Alberta referendum sparks Chinese community push to vote

With Albertans voting on the province’s referendum on Monday, Chinese community leaders are mobilizing to help voters understand its 10 complex questions.

Many voters are struggling to understand the ballot, but community leaders say the desire to vote has never been stronger.

“Even English-speaking Canadians, people born and raised here, many don’t fully understand these 10 questions, because altogether they’re over 400 words, and they’re not asked in a direct way,” said Teresa Woo-Paw, chair of the ACCT Foundation.

The 10 questions cover a wide range of issues. Beyond the question on Alberta’s separation, the other nine address a range of topics from immigration to the constitutional division of powers.

“This referendum, I believe, is the largest and most complex vote in Canadian history,” Steven Tsang, a member of Asian Canadian for United Canada, said.

Former Alberta MLA Woo-Paw says that since July, community leaders have built a cross-ethnic coalition to address the information gap.

Woo-Paw and Tsang say they believe most Chinese voters support Alberta remaining in Canada.

“We believe that among ethnic communities, over 90 per cent support Alberta remaining in Canada,” Woo-Paw said.

Voting as first-generation immigrants

Geopolitical commentator Sam Choi says the referendum carries particular significance for first-generation immigrants.

“The government doesn’t know who you voted for, but it knows whether you voted. Technology is so advanced now, they type in your surname and they know how many Chinese voted or didn’t vote,” Woo-Paw said. “If we don’t vote, we’re not important; when they make decisions on how to allocate resources.”

Choi says participation offers an opportunity for Chinese Canadians to better understand Canada’s political system.

“For Chinese to come out and vote is a very good opportunity,” Choi said. “A channel for the community to understand our federal system, the division of powers with the provinces, and how to further improve going forward.”

Results for the 10 questions on the referendum will be released in batches. Meanwhile, the results of the stay-or-leave question is expected early Tuesday morning.