiction priority over federal laws.
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Since last April’s federal election, the province has also been embroiled in a heated debate over Alberta separating from Canada.
The separatist group Stay Free Alberta is currently collecting signatures calling for a referendum on Alberta’s independence.
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The group claims it has already surpassed the signature threshold, and Smith has said she would put any question on the ballot should proponents get the required number of signatures.
However, a recent court challenge launched by several Alberta First Nations, who claim the process is a violation of their treaties, has thrown into doubt whether there will be a referendum on Alberta’s independence this fall.
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In her ruling, Justice Shaina Leonard said the separation proponents can continue to collect signatures on their petition, but the province cannot proceed any further until the First Nations’ constitutional concerns and claims they have not been properly consulted are dealt with by the courts.
Another anti-separation petition called the “Forever Canadian” petition, also collected more than 400,000 signatures from Albertans to keep the province in Canada.
That petition is currently being discussed by a committee of the Alberta legislature to decide the next steps.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
