Danielle Smith announces Alberta vote on whether to start work on separation referendum [View all]

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Danielle Smith announces Alberta vote on whether to start work on separation referendum

“It’s time to have a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this subject, and move on,” Alberta’s premier said in a televised address Thursday night.

Updated 8 mins ago
May 21, 2026

By Alex BoydStaff Reporter, The Toronto Star

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/alberta/danielle-smith-announces-alberta-vote-on-whether-to-start-work-on-separation-referendum/article_99715347-27bc-4866-9cba-bf5af658b2f9.html

In a televised address, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith edged her province closer to an independence vote on Thursday, saying that residents will vote this fall on whether to start the legal process required for a binding referendum on separation from Canada.

Call it a question about a question.

The exact wording that will show up on ballots, Smith said, is this: “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?”

After months of tension spurred by an increasingly vocal separatist minority in the province, it’s time to do something, Smith said: “It’s time to have a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this subject, and move on.”