With Alberta's referendum less than three weeks away, signs supporting different options are going up across Calgary.
Some are also coming down.
A video posted to X on Sept. 29 by Brian McClelland, whose profile lists him as CEO of Albertans4Freedom, shows a City of Calgary crew removing referendum signs along 10 Street.
Calgary's website says the City doesn't regulate referendum signs. But that doesn't stop crews from dealing with signs that create a safety or infrastructure problem.
Calgary doesn't regulate referendum signs
The City's wording is direct:
"In accordance with provincial legislation, The City of Calgary does not regulate referendum signs or referendum advertising."
It doesn't decide which signs can go up based on what they say.
But the City says it will still monitor and address signs that present safety hazards or interfere with public infrastructure. So a City crew taking down a referendum sign doesn't, on its own, mean anything improper happened.
What we don't know
The City hasn't publicly said why the signs on 10 Street were removed, or whether they were considered a safety hazard.
Some people responding to McClelland's post suggested the signs were too close to the road. McClelland disagreed.
He also shared a message from a volunteer who said nearby "Stay" signs weren't removed at the same time. That account hasn't been verified. Two signs on the same street aren't necessarily in the same spot or situation, and the video alone can't show why one came down and another didn't.
Why the City doesn't make the rules
Alberta changed its election laws in 2025.
The Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 gave the province the power to regulate election signs and advertising, and stopped municipalities from adding their own rules. Before that, cities could pass their own sign bylaws. Most of the changes took effect in July 2025.
That's why Calgary now has separate guidance just for referendum signs. The City isn't regulating the message, but it still handles safety problems and anything that interferes with City infrastructure.
A referendum drawing huge interest
The signs are one visible part of a much bigger vote.
Elections Alberta received about 658,000 applications for special ballots before the Sept. 25 deadline. That's roughly 11 times the 59,589 it received during the 2023 provincial election.
By Sept. 28, nearly 100,000 completed ballots had already been returned and approved. Elections Alberta said the final application count could still shift slightly as the last requests were entered.
We reported earlier on the surge in special ballot applications.
Elections Alberta has pointed to a few reasons for the jump. Voters no longer need a reason to ask for a special ballot, "vote anywhere" is no longer available, and there are 10 questions to work through.
If you already have a special ballot, Elections Alberta has to receive it by 5 p.m. on Oct. 16. Mailing it that day won't be enough.
What's on the ballot
There are 10 questions, each on its own ballot.
The one getting the most attention is Question 10. Albertans aren't voting on Oct. 19 to leave Canada. Question 10 asks them to choose between:
Option 1: Alberta should remain a province of Canada.
Option 2: The Alberta government should begin the constitutional process to hold a future binding referendum on separation.
The result of Question 10 itself is not binding.
Advance voting runs Oct. 13 to 17. Voting day is Monday, Oct. 19.
Elections Alberta has hired more than 34,000 workers for the vote, and was still looking for more in some rural areas as of Sept. 28.
After the vote
The City says whoever put up referendum signs is responsible for taking them down.
It will start removing any left along roadways one week after the vote.
The signs on 10 Street came down before that cleanup period. The City's ability to deal with safety hazards applies before voting day too.
Sources
Bylaws related to signage, City of Calgary
Referendum, Elections Alberta
Request a Special Ballot, Elections Alberta
Referendum Information Updates, Elections Alberta
Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, fact sheet, Government of Alberta
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