Alberta · October 2026

Living Here, Belonging Here

What Alberta’s history, its research and its referendum can teach us about one another

Some of what follows may shock you. Some of it may offend you. And we hope all of it informs you.

This month, Albertans voted on ten referendum questions, five of them about immigration. With about 98% of polls counted, a narrow majority voted Yes on each of those five. Most diverse urban communities voted No, or split almost evenly. Whatever you think of the results, the debate has left many families asking the same quiet question:

Do we belong here?

That question isn’t new in Alberta.

Our history is more complicated than we were taught

In 1911, the Edmonton Board of Trade circulated a petition with about 3,000 signatures asking Ottawa to ban Black immigrants. The federal cabinet approved an order calling them “unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada.” It was soon repealed, but officials kept turning Black settlers away quietly at the border (The Canadian Encyclopedia). In 1920, 472 white Calgarians petitioned to bar Black families from buying homes in Victoria Park (Lougheed House). Many of us grew up in this province without hearing about Amber Valley, once the largest Black community west of Ontario.

The patterns haven’t disappeared

Nearly half of racialized people on the Prairies reported discrimination in the past five years (Statistics Canada). Police-reported hate crimes in Calgary rose 42% in 2024 (Statistics Canada). In a Canadian study, job seekers who “whitened” their résumés got more than twice the callbacks (University of Toronto). Many skilled newcomers end up in jobs well below their training (C.D. Howe Institute).

Our children feel it most

More than 40% of Black students in a seven-province study that included Alberta had faced racism at school, and that racism caused depression symptoms (University of Ottawa). When University of Alberta researchers spoke with Black youth in Edmonton, racism was the factor they named most often as harming their mental health (CMAJ). People who face discrimination are less likely to feel they belong in their community: 38% do, against 51% of those who haven’t (Statistics Canada). Children don’t have to be the target to be hurt. They absorb what happens to their parents, and how their families are talked about.

This isn’t about blame

Albertans voted for many reasons: housing, jobs, pressure on health care, and honest concerns about how immigration is managed. Many immigrants share those concerns, and they’re worth discussing openly. The evidence doesn’t say every Yes vote was about race. It says something simpler: words and policies reach kitchen tables, classrooms and children’s sense of who they are.

The same research shows what helps

Strong families, close communities, schools where kids feel safe, and care from people who understand their lives all protect young people’s mental health. None of these needs a referendum. All of them need neighbours.

So this is an invitation, not an accusation. Talk with someone whose story differs from yours. Learn the history we skipped. Ask the young people in your life whether they feel at home here, and listen to the answer.

We all have a responsibility to Albertans: to leave Alberta better than we found it.

If you or a young person you know is struggling, call or text 988, or text 686868 to reach Kids Help Phone.