As Albertans prepare to vote this fall on whether the province should hold a referendum on leaving Canada, Edmonton’s mayor is dismissing the initiative as a “complete waste of time.”
The exact referendum question Premier Danielle Smith proposed is, “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”
The question, which Smith announced during a provincial address on Thursday, has been criticized by Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack.
In a statement last week, Knack said moving forward with a referendum to possibly hold another referendum doesn’t help alleviate issues regarding affordability, health care and education. The referendum question would also waste taxpayers’ money, he said.
Knack joined Edmonton AM on Monday to talk about the referendum’s potential effects on the city and how he’s prepared to spend his summer engaging with people about the issue.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
LISTEN | Edmonton mayor says province’s focus on separation is misguided:
What concerns do you have about this referendum question from an Edmonton perspective?
There are so many more important issues that we need to be dealing with right now as a province which directly impact our city.
You think about the challenges we’re still facing with housing and homelessness and the mental health and addictions crisis — which is provincial jurisdiction — but we’ve been trying to partner with them to tackle this.
When you’re spending your time focused on a possible referendum, you’re not spending your attention on these types of issues.
The referendum has a direct impact on economic development and investment. The day that this was announced, I had to spend time reassuring large employers and investors that Edmonton is a place you should continue to do business, and that the referendum has no chance of passing as long as all Edmontonians get out and vote.
I want to focus on safety, affordability, economic development, quality services. All of these things matter a lot, and when you’re spending time on this completely unnecessary referendum on a referendum, it means we’re not focused on those issues.
A photo of a Stay Free Alberta rally on May 4, 2026. The group is behind the citizen-led petition in favour of a referendum question on Alberta independence. (Emily Fitzpatrick/CBC)
How are investors reacting to separatism talks in the province?
It creates uncertainty.
If you’re somebody thinking about investing or starting up a business in the city, do you want to set up in a province where there’s a chance that you might be part of a different country in a couple of years? That’s a very different risk to take on.
That is not going to happen as long as Edmontonians get out to vote.
I worry that there’s going to be a complacency among Edmontonians, that they’re going to say, “Well, this has no chance of passing. This is a small percentage of people.” It is, but those folks are going to be mobilized. We need to mobilize more than that group to send a clear message that this has been a waste of our time and that we need to focus on the issues that actually impact everyday Edmontonians.
Premier Danielle Smith says that she will be voting for Alberta to remain in Canada. So what do you make of that statement that she made quite clearly in her Thursday address?
Leaders have to actually make the hard decisions. Danielle Smith could have simply said to that small group that wants to separate: “If you really want to do that, a provincial election is coming up next year. Form a party, campaign on that idea exclusively. Let’s see if Albertans actually want to do that.”
Then she could have spent her time on all of those other issues that I listed earlier — the things that actually matter to Albertans right now.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to reporters on May 22 after announcing a referendum question on separation for the fall ballot just a day earlier. (Karina Zapata/CBC)
Do you feel like conversations around issues such as homelessness, addiction support and mental health have been stalled because of the separatism discussion?
It is at least creating hesitancy among folks. That’s where I get worried about this conversation.
I want to be very vocal about this and make sure Edmontonians do not sit idly on this. Don’t just get out and vote. Get out and talk to your neighbors. Talk to your friends. Talk to your coworkers. Talk to everyone you can to make sure they get out and vote.
If Edmontonians voted at a 90 per cent turnout, I don’t think it’s really going to matter what happens across the rest of the province. That would be enough voters to turn the tide on this conversation alone. Although, I think you’ll see the same thing in Calgary and across much of this province.
Even in the spots where it’s so-called “completely rural,” I don’t think there’s a majority of folks that actually want to separate from this country.
Are there folks that have some concerns about where things have been going with the previous federal government? Yes. Is the right solution to completely destabilize your economy? No.
As the mayor of Edmonton, you can’t get the question removed from the referendum. But, in a social media post, you said you plan to fight against this separation question. What are you planning to do?
I’ve always hated when politicians use the word “fight.” I think we overuse the word, and so it’s one of the few times I’ve ever used that word as a politician because I feel we need to be that strong against this.
That involves hosting community events. Door-knocking to talk to people about this issue. We’ve got to get out into the community. Make sure it’s in people’s minds.
The worry I have is that because it’s a confusing question, people are just going to assume that everyone else is going to vote in favor of remaining in Canada or in favor of not having a referendum on a referendum. We need to make sure that we’re doing enough in this city to remind people that you have to not only vote, but you have to be active.
Maybe it’s a little bit of a wake-up call to everyone that there, for far too long, has a small number of people able to control the provincial conversation.
This is a reminder to everyone to use their voice, get active and send a clear message that this is a complete waste of time and it actually harms our province.