As of the early hours of Thursday, the final votes for the outstanding referendum questions in Alberta have yet to be tallied, and it is no longer anticipated that the results will be made public today.
A statement released by the Elections Alberta media team around 1:30 a.m. MT on Thursday revealed that the ballot counting process was still ongoing and had not reached completion. The agency emphasized that they are putting in extensive efforts to complete the task but refrained from estimating a specific completion time for October 22, 2026, acknowledging the immense challenge of hand-counting the referendum.
Despite calling in additional personnel to aid in the overnight counting as the deadline neared on Wednesday evening, Elections Alberta officials admitted that the efforts of over 47,000 election workers were insufficient to expedite the process. They affirmed their commitment to continuing the ballot count until it reaches completion.
Previously, Elections Alberta had set a 48-hour deadline from the closure of polling stations on Monday to finalize the count and disclose the results in compliance with Alberta’s referendum regulations.
In a subsequent statement on Thursday, election officials highlighted that the legislation did not specify a deadline for a referendum with more than seven questions. The regulations stipulate varying timeframes for completion based on the number of questions posed, with a 48-hour requirement for referendums with seven or more questions.
Elections Alberta had devised a plan to manage the significant referendum, prioritizing the counting of ballots for Question 10, which delved into the prospect of Alberta’s potential separation, before proceeding to the remaining nine questions concerning constitutional matters and immigration policies.
By Thursday morning, 97% of polling stations across Alberta had reported in. The final voter turnout figure will only be ascertainable once all votes have been tallied, though Elections Alberta anticipated a historically high turnout.