Subhead:Residents must have the right to engage in legal advertising campaigns during elections or referenda.#
The Alberta referendum campaign for 2026 has kicked off with a town administration thinking it has the right to hinder legal advertising from a third-party advertiser registered with Elections Alberta.
They have demanded an ad be removed which is currently being hosted by a private company on a digital billboard in the town of Taber. They are trying to justify their action by claiming the ad has become a nuisance.
The third-party advertiser (full disclosure, I manage that organization) is called Pathway to Independence and the ad was very innocuous. It has the Alberta flag, framed by six simple words. “Send Ottawa a message!” and “Choose Alberta!”
There was no provocative imagery or messaging that could be a nuisance in any way. The town apparently has now been dealing with a flood of emails and phone calls from Albertans upset over the attempt to remove the advertisement. But that nuisance was brought upon the town through its own anti-democratic actions. Not by the advertisement.
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