Voting ‘no’ in Alberta

At the end of August, CC invited Alberta readers to tell us how they plan to vote in the October 19 referendum. We received 20 responses by email and one handwritten letter. All 21 respondents said they are not in favour of Alberta separating from Canada. Most used all caps and exclamation points to underscore their pro-Canada position, and two said they would leave Alberta and move back to Canada if they had to. Only one reader expressed indifference about participating in the referendum vote on October 19, but the rest said they will be at the polls or have ordered a mail-in ballot.

Several readers described this referendum as a misdirected waste of taxpayer money. CC columnist Bob Bruinsma said he will vote reluctantly: “I say ‘reluctantly’ because I’m generally not a fan of referenda. Governments have four years between elections to do their work and then the next election should be the real referendum of how the electorate feels about the job they’ve done.” 

Question 10 in this referendum asks Albertans if they would like their province to hold “a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.” Voters will choose between option one: “Alberta should remain a province of Canada” and option two, which invites the government of Alberta to hold another referendum specifically on separation. “Yes, we are having a referendum on holding a referendum!” quipped one respondent.  

Maki VanDyke, who lives in Rosebud, Alta., a hamlet of about 100 people between Calgary and Drumheller, says she is confident that about eight people in her community will choose option two and expects a similar ratio to play out across the province. But she worries some Albertans will vote strategically. “I can see many Canadian-minded Albertans choosing option two on question 10 to strengthen Alberta’s negotiating position for greater provincial powers.” 

Since about half of the referendum questions deal with immigration, CC asked Albertan readers to tell us about their experiences welcoming newcomers. Several readers shared specific stories about how they have supported refugees and how immigrants have blessed their communities. 

“It has been an overwhelmingly enriching experience,” wrote Cecil Van Niejenhuis. He and his wife Karen have been involved with welcoming refugees in their church and community for many years. “It humbles, it stretches, it engages, it keeps us from being locked into our own selves and our own subconscious entitlements and perspectives.” 

Every reader indicated that they would be voting “no” to questions intended to limit newcomers’ access to services. 

“Alberta’s neighbourly spirit is overwhelmingly generous, gracious, non-intrusive and practical,” wrote Van Dyke, referencing the hospitality Calgary and Edmonton residents showed evacuees from the Fort McMurray fires in 2016 and during 2013 flooding. “I would say that at heart, prairie people don’t like being told what to do or what to think, yet they have a strong ethic of support and cooperation.” She says a few bad actors have the media’s ear, but the majority of Albertans want a welcoming province. 

One reader took the time to mail CC a clipping from the Lethbridge Herald. In a column, Ken Moore wrote: “The primary victim is not Ottawa or the federal system. It is Alberta’s social fabric, where neighbours, families and communities are increasingly being pushed to take opposing sides in a manufactured crisis of belonging.”