For a PDF of the 2026 Referendum voter guide, click here; for a PDF on Question 10, click here.
On October 19, Albertans are being asked to vote on 10 important questions about the future of our province. This voter guide covers each question from a Christian perspective to help other followers of Jesus cast an informed vote.
The referendum is non-binding.1 Whether a vote is successful or not does not force the government to act either way. However, a majority decision will signal a political mandate to the government as they put future policy in place.
Question 1: 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?
Christ calls us to have compassion and care for those in need. Immigrants and refugees come to Canada and other Western countries because of our Christian foundation. The substance of this question is not whether we support immigration, but whether we support sustainable immigration. Adoption is a wonderful picture of Christlike love, but a couple could not adopt 50 children and still sustain their household and care for their current children. Therefore, sustainability is an important consideration as we help or welcome others.
Question 2: 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?
Question 3: 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?
Question 4: 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 healthcare and education systems?
These questions relate to the issue of sustainability mentioned in Question 1. It is important to understand that the proposals in questions 2–4 for sustainability are not proposals unique in Canada. Ontario and Quebec already have similar policies compared to what the Alberta government is proposing. In both central provinces, temporary residents are not eligible for social assistance, and residency rules apply for accessing health care. To vote yes for these questions brings greater alignment between provinces such that social services can be sustained. It is not unloving to ask people to contribute to services they use or pay for services provided. We can welcome the sojourner while expecting the sojourner to contribute to the place he now resides. Equality before the law, neither favoring the poor or rich, the local or
foreigner, is an important biblical principle. When you welcome a guest into your home, you don’t expect him to help himself to your refrigerator or grab your car keys to run an errand. You are not inhospitable when you distinguish a guest from a member of your own household. Likewise, guests to our country should be welcome as guests.
Question 5: 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?
There is currently no evidence of widespread voter fraud involving non-citizens or the identity of non-citizens. The voter list used by Elections Alberta does validate eligible voters to ensure they are a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of Alberta. A successful vote would require proof of citizenship to be presented at the time of voting. Christians understand that voter integrity is important to the democratic process. Presenting another piece of identification may be inconvenient, but that inconvenience must be tempered with safeguarding the electoral process.
Question 6: 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?
Question 7: 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?
Question 8: 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?
Question 9: 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?
These constitutional questions are largely moot. On October 18, 2021, more than 61% voted in favor of removing equalization from the constitution. The Alberta Legislature initiated a process to negotiate but that was simply ignored by the federal government and other provinces. In fact, Ottawa went ahead and renewed the equalization formula through 2029 without consulting the provinces. Regardless of the effectiveness of these questions, they do highlight real grievances that have caused many to support independence (see question 10).
Question 6 addresses an issue where Alberta judges are overlooked to serve on Alberta’s courts because of French language requirements set by Central Canada. Liberal judges are appointed by Ottawa in a conservative province.
Question 7 addresses the imbalance of the senate which favors Central Canada. Alberta with more than 5 million people has 6 senators appointed by Ottawa. Ontario and Quebec have 24 senators each. Atlantic Canada, with 2.7 million people, has 30 senators. Stephen Harper’s government sought to reform the senate but his efforts were blocked by the Supreme Court. Senate reform has been the desire of Albertans for a long time for a more equitable arrangement within Canada. An elected senate or proportional senate has always been resisted seeking many to look to independence as the answer to these constitutional disparities.
Questions 8 and 9 seek to give Albertans real tools to resist federal overreach. Provincial governments have won elections in the past by promising Albertans protection from Ottawa’s harmful policies and overreach. This constant imposition of Ottawa over the people and industries of Alberta have led many to conclude that constitutional change is impossible and independence the only solution for meaningful change to benefit all citizens across our country.
Question 10: 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?
Option 1: Alberta should remain a province of Canada.
Option 2: 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.
Biblically, a government should be limited and local—a government of the people and for the people it represents (Deut 1:9–18). The most important job of a government is justice (Rom 13:4). When these are not upheld, the people groan. The independence question is not just a discussion about dollars and cents. It is a discussion
about religious ideas that express themselves in society. The antichristian ideas of Marxism, socialism, globalism, totalitarianism, and a host of other “isms” are promoted and pushed by the intelligentsia of Central Canada. The independence movement respects the biblical principles of liberty, justice, vocation, and morality more than the current direction of our nation.
Question 10 Further Examined
In Alberta, there are five common arguments that are presented in laying out the case for a sovereign Alberta.
