Calgary 
Elections Alberta has released the results of the referendums held on Oct. 18th.
The results of the Senate elections were also released. More than 1,118,000 Albertans cast their ballot for Senate nominees, with Pam Davidson (382,243), Erika Barootes (358,002) and Mykhailo Martyniouk (237,228) earning the most votes.
Equalization
61.7 per cent of Albertans voted to remove the principle of equalization from Canada’s Constitution.
1,092,639 Albertans voted on the question, “Should section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 – Parliament and the government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments – be removed from the constitution?”
642,501 Albertans voted yes, while 399,169 voted no.
50,969 ballots were rejected and 49,336 were left blank.
Votes in 6 Major Cities
| Municipality | Number of Electors Who Voted | Yes | No | Rejected Ballots (incl. blanks) | Blank Ballots (Declined |
| Calgary | 392,780 | 218,856 | 157,244 | 16,680 | 16,463 |
| Edmonton | 235,852 | 108,059 | 116,632 | 11,161 | 10,997 |
| Medicine Hat | 19,998 | 12,846 | 5,667 | 1,485 | 1,478 |
| Lethbridge | 28,293 | 15,608 | 10,761 | 1,924 | 1,892 |
| Red Deer | 21,750 | 13,980 | 6,393 | 1,377 | 1,370 |
| Grande Prairie | 9,801 | 6,382 | 2,804 | 615 | 434 |
Premier Jason Kenney said in a statement, “A clear majority of Albertans have sent a powerful, democratic message: They want a fair deal in the federation. These results have given Alberta’s government a powerful mandate to secure changes to equalization and other federal transfers that have treated Albertans unfairly for so long. Our message is clear: Ottawa must respect Alberta and the huge role we play in Canada’s economic prosperity.”
Kenney will table a motion in the Alberta legislature on Oct. 26 asking MLAs to ratify the referendum results.
This result does not have any legal consequence as the Canadian Constitution amendment requires agreement from seven provinces representing 50 per cent of the population of Canada.
Daylight saving time
Albertans decided to keep the status quo on the question of daylight savings time by a small margin.
49.8 per cent of Albertans voted ‘Yes’ to the question of “Do you want Alberta to adopt year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is summer hours, eliminating the need to change our clocks twice a year?”
50.2 per cent voted to keep changing the clocks.
As a result, the province will not proceed with a time change.
Minister of Service Nate Glubish said, “Albertans have very strong opinions about daylight saving time and the results of the referendum show that, right now, Albertans prefer to continue changing their clocks. There is no right or wrong answer on DST. We respect the decision made and will continue to focus on the pandemic and on Alberta’s economic recovery.”
Remember to “Fall Behind” by one hour on November 7th as the next time change takes place on that date.
