New Alberta referendum rules looming as calls for separation met with opposition petition
CBC
As Canada prepares Tuesday to blow out 158 birthday candles, Alberta plans three days later to formalize rules making it easier to have an independence celebration of its own.
Beginning Friday, Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative government is officially lowering the required threshold for citizens to initiate a provincewide referendum, including on separation.
Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project, a non-profit group touring Alberta promoting independence, said he plans to apply to Elections Alberta that same day to start a petition under the new rules.
The group aims to gather 177,000 signatures within 120 days to put the question on a ballot to voters: Do you agree the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada?
"I would not be surprised if that referendum was held right now that we could possibly even win it," Sylvestre told The Canadian Press.
He said many Albertans are skeptical Prime Minister Mark Carney will be able to restore trust after federal policies for years siphoned Alberta's resource riches elsewhere.
At the same time, Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Progressive Conservative deputy premier in Alberta, is working to thwart that separatist effort.
Lukaszuk, now out of politics, argues that Alberta's rules do not allow for two competing petitions on the same issue.
"There's only one petition at a time, so mine precludes theirs," he said.
On Monday, Elections Alberta approved his application to undertake a petition for the province to declare its official policy is to remain within Canada.
Since Lukaszuk applied before the new rules took effect, he'll need to collect 600,000 signatures, but he said he's confident that enough Albertans would sign their name.
Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said in a Monday statement that Lukaszuk has 30 days to appoint a chief financial officer for his campaign, after which he'll be able to start gathering signatures.
The petition is being called the 'Alberta Forever Canada' petition.
Sylvestre said he will be submitting papers for the second time on Friday. He said he believes Lukaszuk's petition effort might delay the push for Alberta independence but believes it will fail to gather so many signatures within the old threshold of 90 days.
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