Elections Alberta reveals October referendum cost $84M, receives additional funds from legislature committee
Elections Alberta is estimating the province’s Oct. 19 referendum cost just over $84 million to execute.
Presentation reveals toll of heavy workload on elections agency staff
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Elections Alberta is estimating the province’s Oct. 19 referendum cost just over $84 million to execute.
Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure and his senior staff revealed the cost at a multi-party MLA committee meeting on Thursday.
At the meeting, McClure requested an additional $49 million on top of the $34 million Elections Alberta already spent from its $51-million budget for 2026-27.
Costs included salaries and training for staff, rent for voting places, freight and postage costs, rental vehicles to transport ballot boxes to centralized counting facilities, and security.
The committee unanimously approved the request without a debate.
Last month, Albertans voted on 10 referendum questions including whether Alberta should remain in Canada or start work on a binding referendum on its future in the country.
The majority of Albertans — 75 per cent — voted to stay in Canada.
McClure said election workers counted 22 million ballots by hand, more than in the last federal election. Staffing costs for counting those ballots are estimated at $21 million.
Elections Alberta’s overall supplemental funding request on Thursday was $59 million — $49 million for the referendum, $9 million to cover preparations for the October 2027 provincial election and $993,742 to cover the cost of 23 additional full-time staff.
“I want to assure the committee that this request has been prepared carefully and will be managed responsibly,” McClure said.
Foot on the gas
Since January 2025, Elections Alberta has been tasked with managing 37 electoral events. They include MLA recall petitions, three citizen initiative petitions and a byelection — in addition to the referendum.
Thursday’s presentation revealed how the heavy workload of the referendum impacted staff.
Steve Kaye, Elections Alberta’s chief administrative officer, told the committee the referendum “was crushing” for most of the staff, noting some worked 16- to 20-hour days.
“We have had our foot on the gas for a long time,” he said. “People are tired.
“We have some concerns going forward about being able to hire some of the people that have worked for us in the past.
“We ran a marathon and included a triathlon and then [a] cross the English Channel swimming event. So it's, it's been quite a bit. Again, we're not complaining. This is our job and we'll do our job.”
Kaye said Elections Alberta is likely the leanest elections agency in the country. Elections Alberta has 54 employees. He said Quebec’s election agency has 300 full-time employees, which would be 224 if adjusted to Alberta’s population.
Last week, McClure sent a letter to every MLA asking that the 2027 provincial election either be held with the current election maps or be delayed so Elections Alberta can implement the new election boundaries that are expected to be approved by the legislature within the fall sitting.
His request was rejected outright by Justice Minister Mickey Amery.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Bellefontaine covers the Alberta legislature for CBC News in Edmonton. She has also worked as a reporter in the Maritimes and in northern Canada.
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