(LifeSiteNews) — In a first for Canada, the province of Alberta will add mandatory Canadian citizenship status to all ID cards, including driver’s licenses, in an effort to combat voter fraud.
On Monday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the new initiative, saying it will “strengthen” the province’s “election system.”
“Alberta will be the first province to add a Canadian citizenship marker to driver’s licences and ID cards, strengthening Alberta’s election system and protecting the integrity of our democratic process by ensuring that only eligible citizens cast ballots,” wrote Smith on X.
Smith added that the new “change will also give Canadian citizens in Alberta a single, secure card to access programs and services more conveniently.”
In a more detailed press release about the new initiative, the government said that in the fall, it will introduce legislation to implement the addition of “Canadian citizenship status to Albertans’ driver’s licences or ID cards.”
“This change is part of a broader initiative to give Albertans a single, secure document that confirms both identity and Canadian citizenship. By combining identity and citizenship on one document, Albertans will no longer need to carry multiple pieces of ID to access services,” said the government.
Smith noted that the change is about “more than convenience, it’s about trust.”
“With a single, secure card proving both identity and citizenship, Albertans will face fewer hurdles when applying for government services. This will also strengthen the integrity of elections and other systems that rely on proof of citizenship,” she added.
The government says that the new change will ensure that only “citizens” will be able to “cast ballots” in elections.
The new citizenship marker will be added in the fall of 2026 and will only display Canadian citizenship with a “CAN” marking on the top right-hand side of the ID.
The opposition NDP party, however, is not happy with the new changes, with its immigration critic Lizette Tejada saying in a statement that the Smith government is “virtue signaling while creating bureaucracy and red tape for everyone.”
Also, Canada has seen a massive influx of immigrants in recent years due to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s, and now Mark Carney’s, Liberal open border policies.
In Canada, like most nations, only citizens are allowed to vote in all federal, provincial, and municipal elections. However, there have been alleged instances of non-citizens being able to cast votes in some provincial elections. There have also been voter lists found with non-citizens on them.
When it comes to the integrity of elections in Canada, there have been reported issues of meddling at the hands of foreign powers.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, election interference from China’s Communist Chinese Party (CCP) government has been a real issue in Canada in recent years.
