Here are the official USW positions on each ballot question:
SEPARATION QUESTION
CHOOSE STABILITY. CHOOSE SOLUTIONS.
Separation sits at the centre of the Oct. 19 referendum, creating uncertainty that puts investment, employment and Alberta’s economy at risk.
Instead of divisive debates, the Alberta government should be focusing on priorities that build a stronger economy where working families – not just the wealthy and well connected – share in Alberta’s prosperity:
- Reducing pressure on household budgets by introducing public auto insurance and regulated utility rates.
- Creating more full-time, family-supporting union jobs.
- Delivering timely, accessible public health care.
- Investing in a well-resourced public education system that allows every child to contribute to Alberta’s future economy.
Families deserve certainty, stability and governments focused on the issues that matter most. Separation creates years of uncertainty for workers, businesses and Alberta’s economy while distracting from the real challenges facing Albertans.
USW members know that unity delivers results. Standing together has helped workers win better wages, safer workplaces and stronger protections. The same principle is what makes Canada stronger: people working together.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote to REMAIN.
Vote Option 1.
IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS
ALBERTANS WANT SOLUTIONS, NOT SCAPEGOATS.
Alberta’s prosperity was built by generations of newcomers – from Ukrainian farmers and Eastern European and Italian miners to Chinese railway and sugar-beet workers – whose labour helped shape the province’s economy and communities. Today, new Canadians continue to strengthen our economy, pay taxes and help fund the health care, education and public services we all rely on.
This question invites government to blame others for the economic pressures facing working families. But denying services, charging new fees or restricting access won’t lower costs, create more family-supporting union jobs or strengthen the public services families depend on.
Government should protect every worker from exploitation and ensure employers cannot use immigration status to weaken working conditions, drive down wages and strain household budgets. Alberta is strongest when working people stand together and focus on the issues that matter most.
For generations, newcomers have helped build Alberta’s farms, railways, mines, energy sector and communities, and continue to strengthen the province’s economy. Alberta should continue to have a meaningful voice in immigration planning, but workers should not be divided by where they were born. Government should focus on enforcing employment standards, investing in skills training and creating more family-supporting union jobs. The real challenge isn’t newcomers. It’s ensuring the economy works for working families.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
Strong public services make Alberta stronger. People who are living and working in Alberta should be able to access essential healthcare, education and other public services. This gives everyone the opportunity to contribute to Alberta’s economy while supporting healthy communities and productive workplaces. Rather than creating new categories of eligibility, government should focus on strengthening the public services that working families rely on.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
Restricting assistance during the period when people are most vulnerable can make it harder to secure housing, find stable employment and become financially independent, increasing the need for more costly supports later. Stable families and secure workers strengthen Alberta’s economy. Government should focus on helping people participate in the workforce rather than creating barriers that increase hardship and instability. No one should be forced to wait a year before accessing basic supports.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
Public healthcare and education are investments in Alberta’s economic future, not services that should depend on where you were born. Charging new fees creates barriers that lead families to delayed medical care, limit educational opportunities and reduce workforce participation. Those barriers often result in higher long-term costs for the healthcare system, employers and taxpayers. Government should strengthen public services by improving access, investing in capacity and addressing staffing shortages, not shifting costs onto families.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
Only Canadian citizens are already eligible to vote in Alberta. Voters must already prove their identity and address, and citizenship is verified through Alberta’s voter registration process. This proposal would add another documentation requirement for eligible voters rather than addressing a demonstrated gap in election integrity. Government should make it easier for eligible Albertans to participate in democracy while staying focused on lowering costs, creating family-supporting union jobs and strengthening public services.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS
CONSTITUTIONAL UNCERTAINTY WON’T SOLVE TODAY’S CHALLENGES.
Many legal and constitutional experts agree: the proposals in these questions cannot be achieved by Alberta alone.
These initiatives would require lengthy negotiations with other provinces and the federal government, creating years of uncertainty with no guarantee of success.
Workers need stability – not political uncertainty that risks distracting from the issues that affect their daily lives. Government should be focused on lowering costs, expanding family-supporting union jobs, delivering timely, accessible public health care and ensuring every child has access to a well-resourced public education. Those are the priorities that strengthen Alberta and provide lasting economic security for working families.
The current process already includes Alberta-based input through an independent advisory committee representing the provincial government, judiciary, legal community and public. Reopening the Constitution would create more uncertainty without reducing court delays or improving access to justice.
This question provides no details about the process, safeguards or limits that would apply under a provincial system. Experts identify independence, impartiality, transparency and accountability as essential to a credible judicial appointments system.
Government should focus on making the justice system work better, not creating another constitutional dispute over political control.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
The Senate is unelected and Canadians can reasonably support major democratic reform. But this question offers no credible plan for what would replace it, how regions would be represented or how legislation would be reviewed.
Experts have repeatedly shown that major constitutional changes require broad agreement and raise difficult questions about how Canada’s institutions would operate afterward. Pursuing abolition without a complete and achievable plan would mean prolonged negotiations, political conflict and greater uncertainty.
Albertans deserve meaningful democratic reform, not a symbolic constitutional battle that will not lower costs, create family-supporting union jobs or strengthen public services.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
Federal funding has played a vital role in building shared programs and standards in health care, childcare and other social services. Policy experts warned that changing federal spending arrangements can increase federal-provincial resistance and conflict. An unconditional right to take federal funding while rejecting the associated program requirements would create even more uncertainty over funding, accountability and national standards.
