Albertans to vote Monday on five immigration questions alongside separation referendum

Alberta voters go to the polls Monday to decide whether to hold a future referendum on separation from Canada, and on the same ballot they will answer five separate questions on immigration policy put forward by Premier Danielle Smith's government. The questions ask whether Alberta should get more control over economic immigration, restrict provincially funded services to citizens, permanent residents and those with "Alberta-approved" status, charge non-permanent residents fees for health care and education, require a 12-month residency before accessing social supports, and require proof of citizenship to vote provincially.

Former Alberta premier and federal immigration minister Jason Kenney said Canada needs a broader, evidence-based debate on immigration, warning such discussions can be derailed by extreme views on both ends of the political spectrum. He said he does not consider the ballot questions themselves race-based, but flagged concerns about rhetoric from separatist leaders, including Mitch Sylvestre, who Kenney said has suggested citizenship in an independent Alberta would be limited to those born there.

Lawyer Avnish Nanda, co-founder of the group Our Alberta Advantage, is campaigning for a "no" vote on the immigration questions, saying reaction from Alberta's cultural communities has been overwhelmingly negative. He said many view the questions as targeting their history in the province and as tied to the separatist movement, accusing Smith of scapegoating immigrants to retain support from hardline separatist supporters. Nanda said his own parents were recently jeered by strangers while out walking, an incident he said had never happened to them before in Canada.