The Order in Council and Writ of Election for the 2021 Alberta Senate Election was issued on June 23, 2021, to hold an election to select 3 Senate nominees who may be summoned to the Senate of Canada, to fill a vacancy or vacancies relating to Alberta.
The Senate Election will take place on October 18, 2021, in conjunction with the 2021 Alberta Municipal Elections and Referendum Vote.
To be nominated for election, Senate candidates must collect 500 signatures from eligible electors in Alberta.
There have been four previous senate elections in Alberta, in 1989, 1998, 2004 and 2012. In each election, electors voted for the senate candidates that they wished to put forward to the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada for filling future vacancies related to Alberta in the Senate of Canada. These names are put forward by the Government of Alberta for consideration by the federal government. The Alberta Senate Election Act is provincial legislation and the candidates selected are not binding on the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.
In the previous four senate elections, nine senate nominees have been selected. Of these, five have received appointments to the Senate of Canada.
Albertans are being asked two questions in the referendum vote on October 18, 2021. Both referendum questions allow for a ‘yes’ vote or a ‘no’ vote and are binding on the provincial government, based on the majority of votes cast. Both questions will appear on the same ballot as the senate election separate from the ballot for the municipal election and voters will receive both ballots at the same time at the Oct. 18 municipal election.
Question 1 - Equalization
Should section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 – Parliament and the government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments – be removed from the constitution?
Question 2 - Daylight Savings Time
Do you want Alberta to adopt year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is summer hours, eliminating the need to change our clocks twice a year?
For more information on the Referendum, visit Election's Alberta here