Referendum to be Held on October 18, 2021

August 10, 2021

EDMONTON – Elections Alberta has received the Orders in Council to conduct a Referendum Vote in conjunction with the 2021 Alberta Municipal Elections and the Alberta Senate Election on October 18, 2021.

Both referendum questions allow for a ‘yes’ vote or a ‘no’ vote.  The two questions are:

• Should section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 – Parliament and the government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments – be removed from the constitution?
• Do you want Alberta to adopt year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is summer hours, eliminating the need to change our clocks twice a year?

Conducting the Vote

All local jurisdictions holding elections on October 18, 2021, will facilitate the vote by also issuing the referendum ballot to electors.  In addition to Election Day voting, local jurisdictions may also offer advance voting, institutional voting, and special ballot voting.  At each voting opportunity, the referendum ballot will be provided to electors to vote in this election.

As not all communities hold elections on October 18, 2021, Elections Alberta and Alberta Municipal Affairs are working with First Nation communities, Métis Settlements, Lloydminster, Summer Villages, Improvement Districts, and Special Areas to provide voting opportunities for electors residing in these communities.

Eligibility to Vote

Canadian citizens who reside in Alberta and are at least 18 years of age or older on Election Day are eligible to vote in the referendum.  As the vote is being conducted by local jurisdictions, electors must vote in the municipality or local jurisdiction in which they reside.

Third Party Advertisers

Any individual, corporation or group that spends or plans to spend more than $1,000 in advertising to promote or oppose a referendum question must register with Elections Alberta.  Registration is now open. Visit https://www.elections.ab.ca/political-participants/third-party-advertisers/ for more information.

All registered third party advertisers are required to submit weekly contribution reports to Elections Alberta, commencing Thursday, August 12 and ending on October 21, 2021.  Elections Alberta will publish the reports each Friday on https://efpublic.elections.ab.ca/.

Announcement of Official Results

Following the close of voting on October 18, all local jurisdictions will complete the unofficial count of ballots.  These counts are submitted to Elections Alberta for tabulation.  The official announcement of the provincial referendum results will take place on October 26, 2021.

Result of Vote

The referendum question regarding equalization is a constitutional question asked under the authority of section 1 of the Referendum Act.

The referendum question regarding Daylight Saving Time is a non‑constitutional question asked under section 5.1 of the Referendum Act. The result of the vote on the Daylight Saving Time question is binding.

More Information

For more information about the Referendum, visit www.elections.ab.ca, call toll free at 1.877.422.VOTE (8683), join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections and referenda.  

For media inquiries, please contact:

Pamela Renwick
Director, Operations and Communications
Suite 100, 11510 Kingsway Ave NW
Edmonton, Alberta T5G 2Y5
780-427-7191
Pamela.Renwick@elections.ab.ca

Posted in: Press Releases