I just donated blood- it was super easy!

If anyone needs a little positivity, the clinic was packed, both with civilians and members of our military. If you can donate they still have appointments this week! Word of advice, plan to be there slightly longer than usual with the current volume of donors.

Disclaimer: This is not official Elections Alberta communication. These are my own observations and thoughts as a non-partisan election officer who wants to see maximum voter turnout and a smooth election process for all involved. No AI was used in the process of writing this post.

Main takeaways from 5 days of advanced voting and the night of Election Day (19th Oct 2026)

1. Five days of advanced polling were completed without any major incident or upset (at my polling station at least). The first day was chaotic as we were unprepared with dealing with the ballots (one bundle that contains 10, one for each question) and the large crowds on the first day. The crowd levels remain steady and high on days two, three, and four. From my observation, Saturday, which was day five, saw the lowest turnout.

2. Looking forward to tomorrow (19 October 2026), Election Day:

* Please don’t be discouraged by weather such as rain or snow. Please come to vote.

* Curbside voting is always an option if you have mobility issues or any other reason that prevents you from walking all the way into the polling station. Election officers are under oath to register you and cast your ballots ethically.

* The Where to Vote (WTV) cards are not mandatory or important at all.

If you want to find out where to vote, use your CURRENT physical address on the Elections Alberta Where to Vote website to find out which advanced polling station or election day voting station is the one you should be headed to.

You can find the website here: https://map.elections.ab.ca/

Just bring a piece of ID like a drivers license or government identification (and another piece of ID that has your address - if it’s different or changed - to the polling station that is assigned to you). The ID requirements are super flexible and a long list of options are available. Utility bills, lease agreements, bank statements and even the option of updating your home address on your bank app as long as your name matches the government ID you are using all work as proof of address.

If your Alberta ID has expired, it can still be accepted if you have any other piece of ID that has your name on it. A credit card, a Costco card, an employer ID, or anything else to verify your name can be used. We even accept a picture of an Alberta driver license that is accompanied with another piece of ID like a passport or a utility bill which can also be on the phone as well.

1. Please do not make life more difficult for the election workers. Partisan or political comments are not welcome. Election workers must be neutral and must not express any opinion that leans either way of the political spectrum. Be courteous and polite and respectful.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, PLEASE BE PATIENT. Expect long lines and a slow process. The registration process is manual. We will be working with a fresh set of ballots, and we will have to look you up manually in the roll (book) of electors. If not found, you be sent to a registration officer. That will take time.

Comments about the necessity or complexity of the election/referendum are also not welcome. We did not choose this process. Please direct your anger and frustration at the government.

Also, when election workers ask you to confirm something like age, citizenship status, or name and address, do not argue for no reason. We are not asking these questions for the sake of asking them or for fun. We are instructed and mandated to ask them.

Concerns about the validity of the vote because only pencils are provided to mark your ballots are unfounded. I can assure you that all ballots will be counted. Also, you are more than welcome to use your own pen.

I hope my series of posts has helped you all be better informed and that we can have a smooth election process with a maximum voter turnout. If I have the time and energy, I’ll make a closing post after tomorrow, but if I don’t, good luck Alberta!

I recently interviewed for a seasonal job at a large store, and I'm waiting for a job offer by Wednesday. During the interview, I was told my starting salary would be $13/h; I was already kinda aware that the under-18 minimum wage is lower, but I thought employers would go with the regular minimum wage. I've already been looking for a job for a while with no success, and this might be the first opportunity I get. Is it even worth asking for the regular minimum wage, and if so, how can I ask for it if I get hired, or if I continue as a permanent employee after my term ends? I don't want to seem entitled, and I'd rather keep quiet so I can have some actual experience to put on my resume.

Also, on a side note, why is the student minimum wage under 18 lower? Non-students under 18 make the regular minimum wage, but students make less for no apparent reason.

Good Morning,

Today is the day, it is the main election day to vote in the Referendum. We have moved all discussion of the referendum, voting, and Alberta Separation to this Megathread. News posts on the subject will be allowed, but all discussion and opinion posts will be removed and redirected to this thread. Off topic discussion in other permitted threads will also be redirected here. If your post gets removed, please come and repost it as a top level comment here. This is the place to talk voting, opinions on the questions, opinions on separatism, whatever you wish.

News Stories and updates on large events can still be shared in their own post, but all other posts, such as "a question for..." or "I voted" posts, will be removed and redirected to this central discussion.

Important Reminders:

• You are only permitted to vote at your assigned polling station. You CANNOT vote at any other location.
• If your mail-in ballot has not been marked as received, you are 100% allowed to vote in person today, and should do so.
• Polls will be opening at 9am, and will be open until 8pm.
• If you require accommodations at the polling station, ask a poll worker.
• If you see anything that you feel should not be happening at a polling station, please report it to the Deputy Returning Officer, the Chief Returning Officer for your area, or Elections Alberta
• Once you are in line to vote, do not leave the line. Even if the polls close, anyone in line already must be permitted to vote
• Remember that the process may be slow, and the count will be slow as well. It will take hours to days for results to become available.

