Head of the Forever Canadian referendum campaign group Thomas Lukaszuk posted on X , “All the referendum questions are meaningless, but they will cost us hundreds of millions of dollars and are designed to set us up for more fights with Ottawa. If Alberta really wants more representation in Ottawa, we should be seeking more seats in the Senate.”

The referendum questions seek a mandate from citizens on serious issues such as immigration reform and the provision of social services to temporary immigrants along with some proposed constitutional reforms. He may not agree with the premise of the questions, but they are far from meaningless.

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Lukaszuk’s proposal that Alberta should simply seek more seats in the Senate isn’t as easy as he appears to think it is. To add seats to the Canadian Senate, the Constitution must be opened. Seven out of 10 provinces representing over half of Canada’s provinces must then agree on any changes.

The chance of the eastern provinces supporting changes which would reduce their overrepresentation in the Senate is slim to none. Canada held a national referendum on the Charlottetown Accord, which would have rebalanced the Senate, and it was shot down by Canadians.

To be fair, several of the proposals in Alberta’s referenda questions are for constitutional reforms which are just as unlikely to happen as the country deciding to grant Alberta more seats in the Senate. Alberta’s referendum has teeth behind it, though with Question Ten, which could open the door to provincial independence. That sort of leverage could potentially inspire other provinces to consider supporting reforms to the Senate.

Brian Mulroney infamously stacked the Senate in the 1990s to pass his GST bill. However, that move was temporary and was through an obscure constitutional provision requiring consent of the Queen. It didn’t reform the Senate, and that provision has only been used once in Canadian history.

Mr. Lukaszuk has had a checkered employment history since his time in the Redford government. A seat in the Senate doubtless looks appealing to him as he approaches his golden years, and if Alberta had more of them, his chances of such a reward would increase. Senators get a generous allowance for expenses such as phone bills, which Lukaszuk surely would enjoy. Canada can’t just give a province more seats in the Senate despite his whimsical wishes.

The Constitutional changes sought through referendum questions facing Albertans this fall may be unlikely to come to fruition, but they do illustrate the futility of pursuing such changes within the Canadian system. That’s not meaningless.