Alberta’s historic 10-question referendum came with a price tag of $84.3 million, raising questions about whether the province got its money’s worth after voters rejected a proposed path toward separation and four constitutional changes. Elections Alberta released its projected costs Thursday, revealing the October vote cost more than double the approximately $37 million spent on the 2023 provincial election. The figure comes as the province’s chief electoral officer requested nearly $60 million in additional funding to cover referendum operations, prepare for next year’s provincial election and increase staffing at the agency. The United Conservative Party says the referendum gave Albertans an opportunity to have their voices heard, while opposition politicians and some political observers question whether the expense delivered meaningful results. Money well spent? For the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the $84-million price tag is substantial, but the organization says the ability for Albertans to have a direct say on major issues is worth preserving. Kris Sims, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says the province should look for ways to reduce costs in future votes while maintaining public confidence in the process. “Taxpayers always have a reason to be concerned. That is a lot of money. More than $80 million is nothing to sneeze at,” Sims said. “However, it’s very, very important that Albertans keep their grassroots democracy tools, so stuff like a referendum, stuff like recall legislation, the Alberta Taxpayer Protection Act, all that stuff.” Sims says the province should be transparent about the final expenses and examine where savings could be found, particularly given the high turnout. She also argues the referendum provided an opportunity to better understand Albertans’ views on a range of contentious issues, saying those opinions should not be dismissed. “Even with the vote results as they are, I will gently say this: keep in mind that at around 25-ish per cent of folks said yes, we should have a referendum on sovereignty, that means around one in four people,” she said. “So yeah, this was good value for money. It was a lot of money though, and we have to figure out a way if we can do this less expensively, but just as thoroughly.” ‘Absolutely a waste of taxpayers’ dollars’: Alta. NDP Alberta NDP MLA David Shepherd, who sits on the legislative committee responsible for reviewing Elections Alberta’s budget, believes the referendum was an unnecessary expense driven by Premier Danielle Smith’s political interests rather than the priorities of Albertans. “Spending $84 million on the premier’s referendum was absolutely a waste of taxpayers’ dollars. Because in fact, it just had no benefit to Albertans, none whatsoever,” Shepherd said. He also points to the provincial government’s spending on communications surrounding the referendum, including approximately $4 million in taxpayer-funded information campaigns. Shepherd argues the results show Albertans were not interested in the constitutional changes being proposed and want the government to focus on issues such as health care, education and affordability. Results leave political questions The official referendum results, released Oct. 29, showed 74.95 per cent of voters supported Alberta remaining in Canada, compared with 25.05 per cent who supported beginning the constitutional process required to hold a future binding separation referendum. Turnout on the question reached 70.4 per cent, higher than the 60.5 per cent recorded during the 2023 provincial election. Voters also rejected all four proposed constitutional changes, including giving provinces more authority over the appointment of certain judges, abolishing the Senate, opting out of federal programs without losing funding and allowing provincial laws to take precedence over federal legislation in certain areas. The five questions dealing with immigration and eligibility for provincially funded programs narrowly passed, with support ranging from approximately 51.8 to 58.1 per cent. The UCP caucus defended the referendum in a statement to CTV News, saying the process allowed voters to weigh in on issues affecting the province. “The referendum gave Albertans the opportunity to make their voices heard through a province-wide democratic process. We believe direct democracy has real value and that voters should be able to weigh in on major issues affecting their province.” The caucus also pointed to previous NDP estimates that the referendum could cost $200 million. But retired Mount Royal University political scientist Keith Brownsey says the results suggest the government did not achieve what it was hoping for politically. Brownsey argues the referendum was an expensive exercise that did little to advance Alberta’s position in negotiations with Ottawa. “I feel it was a waste of money and a waste of time,” Brownsey said. “The energy that went into this, and you have to also think of the investment that was scared away. We don’t talk about that.” He says the defeat of the constitutional questions, combined with the relatively narrow support for the immigration proposals, leaves the government with little political momentum from the vote. “They didn’t get anything out of this. They looked bad. I mean, the whole event was an embarrassment for the province right across the country, if not the Western world,” Brownsey said. Brownsey also questions whether the referendum was partly intended to strengthen Smith’s position within the UCP, which has faced divisions over Alberta’s relationship with Canada and the push for separation. He suggests the exercise may have been an attempt to shore up support among more separatist members of the party ahead of its annual general meeting later this month. Shepherd similarly argues the government was responding to pressure from within its own political ranks rather than pursuing an agenda driven by Albertans. The UCP did not directly address those criticisms in its statement. A costly undertaking Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure requested a supplemental budget of $59.55 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which was approved by the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices on Thursday. Of that amount, nearly $49.6 million is intended to cover referendum operations, another $9 million will go toward preparations for the October 2027 provincial election, and approximately $994,000 will fund additional organizational capacity at Elections Alberta. The scale of the referendum presented an unprecedented challenge for Elections Alberta, with voters able to cast ballots on 10 separate questions. More than 22 million ballots were counted by hand at hundreds of locations across the province — surpassing the total number cast across Canada during the 2025 federal election, according to Elections Alberta. Staffing represented one of the largest expenses, with approximately $26 million required to compensate the people responsible for counting the ballots. Another $7 million went toward renting voting and counting locations, while nearly $11 million was spent on security, information technology, equipment, shipping and postage for special ballots. In a statement, McClure thanked Elections Alberta employees and the more than 47,000 Albertans who helped administer the vote. “We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the team at Elections Alberta and the more than 47,000 Albertans who stepped forward to support this referendum. This was an event of unprecedented scale and scope,” McClure said. “Our budget presentation captures the dollars and cents aspects of conducting this event but does not account for the human capital cost that also went into conducting this referendum.” The workload also took a toll on staff, with some employees working 16-to-20-hour days during the counting process. One worker developed appendicitis and delayed treatment to continue working. Elections Alberta officials have also raised concerns about maintaining staffing levels after a demanding stretch of electoral events, including recall petitions, citizen initiatives and the referendum. Focus shifts to 2027 election With the referendum complete, Elections Alberta says its attention is now turning to the next provincial election, scheduled for Oct. 18, 2027. The agency says it will be able to deliver the election on time, despite concerns about the government’s plans to introduce new electoral boundaries before the end of the year. McClure had previously raised concerns that Elections Alberta needed more time to adjust to the new ridings, warning that rushing the process could increase costs. Officials told the legislative committee that some processes would need to be expedited, while temporary staff would help update voter information and prepare for the election. Elections Alberta is also planning a full referendum debrief, updating the voter registry and preparing its official referendum report. Sims says Albertans should not become discouraged by the political divisions surrounding the referendum, encouraging people to remain engaged in the democratic process. “We should be doing the opposite in Alberta,” Sims said. “The fact that we just had a huge referendum like this with all those questions means that we the people have a say, and we do have power.”
