Jim Fedor booked Oct. 19 off work to make sure he can vote in Alberta’s referendum.
“I’m looking forward to it. Never voted in a referendum like this before, so it’ll be something new,” said Fedor, who stopped at the CBC News pop-up at the Seton library branch in southeast Calgary last week.
“I’m gonna vote Option 1 on the separation question, for Alberta to stay in Canada, and the other nine questions I plan to vote no for each one,” he said. “I’ll get there early, and I’m willing to wait to get in and vote.”
“I think it’s important for everyone to have their voices heard. A lot of places in the world don’t allow voting on much of anything. So I feel quite lucky to be able to vote and make my vote count.”
CBC News set up at the library to get a sense of how Albertans are feeling as the referendum campaigns head into their final week. We set out Post-It notes and markers, and invited patrons to share their thoughts on the question: What are you thinking about as you get ready to vote?
Library patrons left their thoughts at a CBC News pop-up in the Calgary Public Library’s Seton branch. (Elise Stolte/CBC)
Parents came by with their kids; high school students stopped in after their classes ended; seniors swung by to pick up books on hold. A low hum filled the busy building.
Some Albertans frustrated at the vote
A few people were excited to vote, like Fedor. Others were just starting to follow the process and had not yet decided how they would cast their ballots; several expressed frustration at even having the vote.
That’s how Christine Nelson was feeling.
“I’m really disappointed. The majority of people do not want to separate, and we have to spend taxpayers’ money to vote on something that’s not going to go through unless there’s some kind of, you know, crookedness going on. It’s ridiculous,” said Nelson.
Charmaine Coutinho, who stopped by with her young daughter, had a similar sentiment.
“I am feeling anger about the increase in racism and otherness caused by legitimizing these extreme perspectives through government actions,” she said. “I am saying no to everything, and we are, and I am, very much in favour of staying in Canada.”
From left to right, Michael Chudleigh, Charmaine Coutinho and her daughter, and Christine Nelson. They all stopped by to share their thoughts at the CBC News pop-up in Seton on Thursday. (Elise Stolte/CBC)
Michael Chudleigh said he is voting the same, but trying to stay open to difference.
“I’m trying not to be angry about the whole thing and understand that those who disagree with me have their reasons, even if I can’t see them.”
Friends at odds over separation
One pair of seniors were laughing and chatting as they stopped by on their way for coffee. The two women said they are good friends, who meet regularly.
One is passionate about staying in Canada, while the other is casting her vote to explore leaving.
They don’t talk about the referendum. “We might not be friends after!” said the pro-unity friend. She didn’t want to be interviewed, but earlier said her father fought for Canada and she’d never want to see it splintered.
The other friend came back later to write her thoughts on the whiteboard: “I think the Oct. 19 [referendum] is more like a memorandum of understanding thing and gets people talking and looking into our rights and fairness/democracy. But many people have been led to be afraid it’s a final say or referendum to leave their country or be taken over by Trump!”
She wrote that separatists fear the way Ottawa has been asserting control over individuals, such as freezing bank accounts during the trucker convoy.
Newcomers express love for Canada
As the afternoon wore on, our board filled with messages, with a lot of love for Canada.
“I love Canada; I’ll vote to stay here,” wrote one person.
“I love Canada, this is my home,” wrote another.
David Aldana immigrated from Colombia and has been following the referendum campaigns, even though he can’t vote. Other Albertans with permanent residency but no Canadian citizenship also left messages on the board. (Elise Stolte/CBC)
Several people with permanent residency but not Canadian citizenship stopped by. One was David Aldana, who moved to Canada from Colombia.
“If I could vote, I would stay with Canada, and because I feel that unity is better,” he said. “I think unity is better for the country itself. I’m in love with Canada. I’m in love with the freedom that we have here.”
Concerns the vote could backfire
In Alberta, support for independence had been polling at about 27 per cent this spring, according to a poll from Janet Brown Opinion Research commissioned by CBC News.
That softened to 23 per cent in a similar poll by Janet Brown in September, which also found Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party lost some support, likely due to frustration over the vote.
One man at the library called it a nightmare. He wrote: “Talk about backfiring. Rather than more consideration from Ottawa we are now facing a potential NDP resurgence (the worst outcome you could imagine).”
On the left, a Ukrainian newcomer left her concerns: the referendum reminds her of separation votes in the Ukrainian regions of Crimea and Donbas. On the right, a public servant wrote a note about his hope for a transparent referendum process. (Elise Stolte/CBC)
Muaaz Asher is a Grade 10 student who stopped by after class at the nearby Joane Cardinal-Schubert High School. He said at school they tried to look at the separation arguments from both sides.
“Surprisingly, a lot of my class wanted to stay. And I really found that fascinating ‘cause there’s just one of my friends who is heavily right. He always agrees with whatever right-wingers say but this time … he wants to stay in Canada,” Asher said.
“It kind of just shows that as a country — it sounds a bit corny, but there’s a lot of love and unity. I think that’s really special, and I think we just can’t give that up.”
Muaaz Asher is a Grade 10 student who discussed the Alberta referendum question at school. (Elise Stolte/CBC)
‘Strong opinions on both sides’
The voices for unity were loudest and most common at the library Thursday. But it’s one location, on one afternoon.
Destiny Fox stopped by and suggested you can’t judge how people in general are feeling by those most willing to speak up.
“I don’t think that a lot of people are being very open about their opinion to leave Canada as honestly as people who want to stay in Canada,” Fox said. “So you’re just not hearing as much … You’re not going to see the lawn signs on people’s personal property because they don’t want to get into it with their neighbours. But I think that there are a lot of strong opinions on both sides.
“I’m glad that we’re having this referendum because I feel like it’s giving everybody an opportunity to voice their feelings. And I don’t necessarily feel that I want to separate from Canada, but I do want the premier to have the power to go back to Ottawa and say this is how Albertans are feeling.”
Polling data helps us understand where Albertans stand on the issue of separation. But it can also help us understand the people and perspectives that help shape their opinions. One polling company went elbows deep into the data to figure out what all those numbers would like if they added up to a real person.
