Alberta voters had several additional questions on their ballot this year.
In Calgary, voters strongly supported adding fluoride to the city’s tap water.
They were also asked province-wide questions: whether the province should remain on daylight saving time all year round and whether voters support the principle of equalization in the Canadian Constitution. Residents were also asked to vote on potential senators.
Here’s what we know so far.
Fluoride in tap water
The plebiscite question for Calgarians was: Are you in favor of reintroducing fluoridation in the municipal water supply?
The yes camp took the lead and continued to win. With 253 out of 259 polls published Monday around 11 p.m., the yes camp obtained 62 percent of the vote. The no side had 38 percent.
It’s a question Calgary residents voted on in 1998 and 1989, when they voted “yes” to fluoride. Calgary City Council elected to stop adding fluoride to the city’s water supply in 2011.
Whatever the outcome of the plebiscite, city council will make the final decision. This particular question was located near the bottom of the page of the municipal ballot. Some voters said it was easy to miss it.
Daylight saving time and equalization
The first polls to report in Calgary show support for removing equalization from the Canadian Constitution and against any changes to the twice-yearly clock system.
With 253 of 259 polls in Calgary by 11 p.m. Monday, 58 percent of voters were in favor of eliminating equalization.
The daylight saving time vote was near. Fifty-one percent voted no; 48 percent voted yes.
CBC expects more results from Calgary and other municipalities soon.
Lethbridge Results are also in favor of abolishing the principle of equalization (59% yes). But in daylight saving time, Lethbridge voters were almost evenly distributed (51% yes; 49% no). That’s with 16 of the 17 polling stations reporting.
Every municipality in Alberta voted on these referendum questions on Monday. But each community has the choice of whether or not to publish local results on election night.
So far, officials in Calgary, Grande Prairie, Red Deer and Lethbridge have told CBC they will release the results. Edmonton and the Municipality of Wood Buffalo have said they will not do it.
We will post the results here when they are available, but keep in mind that all results must be summed up and released by Elections Alberta before the results are final.
Elections Alberta says it will release the results province-wide on October 26.
These two questions were:
- Should subsection 36 (2) of the Constitution Act, 1982, the commitment of the Parliament and of the Government of Canada to the principle of equalization payments, be removed from the Constitution?
- Do you want Alberta to adopt all year round summer time, what are the summer hours, eliminating the need to change our clocks twice a year?
In daylight saving time, a “yes” vote means permanent adoption. Albertans would no longer move the clocks forward in March and no longer move back in November.
A “no” vote means Albertans will continue to change their clocks twice a year. This graphic from Elections Alberta shows how the change would affect the timing of sunrises and sunsets in the province.
The election of the Senate
Voters were allowed to vote for up to three Senate candidates. Thirteen people attended either Independent or affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada or the People’s Party of Canada.
In Calgary and Lethbridge, the Conservative candidates led the way. In Calgary, with 199 of 259 polls reported, the top three candidates were: Pam Davidson, Erika Barootes and Mykhailo Martyniouk. This was the case in Lethbridge, where 16 of 17 polling stations reported.
Officials in Grande Prairie, Red Deer and Lethbridge are also expected to release local results of these contests at some point on election night. The officials in Edmonton and the Municipality of Wood Buffalo are not. Other results may be available on the websites of other towns and municipalities.
Elections Alberta says municipalities must submit results to them by October 25; he plans to publish the official results the next day.
But that does not mean that these people will end up in the Senate: senators in Canada are not elected, they are appointed.
It is up to the incumbent Prime Minister of Canada to decide whether either of these people will be appointed to the Senate when a position opens.
The Prime Minister advises the Governor General, who makes the actual appointment to the upper house of Parliament.
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