Smith vows caution on immigration after narrow referendum vote, eyes future referendums
Alberta's premier narrowly won voter support for four immigration questions and a citizenship proof requirement. She says legislation will wait until the next election.
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Premier Danielle Smith outlined Wednesday where her government plans to move quickly on the referendum results — and where it will wait — after Albertans voted on October 19 on immigration policy and separation from Canada.
On the four immigration questions, the yes side narrowly edged the no side: 55 per cent to 52 per cent. A fifth question on citizenship proof to vote saw stronger support at 58 per cent. Smith said she will "proceed with caution" on immigration and confirmed that proposed policies would restrict immigrant access to government services or charge extra fees.
When asked about the results, Smith agreed with the characterization of a "grandfather approach" — meaning new rules would not apply to people who arrived under the old ones. She gave no timeframe for immigration legislation to be introduced.
On the citizenship proof question, Smith said a new Alberta requirement would be more "definitive" than current Canadian law, which already requires residents to certify citizenship before voting. Under Smith's plan, voters would need to present a new Alberta driver's license with a citizenship symbol, a passport, or other citizenship proof. She said legislation on this requirement is planned for the next provincial election, whose date she did not specify.
Smith is also appealing a judge's decision that the province failed to consult Indigenous communities on the separation referendum. She disputed the consultation duty, saying "citizen petition campaigns have no duty to consult First Nations." The signature threshold for such campaigns is 177,000. If the consultation duty is upheld on appeal, Smith said, "I may as well just repeal the legislation."
Smith is launching a review of delays in the referendum result count. She said counts should have started at 8 o'clock and remains unclear whether a ban on vote tabulators caused the slowdown.
On a Saturday radio call-in show hosted by Wayne Nelson, Smith also mused about the possibility of more referendum questions on other controversial issues. One caller asked whether she would follow federal plans on "advance directives" for people with degenerative mental illness such as Alzheimer's disease, though details of that question were cut short.
By the numbers
What were the results on the four immigration questions?
The yes side narrowly won with 55 per cent support compared to 52 per cent for the no side.
How much support did the citizenship proof question receive?
The citizenship proof requirement to vote received 58 per cent support from Alberta voters.
When will Alberta introduce legislation on the citizenship proof requirement?
Premier Smith said legislation on the citizenship proof requirement is planned for the next provincial election, though she did not specify when that election will be held.
