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EDMONTON — Elections Alberta says a massive hiring effort for the fall referendum on the province’s place in Canada is to get underway early next month.
The agency has said between 60,000 and 90,000 elections officers will be needed to hand count the votes, which provincial law dictates must be done within 48 hours after polling stations close.
Elections Alberta said Friday that hiring is to begin June 8 and that it’s expecting Albertans to help out.
“Elections officers are critical to successfully delivering this important event, and we are counting on Albertans to step forward in service.”
The agency said all positions are paid and most are open to those over 16 who pass a criminal record check.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery’s office said it’s confident Elections Alberta will be able to recruit the necessary number of staff.
“We encourage those interested to apply through Elections Alberta,” it said in a statement.
Premier Danielle Smith announced last week that Albertans will be asked on Oct. 19 whether they want to remain in Canada or hold a second binding vote on the province going its own way.
It will be the first of 10 questions Albertans on the referendum. The other nine, put forward by Smith, cover immigration and constitutional reform.
Elections Alberta said each question will be on its own colour-coded ballot, and it expects to need 34 million ballot sheets.
It said the vote will be like a general election, with options for advanced voting and mail-in ballots.
Like a general election, voting will be limited to Alberta residents who are Canadian citizens and are 18 or older. Students studying outside of Alberta but who plan to return to the province are also eligible.
Smith has said that she and her United Conservative Party government will be campaigning on having Alberta stay in Canada.
The premier has said that despite her position, she believes having a vote is the best way to put the issue to rest once and for all while also giving a voice to those who feel Canada no longer works for them.
Smith said in a radio interview this week that she didn’t think many in the separation movement understood the full costs Alberta would have to bear if it went its own way.
To that end, Jason Nixon, Smith’s newly appointed finance minister, said Friday that the government was preparing a new report that would spell out some of those costs, but he provided few details.
“As government, we need to ensure Albertans have a real, clear understanding of the significant financial implications that would come with this decision and we will be putting together a fiscal report on what those costs would actually look like,” Nixon said in a statement
“We’ll have more to say on that work in the coming weeks.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2026.
Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
