‘Just hasn’t been possible’: Alberta referendum count not complete, results delayed
Posted October 22, 2026 9:48 am.
The 48-hour deadline has come and gone, and ballots cast in Alberta’s referendum are still being counted.
As of 9:30 a.m. Thursday, 97 per cent of all ballots cast in Monday’s referendum had been counted, according to Election Alberta’s website.
READ: Alberta referendum results for all 10 questions
The elections authority tells CityNews its teams “continue to work around the clock” and there is no estimated time for completion.
“We knew hand counting the referendum was going to be a monumental task,” a statement reads.
“Despite the efforts of more than 47,000 election workers, it just hasn’t been possible. We’ll continue to count ballots until the job is done.”
Elections Alberta previously said it had 48 hours to complete counting all the ballots, which would have put the deadline at Wednesday night sometime between 10-11 p.m.
But in Thursday’s statement, elections officials say Alberta’s legislation “did outline the requirement to count 7+ ballots within 48 hours (note the legislation is silent after 7+ questions… it’s 12 hrs for 1 to 2; 24 hours for 3 to 4; 36 hours for 5 to 6).”
In an interview with CityNews Tuesday, officials were still confident the count could be completed within 48 hours.
