We’re less than two weeks out from the Oct. 19 separation vote that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was determined to put us all through come hell or high water and the election gong show continues unabated.
With the hardest part yet to come, we all have to know its only likely to get worse from here on in – and it won’t end on election day, either, or even when the ballots are counted.
The word just in from Elections Alberta is that at least 3,000 ballots can’t be counted as received because – as the provincial election administration office explained it yesterday – voters failed to properly identify themselves in the mail-in voting process.
So if you think you ballot may not have been counted, folks, just remember that it’s probably your fault, nothing to do with the complicated and confusing process or the inaccurate instructions sent out in some cases by Elections Alberta.
Well, I don’t suppose we could have expected Elections Alberta – which is understaffed, underfunded and recently plagued by departures of veteran staffers – to take the rap for this problem. And the United Conservative Party certainly isn’t going to.
That may explain why Elections Alberta appears not to have put out a news release about this particular development, although it did mention in a release published last Thursday that, as of then, “over 5,700 applications were rejected due to a variety of reasons, including elector ineligibility, duplicate requests, and invalid addressing or other information.”
The 3,000 voters reported on yesterday have been contacted by Elections Alberta, media said, and “if they provide the required information, by email, we can process their special ballot, a spokesperson told The Globe and Mail.
But this is hardly going to help the agency, as the Globe politely put it, “assuage concerns about election integrity in the home stretch of the referendum campaign.” Both sides of the separation question have encouraged supporters to vote from home.
For those of you unable to peek behind The Globe’s paywall, here’s a link to a brief from The Canadian Press.
In addition to the highly divisive separation referendum – composed by the Smith Government to get around court rulings that said the question sought by a separatist group’s “citizen initiative” campaign was unconstitutional – there are nine wordy and confusing questions also drafted by the government designed to push contentious immigration and constitutional agenda demanded by the party’s influential separatist and MAGA wings.
As such, it will be one of the largest and most complicated electoral events in Canadian history, with as many as 45 million ballots for the 10 referenda, which are supposedly to be counted manually within 48 hours.
At this point, the purpose of this exercise – which is expected to cost Alberta taxpayers at least $130 million – appears to be to keep Premier Smith from being given the bum’s rush by her United Conservative Party’s large and likely now dominant separatist faction.
Premier ‘not affiliated’ with persons named in Globe report
Meanwhile, Premier Smith continues to insist through her spokesperson she knows nothing about the meetings between leaders of the so-called Alberta Prosperity Project and U.S. State Department officials on three occasions in Washington in 2025.
Ms. Smith “is not affiliated with these individuals’ activities and has no knowledge of these alleged meetings,” Press Secretary Sam Blackett told The Canadian Press on Monday.
An investigative report in last Saturday’s Globe and Mail said the three men – Bonnyville gun-store owner Mitch Sylvestre, lawyer Jeffrey Rath, and surgeon Dennis Modry – offered the American officials “access to fresh water and royalties on crude oil, in exchange for help transitioning to independence.” The Globe named Dr. Modry as the source of that information, which both Mr. Sylvestre and Mr. Rath deny.
Mr. Sylvestre, who is also president of the UCP constituency association for the Bonnyville-Cold Lake UCP riding, said he only attended one of the meetings.
PIA demands immediate investigation of Globe allegations
Also Monday, Pubic Interest Alberta’s Together No! campaign demanded that Premier Danielle Smith order Elections Alberta to begin an immediate investigation of allegations the same Globe and Mail report that Republican campaign operatives from the United States interfered in the separation referendum campaign.
“The premier of Alberta bears a responsibility to the Crown, and we believe she is obligated to request an investigation,” PIA Executive Director Bradley Lafortune said in a news release sent to media Monday.
“Albertans with clear and proven ties to the United Conservative Party appear to have been colluding with American operatives,” Mr. Lafortune said. “The issue is not Danielle Smith’s personal ‘affiliation’ with these individuals – the issue is whether she takes the reported allegations seriously enough and whether she will act on behalf of Alberta to get to the bottom of this.”
Readers shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for a response to PIA’s call.
NDP goes to court over voters list denial
Finally, the Opposition NDP went to court yesterday seeking an injunction to prevent the UCP Government from blocking political parties from accessing information needed to scrutineer the referendum vote.
A cabinet order on Sept. 17 temporarily removed the ability of scrutineers to access provincial voters lists, supposedly to ensure the security of voters’ personal information. “The UCP’s actions weaken election oversight and undermine confidence in the integrity in our democratic institutions,” NDP House Leader Christina Gray said in a news release.
“Once again, Danielle Smith and the UCP are changing the rules at the last minute for their own political advantage,” Ms. Gray said. “Smith changed the law three times to help separatists, and she’s gerrymandering electoral boundaries. Now, her government is making it harder to properly scrutineer the vote and reach pro-Canada voters.”
The court reserved judgment.
UCP walks back married couples’ AISH and ADAP cuts
In an unrelated matter yesterday, the UCP walked back a cruel policy that had significantly reduced benefits to married couples in which both partners received Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped or Alberta Disability Assistance Program benefits.
The restoration of benefits – which cost disabled couples on AISH as much as $464 a month and those on ADAP as much as $416 a month – was made “in response to feedback from clients, families and community partners,” a government news release said.
This is no doubt true and one imagines the backlash for loved ones and supporters of people often not able to advocate for themselves was fierce.
The news release was misleadingly headlined, “Stronger supports for Albertans with disabilities.” A sub-head admitted, “Alberta’s government is restoring benefits for eligible couples.”
“Affected clients will also receive retroactive payments fully reimbursing the difference back to the August 2026 period of assistance, when the adjusted rate was first applied,” the news release said. “This change will help provide greater financial stability for these couples and families. No action is required, and clients will receive their retroactive payment before the end of the year.”
If both married partners were on AISH, their monthly income will return to $1,940 each from the reduced $1,708 each imposed by the government in August. If they were on ADAP, their payments would return to $1,740 from $1,532.
The date of the promised repayment is not known.
Other problems created by the UCP with its transition from AISH to ADAP will presumably continue.