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Hi, it’s Dozie!
Welcome to today’s From the Editor.
In today’s newsletter: I explore the coming Alberta referendum through the eyes of a new Canadian citizen with the help of Andrew Pohlod, born and raised Albertan and the Chief Operating Officer of Brix Real Estate Group.
Also in the news: Prime Minister Carney tells newcomers to leave ‘wars and animosities’ behind; Elections Alberta needs 60,000 workers for Oct. 19 referendum.
See past issues here.
Alberta’s 2026 referendum explained
This is my first provincial referendum, five years after I moved to Canada. And I’ll be one of likely tens of thousands of new Canadian citizens in Alberta filling out the same ballot on October 19, 2026.
I’m told the ballot will arrive in ten separate pieces, one per question. The first five questions are about whether people who hold work permits, study permits, or refugee claims should keep the access to schools and health care they have now. The next four are about whether Canada itself should be redrawn so an Alberta provincial cabinet can pick its own judges, override federal law, and keep the money attached to federal programs it isn’t interested in running. And the last one is on whether Alberta should begin the legal process to leave Canada.
The immigration questions ask me to vote on people who arrived in Canada the same way I did, just under different rules. The constitutional and separation questions ask me to help rewrite the rules of the country whose passport I am still getting used to carrying, or to leave it.
The temptation with most referendum coverage is to turn it into a list; question one says this, question two says that, vote yes or no here, or here’s what the parties say. It’s probably okay for folks who grew up with conversations about Section 96 of the Constitution Act or the 7/50 amending formula at Thanksgiving dinner tables. But not for immigrants who are just getting used to being a Canadian citizen.
So the goal here when I was working on this piece with Andrew was two things:
For the immigration questions, this piece walks through what each one asks and what a yes vote would change.
For the constitutional and separation questions, it walks through what the legal change would be and whether it can actually happen.
If you are newly-minted Canadian citizen like me, we aren’t telling you how to vote. However, our hope is that after reading this piece, you’ll be able to approach the ballot on your own terms. I should also say, as the editor of The Newcomers, that this is not an exactly neutral piece. I have views about the referendum, and they show up in what follows.
Read the full explainer ⬇️
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From our newsroom
Prime Minister Carney tells newcomers to leave ‘wars and animosities’ behind. The Prime Minister used a speech at Toronto's oldest Reform synagogue to define what Canadian pluralism demands of newcomers, and to announce the federal advisory council's first task: a targeted response to antisemitism. — Full article here
Elections Alberta needs 60,000 workers for Oct. 19 referendum. Alberta's election agency launched its largest-ever recruitment drive on June 8, seeking at least 60,000 temporary workers to hand count up to 45 million ballots across 10 separate referendum questions, five of which deal with immigration. — Full article here
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Want to work with us? Check out The Newcomers Media Kit.
Want more immigrant interviews? Listen to The Newcomers Podcast.
Looking to find out what Canadian immigration program you’re eligible for? Check out our Who’s Eligible For series.
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