Alberta referendum · Monday, October 19, 2026
Question 10, in plain language
One question on the ballot asks about Alberta’s place in Canada. This page explains what it says — and why we think you should vote by mail rather than queue on October 19.
Last day to apply to vote by mail
Friday, September 25
10 days left
Vote by mail. Do not plan on voting in a line.
Elections Alberta is expecting a turnout no Alberta election has seen in ninety years, and every voter has ten separate ballots to mark. In-person voting is going to be slow. Voting by mail takes the queue out of the picture entirely.
- 85%
- The turnout Elections Alberta expects
- 10
- Separate ballots you mark
- 2 hours
- What Albertans queued last October
- 290,000+
- Mail-in ballots already requested
Why the lines will be long
Ten ballots each. You mark ten separate numbered ballots, not one.
You can no longer vote anywhere. Vote-enabling tabulators are not being used, so you must vote in the electoral division where you live.
Vouching is gone. Every voter proves their own name and address at the desk.
Elections Alberta needs about 60,000 workers to run the day — the largest recruitment in the province’s history.
Asking for a mail-in ballot does not cost you your in-person vote
Elections Alberta is explicit about this: if your package does not reach them by the deadline, you can still vote at advance voting or on October 19. The voting register is updated when a special ballot is received, so nobody can vote twice. Requesting one costs you nothing.
Applications close Friday, September 25. The form is on Elections Alberta’s website, not ours.
What does Question 10 actually ask?
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?
Reproduced from Elections Alberta. If this page and Elections Alberta ever disagree, Elections Alberta is right. Read it on elections.ab.ca (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
In plain words
It asks whether the government should start the legal steps needed to hold a future, binding vote on separation.
It is not a yes-or-no question. You choose one of two options.
The two choices
These are the two options, in the order Elections Alberta lists them.
Option 1
Alberta should remain a province of Canada.
Alberta stays a province.
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.
The government starts the legal process.
How far does this vote actually go?
Step 1 · You are here
You answer Question 10
On October 19, 2026 — or earlier, by mail or at advance voting.
Step 2
The result is reported
Elections Alberta counts the ballots and publishes a result for each of the ten questions.
Step 3
The legal process
Option 2 asks the government to begin the steps required under the Canadian Constitution.
Step 4
A separate, binding referendum
The question’s own wording says a binding provincial referendum on separating would be a later, separate vote.
Dates that matter
- September 25
- Last day to apply to vote by mailMidnight
- October 13–17
- Advance votingIn the electoral division where you live
- October 16
- Elections Alberta must have received your packageBefore 5:00 pm, in Edmonton
- October 19
- Referendum dayVote in the division where you live, if you haven’t already
How do I vote by mail?
Any eligible Alberta voter can vote by mail, and you no longer need a reason. Elections Alberta calls it a special ballot.
By September 25
Apply
Fill in Elections Alberta’s short online form. You need your name, date of birth and address. You can also apply by phone or email, or at a returning office from September 21.
From September 1
Your package arrives
It holds your ballots, a grey envelope, a purple return envelope, a declaration to sign, a list of accepted ID, and instructions.
Before 5:00 pm, October 16
Mail it back
Ballot in the grey envelope. Grey envelope, signed declaration and a copy of your ID in the purple envelope. Then post it — early.
About the line on the declaration that says you cannot vote in person
Some packages mailed from September 1 carry a declaration with a line that alarmed people. You do not have to be unable to vote in person, and you can strike the line out.
The line on the form
Elections Alberta’s own words
Electors may cross out the statement “I declare that I am unable to vote at an advance voting place or a voting place on Election Day” and complete the rest of the declaration, and Elections Alberta will accept it.
It is left over from an older version of the Election Act, when you needed a reason to vote by mail. That requirement is gone — anyone can request a mail-in ballot, no reason needed — but the sentence stayed on the form.
Elections Alberta has said you may cross that line out, sign the rest of the declaration as normal, and they will accept it. They are also removing the line from packages that had not yet been sent.
So: if the line is on your declaration, strike it through, then fill in and sign everything else. Do not leave the declaration unsigned, and do not throw the package away.
Elections Alberta said this on September 3, 2026, in a news release about the application deadline. At the time of writing it is the only place on their website that says it — none of their voter-facing pages mention it. Read the release on elections.ab.ca (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
What goes inside what
Your ballot
Mark your choice on the ballot that comes in your package.
Grey envelope A
The ballot goes in here, on its own. Nothing else in this one.
Purple envelope B
Envelope A, your signed declaration, and a copy of your ID. This is the envelope you mail.
October 16 is an arrival deadline, not a postmark deadline
Elections Alberta has to have your package in Edmonton before 5:00 pm that Friday. Canada Post’s time comes out of yours, so post it about a week early. Packages from remote areas and from outside Canada take longer again.
You cannot drop it off
Returning offices will not accept completed special ballot packages. It has to travel by mail to Elections Alberta in Edmonton.
Send a copy of your ID, never the original
An Alberta driver’s licence or ID card showing your current address, or two pieces of ID with your name where one shows your address. Vouching is no longer accepted, and Elections Alberta lists more than 50 documents that work.
Count your ballots when the package arrives
There should be ten. The ballots are glued at the top like a notepad and a few electors have reported pages missing. If any are absent, phone Elections Alberta and they will send a complete set.
The form is on Elections Alberta’s website, not ours.
Can I work the referendum?
Yes. Elections Alberta needs about 60,000 people to run it. These are paid, temporary jobs, not volunteer shifts.
You need to be 16 or older and allowed to work in Canada. Some roles need you to be 18.
You need to pass a criminal record check.
You sign an oath to stay non-partisan, and you step back from political activity while you are employed.
The work runs across advance voting (October 13 to 17), referendum day (October 19) and the count (October 19 to 21).
Hiring closes October 10, and you cannot apply twice — so pick every role you would take.
The oath is the point
Election officers work for Elections Alberta, not for any side. Everyone who hands out and counts ballots signs the same promise, and that is a large part of why the count can be trusted.
The application is on Elections Alberta’s website, not ours.
Questions people ask
Cross that line out and sign the rest. It is leftover wording from an older law and Elections Alberta has said in writing that they will accept declarations with it struck through. You do not need a reason to vote by mail.
Canadian citizens who are 18 or older on referendum day and who ordinarily live in Alberta. Elections Alberta has the full rule, including what "ordinarily live" means if you have moved.
This page covers Question 10 only. There are ten questions on the ballot, and Elections Alberta publishes all of them.
Each question is printed on its own separate, numbered ballot, so you decide question by question.
Watch your mail. Elections Alberta started sending packages on September 1, and you return yours by mail once it arrives.
Ask Elections Alberta directly. That case depends on what has already been issued to you, and they are the only ones who can answer it for your file.
No. Forever Canadian made it. Every fact on it links to Elections Alberta, and theirs is the page that counts.
Where this comes from
This page was made by Forever Canadian. It is not an Elections Alberta page, and we are not affiliated with Elections Alberta.
If anything here disagrees with Elections Alberta, Elections Alberta is right. Checked on September 15, 2026.
- Elections Alberta — the referendum and all ten questions (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
- Elections Alberta — request a special ballot (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
- Elections Alberta — the special ballot application form (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
- Elections Alberta — the September 25 application deadline (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
- Elections Alberta — what changed about voting this time (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
- Elections Alberta — who can vote (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
- Elections Alberta — ID you can use (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)
- Elections Alberta — referendum election officer roles (opens elections.ab.ca in a new tab)