EDMONTON — Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition of Alberta, Rakhi Pancholi, called Danielle Smith's referendum on immigration a distraction and "absolute bulls---" intended to distract Albertans from the issues that matter. "So after watching the Premier's address last night, Alberta's NDP have this to say, 'Cut the bulls--- and call the election,'" said Pancholi in a press conference on Firday. "Daniel Smith and the UCP did not campaign on nine new referendum questions. They don't have a mandate from Albertans for this, not on separatism, not in pulling out of the CPP, not on breaching the Charter rights of 1,000s of Albertans, not on coal mining in the eastern slopes and not on two tier health care."Her comments come after Smith announced, on Thursday, that Albertans will be voting in a referendum on issues, such as Alberta fighting for greater control over immigration on Oct. 19. Smith blamed a mass flow of immigrants moving to Alberta and overwhelming the province's population and low oil prices for Alberta's multi-billion-dollar deficit that will be announced in the province's 2026 budget. Pancholi said the move "reeks of desperation" and is intended to distract Albertans from a multi-billion-dollar deficit and Alberta's independence movement. "The Premier is blaming oil prices and immigration for her own poor planning and financial mismanagement, but oil production is actually hitting a record level, and resource revenue from the last five years is the highest it has been in decades," Pancholi said. "Only the UCP could blow a resource boom.".In 2024, the Government of Alberta unveiled the "Alberta is calling" campaign to attract more workers to the province. Smith also wrote a letter to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking him to grant more immigrants to Alberta under the Provincial Nomination Program. She has since changed her tune on immigration. At the UCP AGM in November, Smith told the Western Standard that she would like to see Canada’s immigration “go back to a more normal level of immigration, which is about 1% or less of the total population.”"She did all this without a single thought or plan for how to create the jobs, build the houses, the schools and hospitals that we already needed in this province, but now she wants to go to the polls for nine new referendum questions, none of which are a top priority for Albertans," Pancholi said. "Again, what a load of absolute bulls---." .Pancholi claims that Albertans care more about Alberta's overcrowded healthcare and classrooms, cost of living, and the fear of having to pay to see a family doctor. Smith has claimed that the referendum questions are based on recommendations from the Alberta Next panel, which found that 79% of survey respondents supported the province holding a referendum on the provincial government's pursuit of greater control over immigration. The survey also found that 71% of respondents agreed that immigration numbers were too high in 2024, and need to be lowered to 2014 levels. Pancholi, however, does not believe the survey accurately reflects what Albertans believe. "Anybody who tried to fill out that survey knows how those questions were already fashioned in such a way to get to a predetermined outcome," Pancholi said. "Most of those decisions coming from those town halls at the Alberta next panels were just straw polls with people putting up their hands." .Pancholi argued that the premier has called for a referendum and selected the questions in a manner that is intended to pit Albertans against each other and promote "some very dark and disturbing behaviour." "I think I'm a public figure who has been in this role for about seven years now, and I can tell you that the level of racism and hate that has been expressed, has risen, undoubtedly in this province, and it is aligned with this government and this Premier's attempt to pin all of her failings on newcomers to this province," Pancholi said. On Thursday, Smith said that the decision to call for a referendum was intended to allow democracy to function and for Albertans to have their say on important issues. "Although there are some politicians and commentators that fear direct democracy, such as referendums, I do not," Smith said. "I trust the judgment of Albertans."Pancholi argued that calling a referendum is not a true function of democracy, though. "This premier didn't campaign on any of the things she's putting forward in she's convinced that's what Albertans want," Pancholi said. "She can call the election right now, and we're ready to put it to Albertans."