There is the historical argument beginning with the founding of our province, its roots, its people, and the constant battles with Ottawa. “The Milch Cow” image, a political cartoon first published in 1915, has become iconic. The cow represents Canada. The farmers of Alberta are feeding the cow and the leaders in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal are milking the cow. For more than 100 years, people in Western
Canada have felt treated like a colony, existing for the wealth of Upper and Lower Canada. Michael Wagner’s books are essential reading to learn more about the history of Western alienation, the National Energy Program, and the failed efforts to address grievances.2 A key part of the historical argument is that Alberta has sent the best and brightest to Ottawa to fix Canada, but they couldn’t do it, concluding that it simply cannot be done.
Next is the economic argument, based on imbalances in the Federal Equalization Program. Studies show that $20–40 billion is transferred from Alberta to the provinces of Central and Eastern Canada each year. From 2000–2023, $544 billion has been transferred out of Alberta. Quebec, one of the greatest critics of Alberta’s industry and culture, receives $13.9 billion a year through the Federal Equalization
Program—over 50% of total equalization funds. The province of PEI is now reliant on equalization as payments make up 20% of their annual budget. Since 1965, even in years of recession, Alberta has received a total of $0 through equalization. Therefore, many contend that equalization disadvantages Alberta for the sake of Central and Eastern Canada.
There is also the political argument. Federal laws continue to hurt Alberta’s primary industries like oil, gas, and beef. Federal laws, like the Carbon Tax, Bill C-69 (the impact assessment bill or “no more pipelines bill”), and Bill C-48 (the tanker ban, banning Alberta’s exports on the west coast while still allowing tankers on the east coast as Central Canada imports foreign oil) stifle development, block energy projects, and prevent access to global markets which represents the potential loss to Albertans
of hundreds of billions in lost projects. Studies show that investment in Alberta has dropped 61% in the last ten years.
Next is the federal or constitutional argument. Canadian federalism was designed to divide power between the federal government and provincial government. Alberta is supposed to have sovereignty over its natural resources, but that is not being honored in practice. Alberta has a dozen matters before the courts, fighting the federal government over matters of jurisdiction. Alberta’s voice in Ottawa is faint, since it is Ontario and Quebec that decide elections. Senate reform was proposed as one way to
increase Alberta’s influence in Ottawa—although these efforts were stopped by the Supreme Court in the Harper era. Alberta has six senators compared to Ontario and Quebec who have twenty-four each—those numbers being fixed in the constitution and not based on population. PEI has four senate seats for a population less than 200,000. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia each have ten seats with populations smaller than either the city of Edmonton or Calgary. For this reason, Albertans feel as if they have little say over the future of their country and decisions that affect them and their livelihoods.
Finally, there is the cultural or moral argument. Many people in Alberta feel as if the culture and values of Central Canada are out of step with the culture and values of Alberta. Alberta was formally Canada’s Bible belt, and it remains a place where many hold traditional values. It is not uncommon to drive through rural Alberta and see pro-life billboards and banners. The conservatives in Alberta are not just fiscal conservatives, but many are social conservatives who desire to see traditional values preserved while our federal government promotes a new vision of society and the family. For this reason, Albertans want off the moral train that is careening off the tracks.
These historic, economic, political, constitutional, and cultural arguments make a compelling case for Alberta’s independence. What must be recognized is that biblical values are foundational to each of these arguments. That is, it can be argued that many who long for an independent Alberta are longing for a way of life that matches biblical principles. What people are longing for—and don’t realize it—is the fruit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a Christian vision of society, and the truth of his word manifest in his world.
The discussion on independence is not just a discussion about dollars and cents. It is a discussion about religious ideas that express themselves in society. The antichristian ideas of Marxism, socialism, globalism, totalitarianism, and a host of other “isms” are promoted and pushed by the intelligentsia of Central Canada. Alberta is not free from these ideas, but there is a legacy here of a biblical commitment
to liberty, justice, vocation, belonging, and traditional values.
Let me be clear, Alberta’s independence is not the answer. It’s not the ultimate hope. Our ultimate hope is the person and work of Jesus Christ. However, the underlying values of independence are aligned with the values of Scripture more than the current direction of Canada. As many are longing for Christian principles worked out in the world, let’s point them to Christ!
— Tim Stephens
“All the cultural amenities that we enjoy are ours because we live in a land that has felt the impact of Christian civilization” — Ernest Manning, Premier of Alberta, 1943-1968.
- According to the Referendum Act, the constitutional questions (#6–9) are binding and forces the provincial government to act. However, Alberta cannot change the constitution by itself, and it is nearly impossible that other provinces will pursue that change. ↩︎
- See Wagner, Michael. No Other Option: Self-Determination for Alberta (Domino Effect Publishing, 2021); Wagner, Michael. Time to Leave: Canada Cannot Be Fixed (Domino Effect Publishing, 2024) ↩︎
