Alberta voters deliver a clear ‘remain’ vote — as it happened

As the unofficial results start to come in, CBC is predicting that option one is favoured to win.

The Calgary Journal will be ending it’s live blog now and will be back with coverage when final results are in.

For now you can follow the unofficial results with Elections Alberta at this link. –

– Amy Jaquish

Elections Alberta has released unofficial results of the Alberta referendum.

For question 10 which refers to seperation option one (remain in Canada) is polling ahead with 767,168 votes so far.

A total of 1,001,531 votes for question 10 have been counted so far.

Unofficial numbers have come through as well for questions one through nine.

– Amy Jaquish

According to Global News, Elections Alberta is unable to confirm that all voting stations have closed.

While the last polling station closed at 10:10 p.m. Elections Alberta has yet to hear from all stations that they are done recieving votes.

This will lead to a delay in results.

Voting stations are requried to allow every person in line to vote, even if it is past it’s closing time, which could lead to a delayed closure.

CBC is reporting that Cardston Siksika polling station is still open and receiving votes.

– Amy Jaquish

The last polling station has officially closed.

Laverne community hall was the last official polling station open and it has now closed its doors.

Now that voting has ended, results are expected to come in and can be found here.

– Amy Jaquish

Red Deer- South MLA, Jason Stephan, has announced that he will not be running for re-election in next years provincal election.

He announced the news on social media stating that his name will not be on the ballot.

“The Alberta provincial election will be in exactly one year. By such time, I will have served as MLA for Red Deer South for over 8 years and I will not be seeking re-election,” wrote Stephan.

In September Stephan had amitted to voting in favour of Alberta seperating from Canada.

– Amy Jaquish

As of nine p.m. October 19th the Calgary polls are closed.

Edmonton-Glamenora will be the latest polling station to close as it is expected to shut at 10 p.m.

Results of the Alberta Referendum will be released as polling stations close.

Canadian news organizations aren’t the only ones covering the Alberta Referendum.

Here are some links to international coverage:

• From across the pond, BBC is hosting a live blog which can be viewed here.
• The NY Times covered the story here
• The UK’s Guardian has their own coverage here

Alberta politics are even reaching Qatar, as Al Jazeera shares its coverage of events here.

– Amy Jaquish

While the Calgary Journal will continue posting throughout the night, here are some links for those who would prefer to watch their coverage:

Global:

CBC:

CTV:

– Amy Jaquish

Almost all polling stations are closed in Alberta’s separation referendum, but the voting continues.

Elections Alberta says more than 100 locations are staying open past the scheduled 8 p.m. closing time.

Those stations, for various reasons, opened late this morning.

The agency says it can’t release unofficial results until 10 p.m., when the last polling station is set to close.

About 1.3 million Albertans already cast ballots by mail and at advance polling stations.

They’re voting on whether Alberta should stay in Canada or whether it’s time to hold a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation.

– Canadian Press

This is not the first time Alberta has held a referendum. In fact, Alberta has a longstanding history with referendums and has held eight referendums.

In 2021, Albertans voted on whether to pursue changes to the federal equalization program as well as whether to adopt permanent daylight saving time. The majority of Albertans supported pursuing changes to equalization and continuing to change their clocks twice a year.

Despite the government of Alberta claiming this was a binding referendum, the Alberta government passed legislation in 2026 that will implement permanent daylight saving time.

 “Governments interpret the results that they want. We had a referendum saying we were not going to go to permanent daylight savings time, and now we’re doing it anyway,” said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University.

While referendum questions can arrive on the ballot through a citizen’s initiative, the ten questions on this referendum were written by the government, he said. 

The government decided which questions made it on the ballot and which ones would not.

Bratt questions why there aren’t questions on topics such as education, bike lanes, healthcare or data centres.

Additionally, Bratt explained that a petition for a referendum on secession had 700,000 signatures across the province. “What she’s doing is collapsing two different referendums, one that was to stay in Canada, [one] was to leave Canada, neither one of those questions are on the ballot” Bratt says. 

This referendum is a government driven process in which the government will in turn interpret the results.

Similar to the referendum on daylight saving time, Bratt explains “there is no such thing as a binding referendum in a parliamentary system.”

The same applies for the upcoming referendum this month.

When asked what would happen next for the province of Alberta should Option 2 be voted in favour, Bratt said “it would just create greater uncertainty in the province of Alberta.”

– Ruby Graham

Hello, my name is Amy Jaquish and I will be taking over the final referendum coverage for the evening.

If you haven’t voted yet today their is still time as some locations have extended their hours

According to Elections Alberta some polling stations will stay open until 8:15 with some going till 8:30.

Follow this link to find your closest voting location and it’s closing time.

Remeber that as long you’re in line you’re able to vote even after closing.

– Amy Jaquish

In the last hour, Elections Alberta workers have started counted advanced voting and special voting ballots.

According to Elections Alberta, over 1.3 million ballots were cast in advance.

Elections Alberta says they will first count the ballots for the separation question. Results are expected by tomorrow.

– Stephen Xu

Voters in Siksika Nation have been informed that the polling station at Deerfoot Sportsplex has run out of ballots. Voters are being asked to wait for more ballots, as the voting location has had their hours extended to 9 p.m.

All voters who have arrived at their designated locations are being asked to stay in line, as they will be allowed to vote. Elections Alberta has confirmed more ballots will be delivered shortly.

For more information:
https://siksikanation.com/deerfoot-sportsplex-alberta-referendum-voting-location-time-extended/

— Stephen Xu and Adeline Gladu

Alberta’s referendum may look familiar to anyone who remembers Scotland’s 2014 independence vote, but the two referendums are asking voters to make very different decisions.

Unlike Scottish voters in 2014, Albertans are not being asked to decide whether their province should immediately become an independent country. Instead, a Yes vote would give the Alberta government a mandate to begin negotiations, leaving the question of what comes next still very much unanswered.

Esme Jardine is a Scottish dentist who ultimately voted against independence, saying,
“I was never against Scotland having more powers or making more of its own decisions, but I wasn’t convinced that independence was worth the uncertainty that came with it. So, yeah, looking back, I would still vote No.”

– Mackenzie Headen

Voters in Louis Bull Tribe are being asked to wait to cast their ballots after their local polling station ran out of ballots.

– Stephen Xu

Some voting locations in Alberta have had their hours extended due to late openings this morning. These extended hours will also impact when the results are announced.

Voters who have arrived at their polling stations on time should stay in line, as they will be allowed to vote.

For a list of all locations open late:
https://www.elections.ab.ca/resources/media/news-releases/2026-10-19-3/

— Stephen Xu