Alberta premier unclear when asked to define threshold for questions 1 to 9 on referendum ballot
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is facing criticism for failing to define what constitutes a 'strong mandate' for nine upcoming referendum questions. While she supports a 50 percent plus one threshold for a separatism question, she remains vague on the requirements for other policy proposals.
Why it matters
The lack of clear criteria for voter approval raises concerns about democratic transparency and how the provincial government will interpret public feedback on significant policy changes.
On Oct. 19, Albertans can vote on five questions about immigration and four questions relating to Canada’s Constitution , along with a question added by the provincial government about separatism: whether to stay in Canada or hold a second binding referendum on separating from the country.
While Smith has said she considers 50 per cent plus one a threshold for the question about separatism , she demurred when asked by CBC News at an unrelated news conference on Thursday what she considers a strong mandate or a threshold for the other nine questions.
“I’m going to look at what the results are," she said. "We are very pleased that there’s a lot of interest in participating in this vote.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in