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Alberta

It’s official. Albertans to vote on Equalization and Daylight Savings Time on October 18

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Referendum to be held on October 18, 2021

Elections Alberta has received the Orders in Council to conduct a Referendum Vote in conjunction with the 2021 Alberta Municipal Elections and the Alberta Senate Election on October 18, 2021.

Both referendum questions allow for a ‘yes’ vote or a ‘no’ vote.  The two questions are:

  • 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?
  • 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?

Conducting the Vote

All local jurisdictions holding elections on October 18, 2021, will facilitate the vote by also issuing the referendum ballot to electors.  In addition to Election Day voting, local jurisdictions may also offer advance voting, institutional voting, and special ballot voting.  At each voting opportunity, the referendum ballot will be provided to electors to vote in this election.

As not all communities hold elections on October 18, 2021, Elections Alberta and Alberta Municipal Affairs are working with First Nation communities, Métis Settlements, Lloydminster, Summer Villages, Improvement Districts, and Special Areas to provide voting opportunities for electors residing in these communities.

Eligibility to Vote

Canadian citizens who reside in Alberta and are at least 18 years of age or older on Election Day are eligible to vote in the referendum.  As the vote is being conducted by local jurisdictions, electors must vote in the municipality or local jurisdiction in which they reside.

Third Party Advertisers

Any individual, corporation or group that spends or plans to spend more than $1,000 in advertising to promote or oppose a referendum question must register with Elections Alberta.  Registration is now open. Visit https://www.elections.ab.ca/political-participants/third-party-advertisers/ for more information.

All registered third party advertisers are required to submit weekly contribution reports to Elections Alberta, commencing Thursday, August 12 and ending on October 21, 2021.  Elections Alberta will publish the reports each Friday on https://efpublic.elections.ab.ca/.

Announcement of Official Results

Following the close of voting on October 18, all local jurisdictions will complete the unofficial count of ballots.  These counts are submitted to Elections Alberta for tabulation.  The official announcement of the provincial referendum results will take place on October 26, 2021.

Result of Vote

The referendum question regarding equalization is a constitutional question asked under the authority of section 1 of the Referendum Act.

The referendum question regarding Daylight Saving Time is a non?constitutional question asked under section 5.1 of the Referendum Act. The result of the vote on the Daylight Saving Time question is binding.

More Information

For more information about the Referendum, visit www.elections.ab.ca, call toll free at 1.877.422.VOTE (8683), join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections and referenda.

Alberta

Alberta Next: Taxation

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A new video from the Alberta Next panel looks at whether Alberta should stop relying on Ottawa to collect our provincial income taxes. Quebec already does it, and Alberta already collects corporate taxes directly. Doing the same for personal income taxes could mean better tax policy, thousands of new jobs, and less federal interference. But it would take time, cost money, and require building new systems from the ground up.

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Alberta

Cross-Canada NGL corridor will stretch from B.C. to Ontario

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Keyera Corp.’s natural gas liquids facilities in Fort Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy Keyera Corp.

From the Canadian Energy Centre

By Will Gibson

Keyera ‘Canadianizes’ natural gas liquids with $5.15 billion acquisition

Sarnia, Ont., which sits on the southern tip of Lake Huron and peers across the St. Clair River to Michigan, is a crucial energy hub for much of the eastern half of Canada and parts of the United States.

With more than 60 industrial facilities including refineries and chemical plants that produce everything from petroleum, resins, synthetic rubber, plastics, lubricants, paint, cosmetics and food additives in the southwestern Ontario city, Mayor Mike Bradley admits the ongoing dialogue about tariffs with Canada’s southern neighbour hits close to home.

So Bradley welcomed the announcement that Calgary-based Keyera Corp. will acquire the majority of Plains American Pipelines LLP’s Canadian natural gas liquids (NGL) business, creating a cross-Canada NGL corridor that includes a storage hub in Sarnia.

“As a border city, we’ve been on the frontline of the tariff wars, so we support anything that helps enhance Canadian sovereignty and jobs,” says the long-time mayor, who was first elected in 1988.

The assets in Sarnia are a key piece of the $5.15 billion transaction, which will connect natural gas liquids from the growing Montney and Duvernay plays in B.C. and Alberta to markets in central Canada and the eastern U.S. seaboard.

Map courtesy Keyera Corp.

NGLs are hydrocarbons found within natural gas streams including ethane, propane and pentanes. They are important energy sources and used to produce a wide range of everyday items, from plastics and clothing to fuels.

Keyera CEO Dean Setoguchi cast the proposed acquisition as an act of repatriation.

“This transaction brings key NGL infrastructure under Canadian ownership, enhancing domestic energy capabilities and reinforcing Canada’s economic resilience by keeping value and decision-making closer to home,” Setoguchi told analysts in a June 17 call.

“Plains’ portfolio forms a fully integrated cross Canada NGL system connecting Western Canada supply to key demand centres across the Prairie provinces, Ontario and eastern U.S.,” he said.

“The system includes strategic hubs like Empress, Fort Saskatchewan and Sarnia – which provide a reliable source of Canadian NGL supply to extensive fractionation, storage, pipeline and logistics infrastructure.”

Martin King, RBN Energy’s managing director of North America Energy Market Analysis, sees Keyera’s ability to “Canadianize” its NGL infrastructure as improving the company’s growth prospects.

“It allows them to tap into the Duvernay and Montney, which are the fastest growing NGL plays in North America and gives them some key assets throughout the country,” said the Calgary-based analyst.

“The crown assets are probably the straddle plants in Empress, which help strip out the butane, ethane and other liquids for condensate. It also positions them well to serve the eastern half of the country.”

And that’s something welcomed in Sarnia.

“Having a Canadian source for natural gas would be our preference so we see Keyera’s acquisition as strengthening our region as an energy hub,” Bradley said.

“We are optimistic this will be good for our region in the long run.”

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

Meanwhile, the governments of Ontario and Alberta are joining forces to strengthen the economies of both regions, and the country, by advancing major infrastructure projects including pipelines, ports and rail.

A joint feasibility study is expected this year on how to move major private sector-led investments forward.

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