“It’s an expensive political game for this premier and all Albertans are paying the cost,” Nenshi said Thursday. The new numbers come from a freedom of information request, NDP Leader [Naheed Nenshi](https://globalnews.ca/tag/naheed-nenshi) said Thursday.

He said contracts show about $365,000 in fees for a televised address and promotional videos on social media platforms. The UPC government is spending more than $300,000 on a website pushing voters to endorse them.

The province previously said it’s putting up to $1.5 million for an economic analysis on the potential costs of secession.

To pull off the election, the agency said it needs 60,000 workers — more than four times the roughly 13,000 needed to administer the 2023 general election. (That province wide vote cost taxpayers $37 million.)

“Every single dollar spent on this referendum is a dollar that isn’t being spent addressing the issues that Albertans care about every single day,” he said.

He said Smith is likely to move forward on her immigration and constitutional questions regardless of the results of the referendum. Smith’s government has passed motions and legislation in the house related to some of them already.



Alberta referendum costs climbing with another $365K in promotion, says Nenshi