Person

Danielle Smith

1. Follow-up: Alberta votes on whether to hold binding referendum on leaving Canada

   Voters in Alberta went to the polls on Oct 19 to decide whether the province should stay in Canada or hold a binding independence referendum later. Premier Danielle Smith called the vote after a grassroots group gathered about 300,000 signatures; a counter-petition opposing separation drew more than 400,000, and polls show most of the roughly 5 million residents favour staying. Smith said a binding referendum could be held in 2027 at the earliest if the vote passes; she did not campaign for independence and estimated in June that transition costs would be about C$400 billion plus C$25–50 billion a year. Results were not out at time of writing.

   Oct 20, 2026 Morning