Conservative MP says First Nations votes will be critical in Alberta referendum

First Nations leaders are encouraging members to vote for Alberta to stay in Canada in the fall referendum.

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Conservative members of Parliament are set to spend their summer break campaigning for Albertans to stay in Canada — and one member of his caucus says he will focus on working with Indigenous leaders to get out the vote.

Edmonton Northwest MP Billy Morin said chiefs are doing something “very admirable” in Alberta by fighting for treaties and for Canadian unity.

“This one matters. We can’t sit this one out,” he said.

Albertans are set to vote in October on whether they want to stay in Canada or prefer to hold a future binding referendum on separating from the country.

Poilievre said last month that he and his caucus will be campaigning across Alberta over the summer and encouraging people to stay in “the Canadian family.” Former prime minister Stephen Harper has said he’ll do the same.

Morin, who was chief of Enoch Cree Nation before entering federal politics, said he understands many First Nations people are reluctant to vote.

Until 1960, First Nations people were generally forced to forfeit their Indian status in order to cast a ballot in federal elections. Even though the law was changed, some Indigenous people are still wary of taking part in elections — while others believe it’s a violation of the treaties.

Data from Elections Canada shows voter turnout in the 2021 election was lower for First Nations electors than for others.

Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi said he also plans to encourage other chiefs to get their community members out to vote.

“The general consensus from our chiefs is that the province and the municipalities are beneath our treaties, and so to change that mindset and to bring people to the voting stations is an important message to get out,” he said.

Morin said First Nations people feel like they “have a target on their back when it comes to Alberta separation” as a result of the court case that quashed an effort to push for a citizen-led referendum on separation.

Mercredi said there have been racist comments online since the court decision was released.

First Nations in Alberta successfully challenged the referendum process in court by arguing it was unconstitutional because it did not require Indigenous consultation, and separation would violate treaty rights. The judge ruled in May that the province didn’t fulfil the duty to consult with First Nations and that secession from Canada would affect Treaties 7 and 8.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at the time called the ruling undemocratic and pledged to appeal. She later formalized the wording of the Oct. 19 referendum question — which asks not if Albertans want to separate but whether they want to begin the legal process toward a binding referendum on secession.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called the question a “dangerous bluff.”

Mercredi said he doesn’t think the federal government is doing enough to protect First Nations rights — and he worries about “foreign interference coming from the United States” in the Alberta separatist movement.

During a visit to Quebec City on Wednesday, Smith said she hopes Albertans will give her a mandate on the referendum’s other questions to push Ottawa to reform the judiciary and the Senate, and to give the province more control over issues like immigration.

“I’m really hopeful that I’ll be able to convince the vast majority of Albertans to vote with me to remain in Canada,” she said.

Smith also insisted she’s “doing a lot” to convince people in her province to stay.

Morin said while he believes the separation referendum will fail, that doesn’t mean separatism itself will fold.

“I think this is moving beyond reconciliation now and going back to what treaty ultimately meant, which was working together,” he said.

“Albertans are not going anywhere, First Nations people are not going anywhere, regardless of what happens in this referendum, and we have to get down to the table together and kind of chart out a path.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2026.

— With files from Alessia Passafiume

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press