Elections Alberta is seeking an additional $59.6 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year, with most of the funding earmarked for referendum expenses. The money would also help the agency prepare for the 2027 provincial election and manage its ongoing statutory responsibilities.
Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure presented the supplemental budget request, which was approved by the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices.
According to McClure, the request includes $49.6 million for referendum operations, $9 million for preparations for the 2027 provincial general election and $993,742 to support Elections Alberta’s statutory responsibilities.
The estimated cost of conducting the Oct. 19 referendum is $84.3 million. The vote involved an extensive counting operation, with voters able to cast ballots on as many as 10 separate questions. Elections Alberta reported that more than 22 million ballots were counted by hand at hundreds of locations throughout the province. This exceeded the total number of ballots cast across Canada during the 2025 federal election.
McClure said the referendum placed considerable demands on Elections Alberta’s workforce and required support from more than 47,000 Albertans who helped deliver the vote.
“We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the team at Elections Alberta and the more than 47,000 Albertans who stepped forward to support this referendum. This was an event of unprecedented scale and scope,” McClure said. “Our budget presentation captures the dollars and cents aspects of conducting this event but does not account for the human capital cost that also went into conducting this referendum.”
The agency also pointed to the frequency of elections and other voting events as a factor in its growing workload. Alberta accounted for 37 of the 58 electoral events held across Canada since January 2025, according to Elections Alberta. The agency said Canadian election management bodies typically oversee one or two electoral events annually.
With the referendum complete, Elections Alberta is shifting its attention to the 2027 provincial election. Its remaining work includes reviewing and updating the voter registry, evaluating the administration of the vote and preparing a formal referendum report. Staff must also retrieve and organize election equipment and supplies ahead of the next provincial election.