There will be ZERO tolerance for uncivil comments or behaviour. Any uncivil comments, personal attacks or insults, or inter-user fighting will be removed. Remember that public figures have put themselves in a position which invites additional scrutiny, and thus there is more leeway in the manner they can be discussed. This does not allow comments or insults towards elected officials or public figures based on their gender, religion, or ethnicity. These will be treated as discrimination and will be removed. Please note that political affiliation is not a protected class, and it is not inherently discrimination to make statements about a particular political party or policy position, or the people who hold those views.

This sub and discussion is open for all users from Alberta, without regard to their political stance, or their stance on the referendum questions. You are allowed to share your views, opinions, or how you voted however you wish. It is 100% acceptable to disagree with the majority opinion, or to hp;d pr share beliefs that another user disagrees with. Everyone is allowed to share their political stance and their position, provided they are not using hateful or bigoted language, engage in open discrimination or incitement to violence, or are clearly being made in an attempt to rile up a fight. As such, remember that the report feature is not a "Super Downvote" button. Please only report posts that break the r/alberta or site-wide rules, not posts that argue an opinion you disagree with. In particular, it is perfectly acceptable to post how you intend to vote on Questions 1-9, or how you intend to vote on Question 10. It is allowed to express any opinion on these, and it is also allowed to engage in civil discussion with people who you disagree with.

There will be ZERO tolerance for any misinformation related to voting, or any attempts to manipulate people to not vote. This includes bragging about not voting, downplaying the importance of the vote, encouraging others not to vote, any comments to the effect that "this is a sure thing, so it doesn't matter," or any comments implying people should vote one way or the other as a joke. There has been an active campaign to depress the voter turnout, and any such posts, on this thread or any other, will be treated as a bad-faith actions and will be removed, and the user will be banned. This also includes anybody posting disinformation about the voting process, eligibility to vote, required ID or location, or any unsubstantiated claims of fraud.

Useful Links:

• Elections Alberta - Current Election Information, including voter information
• Elections Alberta - Referendum Questions
• Elections Alberta - Polling Location Finder Please look up where your assigned polling location is. You can only vote at your assigned poll, even if you register at the polling place.
• Elections Alberta - Complaints Page This is information on what to do if you see anything that you feel Elections Alberta should look in to.

Hi there,

So this is a bit of a weird one, I'm hoping someone can help me. I live overseas and have a severely disabled cousin who lives in Calgary. Her family are deadshits and don't really look after her, she lives in terrible public housing where she's been assaulted while in her wheelchair. She's unable to work because she's in an out of hospital so often.

She is now posting about how things have gotten so bad for her on her disability pension that she is needing to rely on food banks and that's... just horrific.

I want to be able to send her some cash every month, either through grocery vouchers or something. I've done this in the past for gift cards but made excuses like "oh I got this last time to visit and forgot to use it" or "oh I won this" but I feel like I can't keep coming up with excuses like this or she'll get suspicious.

I thought about sending her grocery gift cards but I'm worried she'll think it's a scam email and not use them.

Is anyone aware of any services I could use where I maybe give them money every month and they pass it on to her? I've looked into giving it to her directly and apparently in some cases it can get difficult because it can count against her disability income if it goes above a certain amount.

I'm not sure, but thought I'd try. If anyone here has any advice, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

Good Afternoon

With the election coming up next Monday, October 19th, we have moved all discussion related to the referendum and Separation to this Megathread. News posts on the subject are allowed, but all discussion or opinion posts will be removed and redirected to this thread. Off topic discussion in other threads will also be redirected here.

News stories and large updates can still be shared on their own post but to avoid "I voted" posts flooding the feed we want to centralize the discussion

There will be zero tolerance for Uncivil comments. Any flame wars, personal insults, or fights will be removed. Also, please remember that while public figures have opened themselves to higher scrutiny, comments or insults directly related to any elected official based on their gender, religion, or ethnicity will be treated as discriminatory and will be removed. Also, political affiliation or position is not a protected class.

Please remember that the report button is not a "Super Dislike." People are allowed to disagree with the majority opinion, and even allowed to post things that you may not agree with. If someone posts a view or an opinion you dislike, you can either choose not to engage, or downvote them. This does not apply to hateful or bigoted language, or obvious trolling. If you see those, please report them, but supporting the first nine questions, or supporting voting Option 2, are allowed on the sub.

There will be zero tolerance for any misinformation about voting, or any attempts to encourage people not to vote. This is 100% Any post or comment saying they are not going to vote, encouraging other people not to vote, or notably downplaying the importance of the vote will be assumed to be in bad faith, and will be removed, and the account banned at least until after the vote.

Useful Links:

• Elections Alberta - Current Election Information, including voter information
• Elections Alberta - Referendum Questions
• Elections Alberta - Polling Location Finder Please look up where your advance poll/regular assigned poll is. You can only vote at your assigned poll, even if you register at the polling place.
• Elections Alberta - Complaints Page This is information on what to do if you see anything that you feel Elections Alberta should look in to.