Calgarians who wish to sign a petition aimed at keeping Alberta in Canada have plenty of opportunities this week. Former Progressive Conservative deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk launched the Forever Canadian initiative in Edmonton earlier this month, after receiving Elections Alberta’s approval to collect signatures under the province’s Citizens Initiative Act. The petition asks, “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?” Forever Canadian has 90 days to collect 293,967 signatures – 10 per cent of all registered provincial voters – in order to present the petition to the legislature. The group’s goal is to persuade the provincial government to adopt a formal policy rejecting separatism without requiring a referendum. The petition is widely viewed as a response to the Alberta Prosperity Project, which earlier this year applied to hold a vote on whether Alberta should secede from Canada. That pro-separatist application is now before the courts, after chief electoral officer Gordon McClure referred it to a judge to determine whether it contravenes the Constitution. Premier Danielle Smith and Justice Minister Mickey Amery urged Elections Alberta to withdraw the reference and approve the Alberta Prosperity Project’s petition. Lukaszuk has criticized those interventions, saying they have galvanized Forever Canadian’s supporters. Lukaszuk says more than 8,000 volunteers have signed up to canvass across Alberta. While many of those are going door-to-door or arranging small pop-up-style collection sites, the group does have some events scheduled in Calgary this week to collect signatures.
