{"id":892702,"date":"2026-09-12T06:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T06:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892702\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T06:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T06:46:15","slug":"alberta-government-launches-ad-campaign-on-referendum-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892702\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta government launches ad campaign on referendum questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"ThisThis is the Edmonton version of one of the Alberta government’s advertisements for the Oct. 19 referendum. (Government of Alberta)<\/p>\n

The Alberta government has launched a $4-million advertising campaign outlining its position on the 10 questions in the Oct. 19 referendum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Voters will be urged to choose the Yes option for the first nine questions, which deal with immigration and constitutional changes, according to Sam Blackett, director of media relations for Premier Danielle Smith.<\/p>\n

For the question on separation, Blackett would not state which option the campaign is supporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Option 1 confirms a voter\u2019s support for Alberta remaining a province in Canada, while Option 2 supports the provincial government undertaking the legal process to hold a binding referendum on separation.<\/p>\n

\"AA ballot for the Oct. 19 Alberta referendum shows the question about separating from Canada and the two options voters will choose between. (Kory Siegers\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Blackett said the campaign will urge people to vote in support of a \u201cstrong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada\u201d on question 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The campaign will have ads on TV, radio, social media, print media, billboards and a booklet mailed to every household in the province.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a government, it is important that we communicate with Albertans across various channels about the implications of the fall referendum questions and ensure people have a clear understanding of how their decisions on the 10 questions will impact them,\u201d Blackett said in an email to CBC News on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The campaign was met with criticism by the Opposition NDP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said it was unethical for Smith to use public money to advertise the government\u2019s position on each question.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not information on how to vote. It’s not information that gives you both sides of the question,\u201d Nenshi said at a news conference on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernment has to be the fair arbiter of an election in a democracy. Government can’t take a side. And the premier doesn’t seem to know or care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some people behind the campaigns for Alberta independence also expressed concern.<\/p>\n

On Facebook, Tanya Clemons, one of the organizers behind Let Alberta Decide, criticized Smith for using taxpayer money to advertise its position instead of remaining neutral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGive Albertans accurate information about both options, explain what each means and let the people speak,\u201d Clemons wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, the government has chosen an answer before Albertans have given theirs and is spending millions belonging to all of us to promote it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose aren\u2019t UCP dollars. They aren\u2019t Danielle Smith\u2019s dollars. They belong to Albertans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign could have some merits, according to Hayden Place, a campaign strategist with Mash Strategies.<\/p>\n

Place, who worked as a political staffer in the government of former premier Jason Kenney, said there are legitimate reasons for the government to lay out its position on separation given the high costs Alberta would incur if it decided to go its own way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there’s a lot of misinformation out there,\u201d Place said. \u201cAnd I think that the government of Alberta has a duty to make its case for Confederation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Place said he believes the province should focus its advertising on reaching people who are either undecided or not informed about the questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-892702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}