It could also make access to essential services depend more heavily on where someone lives and make it harder to ensure that public money is actually used to deliver strong public services.
Albertans need timely, accessible and publicly provided health care, well-resourced education and stronger social services – not another jurisdictional fight over who controls the funding.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
Under the existing system, federal law takes priority only where valid federal and provincial laws genuinely conflict. Courts generally try to allow both laws to operate and determine when a conflict actually exists.
This would give provincial governments a sweeping new power to override federal laws in areas of overlapping responsibility, upsetting the balance between the two levels of government.
Reversing them would not eliminate federal-provincial disputes. It would likely create a patchwork of different rules, uncertainty about which laws apply and years of costly court challenges.
Workers and businesses benefit from clear and predictable laws. Shared challenges require governments to negotiate and co-operate not a new constitutional mechanism for producing conflict and economic uncertainty.
Stay united. Reject distractions.
Vote NO.
On Oct. 19, we encourage
all Steelworkers in Alberta
to vote to REMAIN in Canada
and NO to the nine.
Ways to vote
Alberta’s provincial referendum will take place on Monday, October 19, 2026.
Elections Alberta advises that the referendum will be conducted similarly to a provincial election. Under Alberta’s Referendum Act, the Election Act and its regulations govern the referendum process.
Albertans will be able to vote via:
- Special Ballot (also referred to as ‘Vote by Mail’)
- Advance voting (in person)
- Election Day
- Special Ballot packages are available to all Alberta electors. You do NOT require a reason to ask for one.
- Requests for ‘Vote by Mail’ ballots can be made by:
- submitting a request via the Elections Alberta Special Ballot online form at: specialballot.elections.ab.ca (applications now open)
- Emailing Elections Alberta at: info@elections.ab.ca
- In-person at the local Returning Office within your local electoral division (starting September 21, 2026)
- All completed Special Ballot packages must be received by Elections Alberta head office by mail before 5:00 p.m. on October 16, 2026.
- Local Returning Offices will NOT accept Special Ballot packages
Important Dates:
- September 1: Special Ballot packages begin being mailed to voters who requested Special Ballot packages
- October 9: Last day to request a Special Ballot
- October 16 at 5:00 p.m.: Deadline for Elections Alberta head office to receive your completed ballot package by mail
- For more information regarding Special Ballots, please see:
- Five days of in-person Advance Voting will be available:
- Tuesday, October 13
- Wednesday, October 14
- Thursday, October 15
- Friday, October 16
- Saturday, October 17
- Voters may vote at any Advance Voting location within their electoral division/district.
- As of August 19, Elections Alberta has not yet released Advance Voting locations.
- Information on where to vote in advance will be available via:
- ‘Where to Vote’ cards mailed by Elections Alberta to voters
- Elections Alberta’s online Where to Vote service at: https://www.elections.ab.ca/where-to-vote-tool
- For more information regarding Advance Voting, please visit the Elections Alberta website: https://www.elections.ab.ca/
- Referendum Day is Monday, October 19, 2026, with voting locations open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Unlike Advance Voting, on Referendum Day, voters must vote at the specific voting location assigned to their home address.
- Voters can find their assigned voting location:
- ‘Where to Vote’ cards mailed by Elections Alberta to voters
- Elections Alberta’s online Where to Vote service at: https://www.elections.ab.ca/where-to-vote-tool
Under section 132 of Alberta’s Election Act, employees who are eligible to vote must have three consecutive non-work hours during voting hours on one of the Advance Voting days or on Referendum Day.
- If an employee’s work schedule already provides three consecutive hours to vote, the employer does not have to provide additional time off.
- If it does not, the employer must provide enough paid time off to create a three-hour voting window. The employer may determine when the additional time is provided.
- An employer cannot deduct pay or penalize an employee for the additional time off required to vote.
- To vote in the referendum, you must be:
- a Canadian citizen
- 18 years of age or older
- ordinarily reside in Alberta
- Voters will be required to provide accepted identification showing their name and current address when voting.
- More information on voting requirements can be found at: https://www.elections.ab.ca/voters/id-required-to-vote/
Looking for more information?
Check out these other groups and campaigns working to keep Alberta in Canada.
Vote No. Vote Remain.
https://www.albertareferendum2026.org/
For Alberta, For Canada
https://foralbertaforcanada.ca/
Vote to Stay
https://votetostay.ca/
Forever Canadian
https://www.forever-canadian.ca/en
UnitedFor
https://unitedfor.ca/
Lead Not Leave
https://www.leadnotleave.ca/
Alberta’s Voice
https://albertasvoice.ca/
Alberta Federation of Labour’s Fight Back NOW campaign
Alberta is fighting back. Find your rally for the next provine-wide day of protest on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026.
Fight Back Now! is a campaign by the AFL – Alberta’s largest worker advocacy organization, representing unionized Albertans working in every sector and every community. We organized this campaign because the current government is taking all of us down a very dangerous path.
Sign up for Labour Votes
USW, together with Unifor and CUPE Alberta, has launched joint Labour Votes schools to engage, educate and mobilize our members against Premier Danielle Smith’s dangerous referendum. These schools will prepare activists to have meaningful member-to-member conversations and participate in door-knocking and outreach activities focused on defending workers’ rights and protecting our future.
- Sept. 15-17 – Edmonton
- Oct. 5-6 – Virtual
- Oct. 14-16 – Calgary
Interested in attending? Talk to your local president and then RSVP.
Social shareables and resources
Coming soon!