Albertans might be 'a bit angry' over referendum, says analyst
1 Video View·Oct 30, 2026
Elections Alberta says about 70 percent
of eligible voters showed up to vote on separation
in the historic referendum.
The agency's data suggests that is Alberta's highest turnout since
1971's provincial election.
So what does that tell us about Albertans' desire for change?
Well the turnout is healthy
and of course we had a pretty good sense of that just knowing
how many people had voted
and how many eligible voters there were. This month
The UCP government put 10 questions to Albertans,
five about immigration, four on the Constitution,
and one about separation.
Despite the high turnout,
Williams says it's actually lower than she expected.
A lot of people weren't really clear
on what those questions meant or how the process would go.
And of course, the wait in line
to actually be able to vote was longer.
Voters cast the most ballots
on the question of Alberta's place in Canada.
The answer, a resounding win for the Federalists,
but the other nine questions weren't far behind,
something Williams says came as a surprise.
I thought they would have a lower participation rate
because of that complexity.
That didn't seem to have made a difference.
In an email to CBC News, Elections Alberta says
it will be reviewing how this referendum went
and that it will not discuss its takeaways with the public
until that's done.
Williams says many Albertans are questioning
why so much time and money was spent on this process.
That health care, education,
and affordability remain bigger issues for most.
She's also looking to the next election less than a year away.
It's going to be a bit of a repair job that has
to be done by the provincial government
to try to win back voters
that are currently asking what was it worth it
and maybe even a bit angry with the government
for putting them through the whole process.
But Williams says the government has a good amount of money right now.
She expects cash to start flowing towards
the problems that mean the most to voters.
Chelsea Mutter, CBC News, Calgary.