The petition for a referendum question on Alberta’s separation from Canada is in its signature-collecting stage. Here’s what’s happened, and what different groups have had to say about it, so far. A Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence, headed by Stay Free Alberta’s proponent Mitch Sylvestre, is a petition through the Citizens Initiative Act approved by Elections Alberta in early January after some review and revision. At the crux of the separation sentiment is a desire for Alberta’s complete independence and self-reliance; as of right now, there are no plans to join the United States, according to previous interviews with Sylvestre. “Absolutely, a free and independent country,” he told CTV News Edmonton last week. “No way that we need to go from one government to another.” Separatist talking points largely come back to discontent with federal overreach and a desire to govern Alberta independently. “We feel after the last federal election, it doesn’t seem like Alberta’s needs are going to be served by the federal government in Ottawa … It’s become very clear to us that not only do they not want us to prosper, they actually want to sabotage the industry.” Should Albertans achieve independence, separatists will have a chance to get their say in what governance looks like as Sylvestre plans to hold a constitutional conference within the first two months of a referendum’s potential success. “We have a discussion paper, a draft constitution done and prepared … Based on the constitution that will be prepared then, at that point we’ll move forward to an actual election within a year,” he said. Counter-arguments, petitions At the very beginning of December, the anti-separation petition led by Thomas Lukaszuk was deemed successful by Elections Alberta after collecting 438,568 signatures. That proposed referendum question, which asks if Alberta should remain part of Canada, is to be brought before the legislative assembly. During his campaign, Lukaszuk pointed to business and investment instability being a threat to Alberta should the province separate from Canada. Moshe Lander, an economist and lecturer at Concordia University, has gone on to denounce the economic viability of separation altogether. Read more: Alberta independence would go ‘terribly badly’: economist “Anybody in economics that can put forward an argument for why there should be this question, let alone the results of this question, I’ll show you an unemployed economist,” he told Alberta Primetime two weeks ago. He pointed to Quebec’s 1995 referendum vote, wherein businesses ran in a state of uncertainty and instability in the wake of losing a Canadian passport, currency and job prospects. He said insecurity would trigger a mass exodus of both businesses and individuals – eroding the tax base and increasing the cost for anybody left behind in the province. “You could imagine if Alberta were to leave Canada, you would have to introduce currency, border control, passports. When you have people racing out the door, how are you going to pay for Alberta pensions … What’s going to happen to the housing market?” Sylvestre, however, maintains that a separation “would probably create a boom.” While not looking to become part of the U.S., he said, Stay Free Alberta has had conversations with U.S. authorities on matters of free trade and border security. Lander says the U.S. has no use for Alberta. “If they want Alberta, they want us for our oil. And guess what? They don’t even want us for our oil,” he said. “If Alberta is separated from the rest of Canada, if we feel that we’re not getting a fair share right now with our elbows up trying to retaliate against U.S. tariffs and trade talk, would you think an independent Alberta is going to have any more leverage or any more ability when, effectively, we become a one-resource economy?” Indigenous relations Separating from the federal government has also raised major concerns among Alberta’s Indigenous population – namely, what would separation mean for federally protected treaty land? “Jeffrey Rath (with the separatist movement) tends to be a bit more savvy on these questions,” U of A Native Studies professor Matthew Wildcat told Alberta Primetime last week. “He believes treaty rights will stick around, Indigenous people’s rights and title will continue to be respected in a separate Alberta.” But apart from Rath, a large proponent of separatist educational group Alberta Prosperity Project, Wildcat says there has been no official word on whether First Nations people will retain distinct rights. Read more: Alberta separation question ‘offensive and alarming’: Native studies professor “Overall the separatist movement for the most part appears to not believe Indigenous peoples will have a distinct status within the independent Alberta … it’s offensive and alarming, frankly,” he said. He also went on to say the United Conservative government appears to not be listening to the concerns of Indigenous people in a “substantive, deep sort of way,” by allowing a separatist petition to go forth. Even if a separation question were to go to a referendum and was rejected, Wildcat said Alberta’s relationship with Indigenous people will be “in a difficult place.” “We need to start treating this as a political issue that requires negotiation as much as a legal question,” he added. Canvassing events are currently being held provincewide for Stay Free Alberta’s petition. Sylvestre’s group must gather at least 177,732 people, or 10 per cent of electors from the 2023 provincial election before the petition can be brought before the legislative assembly and proposed for a referendum question.
