Alberta is voting today. A record 1.35 million people already have.

Alberta's referendum is underway. Voters across the province are answering 10 questions on Monday, including the final — and most consequential — question on whether the province should remain in Canada or direct the provincial government to begin the constitutional and legal steps toward a future binding referendum on separation.

The turnout story is already historic. Elections Alberta's preliminary figures, released Oct. 18, show 1,356,873 Albertans voted in advance or by special ballot — 43.1 per cent of the province's 3,148,343 eligible electors. That includes 837,791 advance votes cast between Oct. 13 and 17 and 519,082 special ballots. Elections Alberta says it is preparing for overall turnout of 80 to 85 per cent, which would far outpace the 55 per cent average of the past five provincial elections, according to the Angus Reid Institute's analysis cited by Global News.

Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, and anyone still in line at closing can vote. Ballots will be counted by hand, with Question 10 — the separation question — counted first, followed by Questions 1 through 9 in order. Unofficial results will be posted on Elections Alberta's results website starting from 8 p.m. MT (10 p.m. ET), updated in real time; official results are expected Oct. 29.

The vote is non-binding: the government's own referendum orders say none of the 10 results are binding on the province. A vote to begin the legal process would start a constitutional process, not create a new country — actual separation would require further constitutional steps and negotiations with the federal government, other provinces and Indigenous peoples.

Polling points to a clear margin for the status quo. The Writ's poll tracker, updated Oct. 17, puts "remain in Canada" at 68 per cent against 26 per cent for starting the legal process toward a future binding separation vote — 72 to 28 among decided voters.

Premier Danielle Smith called the referendum but has said she opposes independence and voted for Alberta to remain in Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney has campaigned for national unity, including a Calgary rally that drew roughly 5,000 people.

The question nobody is answering

For First Nations in Alberta, the referendum raises a constitutional question that long predates the province itself: what happens to the historic treaties if Alberta ever separates? Indigenous-led coverage of the referendum has noted that the treaties were signed before Alberta became a province in 1905 — and that the campaign has offered no clear answer on how treaty rights would survive a separation process.