Last week, Alberta premier Danielle Smith announced in a televised address that she would put forward several referendum questions to limit immigration.
Albertans would be asked to vote on nine questions in total, including one that proposes charging newcomers without permanent immigration status a fee to access healthcare and education services.
The measure has been criticised by Naheed Nenshi, leader of the New Democratic Party opposition in Alberta, who accused Smith of “blaming and scapegoating” immigrants.
“This exercise is simply about distraction after distraction after distraction to avoid talking about how bad the Conservatives are with money, how bad they are with the budget, how bad they are with economy,” said Nenshi.
Smith said that her government is attempting to take control of immigration — which is regulated by Ottawa — to give Alberta more autonomy over its matters, as some in the province look to separate from Canada altogether.
Support for Alberta’s independence movement remains low, but its proponents project they will be able to gather enough signatures to force a referendum.
If successful, the separation question, along with the immigration questions posed by Smith, would be voted on 19 October.