Corb Lund ‘deeply disappointed and shocked’ by Premier Smith’s answer on coal petition

Alberta country music artist and rancher Corb Lund formally submits his "Water Not Coal" anti-coal mining petition to Elections Alberta, in Edmonton, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amanda Erickson

After Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a question about coal mining would not be on this fall’s referendum ballot, the leader of the movement said he believes it can be if she wants it there.

Corb Lund, Alberta musician and chief proponent of the Water Not Coal petition, responded on Wednesday night to Smith’s statement made earlier in the day.

“I’m deeply disappointed and shocked by the premier’s decision today. After more than 200,000 Albertans added their names to the Water Not Coal petition, and after months of canvassing by thousands of volunteers, to be told that the petition won’t make the ballot because it allegedly missed a June 1 deadline is unacceptable,” he wrote.

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During an unrelated news conference at Calgary’s Heritage Park, Smith said there wasn’t enough time for the petition to go through the proper process to be added to the Oct. 19 ballot.

“The Forever Canada petition went before a committee of MLAs,” Smith said, “so it’s both parties and then they took hearings, got legal advice and then made a determination about how to proceed with that — and so this particular legislative proposal will follow the same pathway.”

She added Lund’s petition is particularly complicated because it has to do with land rights.

‘She easily can’: Lund

In his response, Lund said he personally met with Smith on May 11 about the coal mining question.

“We were literally discussing the wording of my question as it should appear on the ballot, face-to-face. And at no point was any June 1 deadline mentioned,” he said.

“In fact, as our petition was in full swing collecting signatures, the premier stated widely in the media that if Water Not Coal collected enough signatures, our question would be on the ballot.

“My team, all the canvassers and Albertans in general deserve consistency, honesty and fair treatment around these petition and direct democracy issues that the premier has professed to believe in so strongly, so many times.”

He said Smith can, and has, put questions on the ballot with ease and without complication.

“If the premier wants to put something on the ballot, she easily can. She has done so multiple times,” Lund said.

“First, with her original nine referendum questions, and then with the current question on separatism. The authority and the choice are available to her. And Albertans deserve to know why that authority was not used in this case, despite more than 200,000 people calling for it.”

Smith said a committee has been tasked to figure out the path forward on the coal mining question, but that group won’t be formed until a month ahead of the referendum.

With files from CTV News Calgary’s Stephen Hunt