Article content The Alberta government is considering adding citizenship status to provincial drivers’ licences, according to remarks from Premier Danielle Smith and Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally. Speaking on stage to thousands of party members at the governing United Conservative Party’s (UCP) annual general meeting in Red Deer on Nov. 1, Nally told the crowd it was a change being considered as a way to bolster security of elections.
“One of the things that we’re looking at is how we can put citizenship on the driver’s licence. So that when people come to vote we can make sure they are a Canadian citizen,” Nally said. That comment was teed up by remarks by Smith who cited potential Chinese interference in elections as justification for “us to have more integrity in our elections, more trust in our elections.
” Smith also referenced her government’s ban on the use of vote tabulators at the municipal level , something she told the crowd her government was “working on doing the same” for provincial elections via legislation she said would come sometime next year. Nally was not made available for an interview this week. His office issued a statement saying the change is still under consideration and is part of a plan to modernize registries.
“This initiative is still in preliminary stages and further analysis will be required before any decisions are finalized.” ‘Highly trained investigators’ Canadian Security and Itelligence Service (CSIS) doc.