Uniting across political lines, former Alberta premiers urge ‘no’ vote on immigration questions
Former Alberta premiers from both the Progressive Conservative and NDP parties have joined forces to urge voters to reject upcoming referendum questions regarding immigration. They argue that limiting services for non-permanent residents and changing voting requirements could cause economic harm and damage Alberta's reputation.
Why it matters
The bipartisan opposition highlights significant political tension in Alberta regarding provincial autonomy over immigration and the potential social consequences of the proposed referendum.
Former Progressive Conservative premiers Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford, along with former NDP premier Rachel Notley, made their case in a joint submission to the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal published on Wednesday.
The immigration questions propose that the province take more control over immigration from the federal government, limiting non-permanent residents’ eligibility to public and social services, and ask if voters should be required to show proof of citizenship in order to vote in a provincial election.
The UCP government is campaigning for Albertans to vote “yes” to the five immigration-related questions, saying rapid population growth has put pressure on the health care and education systems.
Everything you need to know about the 10 questions in Alberta's Oct. 19 referendum
On its referendum website , the province says it’s gauging feedback on immigration questions 2-4 “to make our services more sustainable, accessible and affordable.”
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