Smith gets ‘tepid if not pretty warm endorsement’ for referendum questions: political scientist
With 77 per cent of voting locations reporting as of 6:35 a.m. MT, eight of the nine questions are still in majority “yes” vote territory.
Question 5, on requiring proof of citizenship to vote in provincial elections, is at about 63 per cent “yes” votes.
Question 8, on opting out of federal programs, is still the only question in the “no” category. It’s currently at about 51.5 per cent “no” votes.
Those numbers are “perhaps as good as the premier could have hoped for,” University of Calgary political scientist Melanee Thomas told CBC Radio’s Alberta Morning.
“Preliminary results are looking like she’s gotten at least tepid, if not pretty warm, endorsement for almost everything.”
Thomas says this outcome will likely help Premier Danielle Smith as she navigates the outcome of Question 10 within the UCP.
“It creates the context that makes it easiest for her to be able to go back to the internal party factions who are driving some of this stuff and basically say, ‘We tried it, this is what we got,'” Thomas said.
“I think it solidifies her leadership position for the time being.”
