Premier Danielle Smith has done something rare in Canadian politics. She is asking Albertans to decide how far their own government should go in taking back control from Ottawa. That alone sets this referendum apart. But the bigger point is that every question on the October 19 ballot reflects basic common sense for Alberta’s future.This isn’t about stoking division for sport. It’s about dealing with a simple math problem that polite Ottawa commentators would rather ignore. Oil has dropped from about $90 USD a barrel when Smith became premier to around $60 USD now. Each one-dollar drop costs roughly $750 million in lost royalties. What used to be an $11.6 USD billion surplus in 2023 has turned into a deficit at today’s prices. On top of that, Justin Trudeau’s “open border” immigration experiment has added almost 600,000 people to Alberta in just five years, pushing the population past five million.Classrooms, emergency rooms, and social programs are overwhelmed because Ottawa chased international students, temporary workers, and asylum seekers instead of mainly economic immigrants with jobs lined up.That is the backdrop for these referendum questions. They aren’t abstract. They go straight to who gets in, who pays, and who decides. Common sense questions..The first four questions focus on immigration and social programs. Smith is asking Albertans if the government should take increased control over immigration to lower it to sustainable levels, prioritize economic migration, and ensure Albertans get first crack at new jobs. This reflects what many workers see every day. Ottawa invites a record number of people, then strangles the industries that actually create work. If you keep the doors wide open while throttling oil and gas, you don’t get a compassionate Canada. You get overwhelmed services and falling living standards.The next three questions deal with access to Alberta’s social programs. Smith wants a mandate to pass a law that limits eligibility for provincially funded healthcare, education, and social services to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and people with Alberta‑approved status. She also asks whether non‑permanent residents should need to live in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for social support programs. Finally, she proposes a “reasonable fee or premium” for healthcare and education use by people with non‑permanent status.Leftist critics will scream “cruelty” and “xenophobia,” but who cares? .They will ignore the numbers. Alberta’s student population has jumped by more than 80,000 in four years, and over 140,000 students now have English as an additional language. Teachers are drowning in crowded and complex classrooms. Hospitals and clinics feel the same pressure. Smith is not closing the door to newcomers. She is saying that if Ottawa wants to use Alberta as a landing pad for its immigration experiments, then there must be clear rules and cost‑sharing. Alberta taxpayers cannot keep footing the bill for Ottawa’s political vanity projects while services buckle under the pressure.Requiring a one‑year residency for non‑permanent residents before they can tap social supports simply protects against “welfare shopping” across borders. Charging a reasonable premium for healthcare and education to those same non‑permanent residents recognizes that these systems are not free. They are paid for by citizens and permanent residents over a lifetime of taxes. Other countries routinely apply waiting periods or premiums for newcomers. Canada does so in many federal programs. The only difference here is that Alberta is saying, we will be fair, but we will no longer be naive.The referendum also includes a straightforward question about proof of citizenship to vote in a provincial election. Smith proposes a law that would require people to show a passport, birth certificate, or citizenship card before casting a ballot.Voter ID rules exist across the democratic world. In an age of high mobility and strained systems, ensuring that only citizens vote in provincial elections protects the legitimacy of every result..The final group of questions may be the most important in the long run. Smith wants Alberta to work with other willing provinces of Canada to amend the Constitution so that Alberta and other regions, not Ottawa, select justices for their own King’s Bench and Appeal courts.She wants the unelected Senate to be abolished.Provinces can opt out of federal programs in areas like healthcare, education, and social services without losing associated funding.A province’s laws in its own or shared areas of power take priority when they conflict with federal laws.None of this breaks up the country. Smith explicitly talks about a “united Canada.”These reforms simply pull decision-making closer to the people who live with the consequences. If you believe in decentralization, local control, and a real federation, you should want provinces, not Ottawa, to select their own judges and to opt out of federal one‑size‑fits‑all schemes while keeping their share of tax dollars.The economic logic ties all of this together. Long term, Smith plans to grow the Alberta Heritage Fund to more than $250 billion by 2050. The fund has already doubled from about $16 billion in 2021 to almost $32 billion today by reinvesting earnings and saving surpluses from high oil prices. .Medium term, she wants to double oil and gas production and exports to more than eight million barrels a day by 2035, backed by new pipelines west, south, and east. Those barrels mean jobs, investment, and revenue that do not depend on Ottawa’s mood swings or foreign activists. In the short term, the only way to avoid deep cuts to doctors, nurses, teachers, and core services is to cap spending growth, means‑test more programs, and bring immigration back under control.At the heart of this referendum is trust. Smith says she does not fear direct democracy. She trusts Albertans to debate, reflect, and choose wisely. The political class in Ottawa and downtown Toronto does not share that trust. They prefer government by insiders, court challenges, and backroom deals with legacy media cheering from the sidelines.Alberta has a different tradition. When the stakes are this high on immigration, social programs, and the basic shape of Confederation, people deserve a direct say. Every one of these questions is rooted in common sense: secure your services, protect your democracy, and assert your place in Canada. On October 19, Albertans should mark “Yes” all the way down the ballot.
