Analyzing Alberta’s Upcoming Referendum Questions
Last week Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced nine referendum questions for this October, ranging from immigration jurisdiction to Senate abolition, the largest single use of direct democracy in the province's history. For now, none of these questions deal with separation, though this remains a distinct possibility. MBP Intelligence contributors disagree on what to make of it.
Phillips walks through what the Clarity Act actually requires, and why the separatist petition's September 2026 deadline, combined with CUSMA's July 1 review, creates a potential trigger for a federal election. Boessenkool has little patience for the exercise: most of what Smith is asking for is either already within her power or entirely beyond it, and referendums are what politicians reach for when they'd rather not do their jobs. Woodfinden pushes back, arguing that Alberta governments have been reaching for this tool for decades, and Smith is working from a long and well-established playbook.
The questions arrive in a politically charged moment. The Carney-Smith MOU, signed in November 2025, was built on a premise of federal-provincial cooperation, with implementation milestones due April 1st. The referendum process creates friction and tension here. Whether that tension proves manageable or corrosive will matter well beyond Alberta, for any business or organization with federal-provincial exposure, for the broader Conservative coalition, and for anyone trying to read where the national unity file goes from here:
- PHILLIPS: What the Clarity Act actually requires from a referendum, and when
- BOESSENKOOL: Do your job, Danielle
- WOODFINDEN: Referendums are an Albertan political tradition, so is this
