Alberta’s elections branch has kicked off what it calls the biggest hiring spree of election workers in the province’s history.
On Oct. 19, Premier Danielle Smith’s government is putting 10 referendum questions to Albertans.
One question on the ballot will ask voters whether they want the province to remain in Canada or begin the legal process to hold a binding separation referendum.
Elections Alberta says it needs at least 60,000 workers, a number that eclipses the 13,000 who worked the last general election.
Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure calls it a “colossal undertaking.”
Elections Alberta says the referendum will require printing 45 million ballots, while only 1.8 million ballots were cast in the last provincial general election in 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2026.