Upcoming referendum an opportunity for Albertans to share their views: MLA Hunter

Posted on April 16, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Trevor Busch
Commentator/Courier
editor@tabertimes.com

Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter is supportive of Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to ask Albertans a series of referendum questions on immigration and constitutional reform on Oct. 19, citing the need for voters to issue a clear message to government on their viewpoint.

Smith announced the referendum in a televised address in late February prior to the tabling of the provincial budget. The questions target measures to limit immigration to Alberta, and changes Smith and the UCP believe would give the province more leverage under the Constitution. 

“I think that they are important. It’s important to be able to get direction from Albertans, and she has been very clear that she trusts Albertans and as we try to figure out what they want to do moving forward, as things have shifted a bit, it’s important to have that direct line of sight from Albertans and to get their opinion on things,” said Hunter, who also serves as Minister of Environment and Protected Areas. “I love referendums, I think that they’re great. I think that it’s important to know what the will of Albertans is, and referendums – referendum questions – have the ability to do that. So October 19, Albertans will be able to weigh in on the vast majority of those questions. They are mostly about immigration, how to be able to address immigration issues, but there was also some constitutional issues in there, like whether or not we should continue supporting a Senate, whether we should continue to have the equalization formula the way it is.”

According to Smith, the questions are based on information and feedback collected during the recent Alberta Next Panel discussions, consulting with Albertans through town halls and written submissions. 

While the province can certainly hold a referendum on immigration and constitutional questions, critics have pointed out that no matter what the outcome, the federal government will be under no obligation to implement any of the recommendations that might be approved by Alberta voters.  

“No, it isn’t. Which is what we saw when we had the referendum question under Premier Kenney about equalization, whether we should change that formula, and the Trudeau government at the time just ignored us,” said Hunter. “So that is obviously concerning, but I would say that we still need to know when it comes to issues like immigration how we should address those things, what the will of Albertans is, and the best way to be able to know that is through a referendum.”

Some of the ideas – no matter what the outcome in Alberta’s referendum – would require the agreement of seven of 10 provinces and at least 50 per cent of Canada’s total population. Abolishing or significantly reforming the Senate, for instance, requires the consent of every province in Confederation. 

With the Oct. 19 provincial referendum’s outcome non-binding on the federal government, Hunter believes it will still send a strong message to Ottawa about the kinds of reforms Albertans want to see.

“I think so. And to tell you the truth, this new Liberal government, under Carney, seems to be more interested. We’ve removed seven of the nine bad laws through the MOU, and we would never have seen that under the extremely radicalized Trudeau Liberal government. So there seems to be a little more common sense. This whole MOU that we’ve got is just a recognition of Alberta’s contributions within Confederation.”