Bell: Danielle Smith's Big Beautiful Ballot is next October, immigration is one issue

Be prepared to buckle your seat belts.  

The official decision on what the ballot looks like will come early in the new year, likely in February. 

The official referendum vote by Albertans, known by some as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s Big Beautiful Ballot, will come, the smart money says, in October of 2026. 

And, unless Chicken Little is right and the sky is falling, Albertans will proceed to vote on the Alberta government exercising more control over immigration. 

Almost eight in ten Albertans support the idea, according to professional polling done for the Alberta Next panel headed up by Smith, a group who travelled the province taking the political temperature of Albertans. 

The Alberta Next panel recommends immigration be on the ballot.

“Federal mismanagement of immigration was a topic that generated a great deal of concern from respondents,” reads the report. 

“The Constitution is clear. Provinces have a strong role in immigration. Recent federal policy has not respected this and the government should consider its best options and put that to Albertans in a referendum.” 

A few days ago, Smith spoke out on immigration in this column and both those for and against her strong stand weighed in and let their views be known. 

In this follow-up interview, Smith talked about immigration, other issues and the upcoming vote. 

On the province getting more control over immigration to Alberta, Smith says the Trudeau Liberals letting a flood of people into the country “took everyone by surprise.” 

“Everyone saw the impact.”  

The impact on folks trying to get jobs, on the cost of living.

“People were saying: What the heck is going on here? The federal government really broke the system.” 

“What I heard very loud and clear is people want to go back to a more normal immigration policy. It didn’t matter what the part of the province we were in, that was the overwhelming message.” 

Smith says there is a problem right now, even as the federal Liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney try to cool down immigration numbers. 

“I was very frank with the prime minister in my concerns,” says Smith. 

The premier says Ottawa has still got “the wrong balance on economic migrants.” 

“We know the best pathway for someone to succeed in our economy is they come in as a temporary worker. If they’re a good fit they become a permanent resident and go on to citizenship.” 

The feds, Smith says, want to give priority to “Francophone speakers and doctors.” 

“You scratch your head and say: We actually haven’t had too big a problem attracting doctors. We’ve got more doctors now than ever before.

“Quite frankly, French is not my priority. My priority is trying to offer spaces to some of the 65,000 Ukrainians who came here and fit well into our economy very well and very few of them require any social programs.” 

Smith then points to temporary foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers. 

For the premier, temporary foreign workers shouldn’t be bringing their spouse, their kids, their parents here. 

They also shouldn’t be expecting people here to pay for child care, education and health care. 

The feds should pony up the dough for asylum seekers and Smith is quick to mention those individuals “who don’t even have a legitimate asylum claim.” 

The premier quotes polling numbers and talks about what she heard as the panel toured the province and says: “I think we have the support of Albertans.” 

On another question, the Alberta Pension Plan was the most hotly debated topic and the Alberta Next panel figures it is a “legitimate option” for Albertans to consider. 

But to go to a referendum vote next fall Albertans need to be shown the nuts and bolts of what would happen if Alberta leaves the Canada Pension Plan. 

The benefits, the premiums, the management of the pension fund.

Smith says there may not be enough time to get the question on the ballot. 

“There is a little bit of work to do. I don’t know if that work can be completed in time to put the Alberta Pension Plan on the ballot.” 

Don’t worry, there are expected be other issues for the Big Beautiful Ballot, not only put there by the Smith government but also by citizens. 

The premier says the ballot is important because “nothing is more important than democracy.” 

Of course, one attention-grabbing question is whether there will be a vote of Albertans on leaving Canada, a question that would get on the ballot at the request of Albertans rather than from the Smith government. 

That question, if it appears on the ballot, will take up the lion’s share of the political oxygen. 

rbell@postmedia.com