Alberta plans referendum to wrest control over immigration from Canadian government

By Amanda Stephenson

CALGARY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Alberta will hold a referendum this fall to ask residents if its government should limit the number of new international students, temporary foreign workers and asylum seekers arriving in the oil-rich Canadian province.

The move, announced by Premier Danielle Smith in a televised address on Thursday evening, represents an attempt by Alberta to wrest control of a key issue from the federal government. Immigration policy in Canada is primarily the responsibility of Ottawa, not the provinces.

It is also an attempt by Smith to ward off a simmering Alberta separatism movement, which has threatened Canadian unity as Prime Minister Mark Carney makes efforts to improve relations with western, resource-rich provinces in the face of economic challenges posed by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy.

Giving citizens a say on immigration policy is the government's way of giving Albertans hope that the Canadian federation can work, Smith told reporters on Friday.

But she said the question of whether or not Alberta should remain part of Canada will also be on the ballot on October 19 if a citizen-led initiative pushing separatism succeeds in gathering the requisite number of signatures to force a vote on the issue.

Smith said her government is facing what will be a significant deficit in next week's provincial budget, partly because of a decline in provincial resource royalties due to lower global oil prices.

But she also blamed Alberta's fiscal challenges on the province's exceptionally rapid population growth, the strongest in Canada. Alberta's population, which ticked past the 5 million mark in 2025, according to Statistics Canada, added more than 600,000 people in the past five years - something Smith said has been putting a strain on provincial resources.

"Throwing the doors wide open to anyone and everyone across the globe has flooded our classrooms, emergency rooms and social support systems with far too many people, far too quickly," she said in her address.

Gabriel Brunet, spokesman for Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister for intergovernmental affairs, said the federal government had taken note of Smith's address and had also taken measures to bring "control" back to the immigration system.

"Albertans will express their views on these issues and others raised by Premier Smith, as they have on several constitutional questions in the past," Brunet said.

The main difference between population growth in Alberta and other provinces, according to an ATB Financial analysis, is that Alberta has a very high level of interprovincial migration from Canadians seeking better opportunities and more affordable housing.

But Smith said that Albertans identified international immigration as one of their top concerns in a recent series of town hall panels, and so she will seek a referendum mandate to pursue changes.

She said the changes could include passing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an "Alberta approved immigration status" will be eligible for provincially funded programs such as health, education and other social services.