The benchmark to start a petition to have an Alberta-wide referendum on separation from Canada will soon be lowered.
As part of the continued battle, largely fought by the Alberta government against the federal Liberals, a legal petition will soon be easier when new rules start July 4. Any group seeking such a petition for a referendum will need 177,000 signatures in a 120-day period compared to the 600,000 in a 90-day period that existed before the change.
If a petition were to move ahead, the question would be posed to voters in the province whether they want to remain part of Canada or become its own country.
Alberta Prosperity Project, a non-profit group promoting the province’s independence from Canada, told Canadian Press the organization will inform Elections Alberta’s chief electoral officer it will start a petition when the new rules come into effect.
The group remains adamant there is enough voting support to have Alberta separate from the rest of Canada.
Another petition brought forward by Thomas Lukaszuk, a former deputy premier in Alberta under the Conservative banner, made an application June 30 for a petition to have the province remain in Canada.
However, since he did so before the formal changes, the petition will need 600,000 signatures in 90 days compared to roughly 75 per cent fewer than what will come into effect July 4.
The Alberta Forever Canada petition was launched since Lukaszuk has said he believes Alberta rules only allow one petition on an issue at a time, which would postpone the Alberta Prosperity Project’s petition for a few months.
The political theatre of separation has been on and off for decades in Alberta, but has ramped up first under the Jason Kenney government and kicked into overdrive by Premier Danielle Smith.
She has said if a petition gets enough votes, a referendum would be held in 2026. Though she has stated her preference is to remain part of Canada, Smith has pushed for greater Alberta sovereignty within the country. She still continues to push for a petition to potentially lead to a referendum.
She struck the Alberta Next panel and 15 members to begin a public engagement process through online surveys and in-person and virtual town halls to focus on economic and constitutional protections from the federal government. The initial online surveys, however, attempt to direct public opinion, with a video introducing the survey alleging “Ottawa is notoriously anti-Alberta with its decisions.”
It’s part of the continued fights between the Smith government against the federal Liberals, which has focused on equalization and what the UCP’s believe to be the feds crossing into provincial jurisdiction.
In addition, the province has looked at creating a provincial police force instead of having the RCMP and options for withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan.
Even if a separation question were to go to a referendum, the likelihood of it going anywhere is somewhere around zero.
Not only have previous polls by Angus Reid and Leger indicated the appetite for separation is lukewarm, but Indigenous peoples have expressed disdain at the Alberta government’s plans, due to the First Nations having treaties with the Crown.
The Clarity Act also outlines how a province attempting to break away from Canada would have to proceed, first with a referendum and then a negotiation with the federal government to amend the Constitution of Canada. As with any negotiation, both sides need to be willing and there’s not much reason for any federal party running — Liberal or Conservative — the government to pick up the phone.
The issue of Alberta separation should be of little importance, but it continues to be political theatre and a distraction from issues that need proper attention.
