Commentary, Opinion

Basking in the glow of unity

October 26, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brock Weir

It must be a feeling parents know all too well, but, not having any children myself, I must say it was a strange feeling, almost anticipating your kid coming home late at night – perhaps an hour or two after the agreed upon curfew.

While I can’t be sure, such seemed to certainly be the feeling on Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday morning to see if our cousins in Alberta were ready to come home to bed or start laying the groundwork for setting out for a life on their own.

As they went to the polls, I think those of us in the rest of Canada can be forgiven tapping their feet, strumming their fingers, or wearing holes in their carpet, pacing back and forth, waiting for the numbers to roll in.

The ballots had not all been counted by the time of this writing on Tuesday, but it’s clear the majority of Albertans resoundingly rejected the idea of beginning the “legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding Provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.”

This option, the second attached to the now infamous Question #10 on Monday’s ballot, saw the support of 461,419 ballots (as of this writing), out of a total of 1.88 million ballots cast. The flipside of the coin, of course, is that the first option attached to the question, “Alberta should remain a province in Canada,” won the day with at least 1,419,045 of the ballots cast.

It was a decisive victory for those in favour of a united Canada, but it’s unlikely that the conversation is over given the rest of the results.

Alberta voters came down in favour, but nearly evenly split, on the following questions:

1. Do you support the Government of Alberta taking increased control over immigration for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities?
2. Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status will be eligible for provincially funded programs, such as health care, education, and other social services?
3. Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for social support programs as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring all individuals with a non-permanent legal immigration status to reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for any provincially-funded social support programs?
4. Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for public health care and education as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with non-permanent immigration status living in Alberta for their and their family’s use of the health care and education systems?
5. Do you support the Government of Alberta working with other governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian constitution to have provincial governments, and not the federal government, select the justices appointed to the provincial King’s Bench and Appeals courts?
6. Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian constitution to abolish the unelected federal Senate?
7. Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to better protect provincial rights from federal interference by giving the province’s laws dealing with provincial or shared jurisdiction priority over federal laws when the province’s laws and federal laws conflict?

The one remaining question failed to pass the smell test with Alberta voters: “Do you support the Government of Alberta working with governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to allow provinces to opt out of federal programs that intrude on provincial jurisdiction such as health care, education, and social services, without a province losing any of the associated federal funding for use in its social programs?”

So, although Canada can bask in the glow of staying a united country at the moment, the numbers are clear that Albertans want a greater conversation. This conversation, alas, includes reopening the Constitution, a process which rarely goes well, so Prime Minister Mark Carney, Premier Danielle Smith, and other stakeholders will certainly have their work cut out for them in the months and years ahead.

But, at least for the moment, let’s bask in the glow.

“I’m very pleased to see the initial results from Elections Alberta show widespread support for remaining in Canada,” said Smith in the immediate aftermath of the vote. “Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada. Thank you to all Albertans who took time to vote on these critically important referendum questions.”

Similar chords were also struck by Carney in a statement released Tuesday morning.

“On October 19, Albertans made a clear choice. They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other. Above all, Albertans chose Canada,” he said. “While votes on all questions continue to be tallied, tonight’s results on the defining question of separation mean that Albertans and all Canadians will move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition.

“We are building that future, bigger and faster than ever before. Canada is securing new trade partners around the world, fast-tracking major, nation-building projects in every part of the country, and unleashing our full potential as a global energy superpower with Alberta at its core. Canada is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Now it is our opportunity to take all that we have been given as Canadians – and we have been given the greatest country in the world – and make our country better for all of us.”

In another remarkable show of unity, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre looked up from a similar page: “Albertans have decisively voted for a stronger Alberta within a united Canada. The promise of Canada is worth fighting for. Now, our focus must be on results in people’s lives: affordable food and homes, safe streets, strong borders, and less immigration.”

Alberta’s focus in recent weeks and months has been squarely on this vote, while here in Ontario, the focus has been primarily on our municipal elections.

Despite a prevailing theme from several candidates being those of unity and cohesion, it is hard to ignore the sheer amount of negativity that has been levelled against so many of our candidates, regardless of the office they seek, either amongst themselves, from residents at large, or even armchair politicos from other communities seemingly content to only stir whatever pot that happens to be in front of them.

Politics these days, if it ever was, is certainly not for the faint of heart, and everyone who is on the ballot should be commended for putting themselves forward to foster the change they want to see in the community.

However the chips fall on Oct. 26, be proud of the work you’ve done and, if you’re among the lucky ones to rise to the top on Monday, let’s do our utmost to keep the glow of unity going.

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