Senator Paula Simons’ Warning: Referendum Campaign Threatens Alberta’s Economy

October 15, 2026 | Economy, Alberta, Canada

Senator Paula Simons says Alberta’s referendum campaign risks driving away workers, entrepreneurs and researchers while making established residents feel unwelcome in their own province.

In an interview with Energi Media’s Markham Hislop, the independent Alberta senator argued that immigration questions accompanying the October 19 separation vote threaten the economic foundations the provincial government wants to expand.

Her warning follows an October 6 Senate speech challenging the government’s portrayal of immigration as a crisis. The speech responded to Senator Tony Loffreda’s inquiry into immigrants’ contribution to Canadian economic growth.

Immigration and Alberta’s Economic Future

Simons said international migration to Alberta turned negative in the first quarter of 2026 and subsequently recovered at levels below the previous year. She argued that the slowdown undermines the premise of an immigration emergency.

“There is no immigration crisis in Alberta,” she said.

She pointed to immigrant entrepreneurs reopening businesses in struggling rural communities, alongside doctors and other health workers supporting local hospitals and seniors’ care.

In cities, she described newcomers bringing life back to empty storefronts. At universities, international researchers help turn discoveries into biomedical, engineering and artificial intelligence companies.

Those contributions, she argued, are central to Alberta’s future prosperity.

A Warning About Who Feels Welcome

The senator said the consequences reach beyond people considering a move to Alberta. Longtime residents and Canadian citizens whose families immigrated generations ago are hearing that they do not belong.

She said some people born in Canada have told her they no longer feel welcome because their parents or grandparents came from elsewhere.

Simons contrasted that experience with Alberta’s history of integrating newcomers and the public celebrations of cultural diversity familiar to residents of Calgary and Edmonton.

The Infrastructure Contradiction

Simons questioned how Alberta could pursue major infrastructure projects while discouraging workers from outside the province.

“Who’s going to build the pipeline?” she asked.

She extended the question to power lines, data centres and rail construction. The government’s ambitions require labour and expertise, she said, making restrictions and hostile rhetoric economically contradictory.

She also criticized a referendum question about giving provincial laws precedence over federal laws in areas of overlapping jurisdiction. In her view, extending that principle across Canada would strengthen other provinces’ ability to obstruct Alberta’s proposed pipelines.

The senator argued that Alberta cannot expect a constitutional arrangement that benefits only itself.

The Dispute Will Outlast the Vote

Simons warned that a defeat for separation would not necessarily weaken the most committed separatists. Some could interpret a loss as further evidence that the political system is stacked against them.

Her greater concern was the other nine referendum questions. She argued that proposals running into constitutional barriers could become new grievances against Ottawa rather than produce workable policy.

Still, she described an unusually broad mobilization involving business, labour, Indigenous communities and cultural organizations. People previously uninterested in party politics are becoming involved, she said.

For Simons, that energy must translate into turnout. Public opposition alone will not determine the outcome if concerned Albertans stay home.

She urged volunteers to help seniors and other residents reach polling stations, saying the complexity of multiple ballots makes participation an important practical challenge.

Senator Paula Simons’ Warning: Referendum Campaign Threatens Alberta’s Economy

October 15, 2026 | Economy, Alberta, Canada

Immigration and Alberta’s Economic Future

A Warning About Who Feels Welcome

The Infrastructure Contradiction

The Dispute Will Outlast the Vote

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