Referendum costs continue to mount, says Nenshi

Posted on August 20, 2026 by Vauxhall Advance

Southern Alberta Newspapers

The opposition NDP is calling on the UCP government to improve transparency after acquiring new numbers about the rising costs related to the October referendum.

The costs of expenses associated with the upcoming referendum, including analysis and marketing, have now totalled over $650,000.

Those expenses include $300,000 for the province’s referendum website, as well as $160,000 for television advertising and $200,000 for promotional videos.

That total excludes the $1.5 million allocated for an economic analysis of possible costs the province would incur if Alberta were to leave Canada.

Opposition leader Naheed Nenshi says the documents outlining these costs were obtained by an Access to Information request.

“Alberta shouldn’t have to rely on ATIA requests and media investigations to find out where their money is going,” he said in a statement.

“Albertans are paying the bills for the UCP’s separatist referendum, and the cost keeps growing.”

The vote itself is projected to cost around $130 million. It’s a price tag compatible with preliminary information shared by Elections Alberta, which estimated the referendum will require 45 million ballots and 60,000 staff.

The last provincial general election, which employed only 13,095 staff and counted 1.7 million ballots, cost $37 million.

Nenshi is calling on the UCP government to release a full accounting of all referendum-related spending.

“Danielle Smith needs to come clean and tell Albertans exactly how much this referendum will cost them.”