Alberta Separatists Get 300k+ Signatures, Enough To Trigger Referendum On Leaving Canada

A group behind the move to have the province of Alberta separate from Canada and become its own nation says it has enough signatures to trigger a referendum on the issue, as allowed by provincial law.

Earlier this week, Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) legal counsel Jeffrey Rath announced that it has obtained 301,620 signatures, nearly double the required 177,000 to trigger a vote.

Alberta’s new Citizen Initiative Act makes such potential referendum questions possible; however, the provincial government still needs to approve such requests.

Mitch Sylvestre, who leads Stay Free Alberta, a group advocating for Alberta to leave Canada, said, “This day is historic in Alberta history.”

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“This process shows that Albertans are engaged, and this is an issue people want to have a say on. From all perspectives, there has been significant interest,” he noted.

Elections Alberta has said that it has accepted the paperwork, which must now be verified before being approved.

The proposed referendum question, which was filed with Elections Alberta last year, asks, “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been a strong advocate for making Alberta as independent as possible within a “United Canada” but opposes full separation. However, much of her base supports Alberta independence, at least in principle.

Smith had promised before that if any potential petition met all legal requirements, it would be held at the end of 2026.

Despite the momentum for the APP, federally-appointed judges have imposed a stay on any referendum petition due to objections from some Indigenous groups.

The APP bills itself as a sovereignty advocacy group.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, about three-in-10 Albertans have said they are open to separating from Canada, with the majority of support coming from young citizens.

The calls for Alberta’s independence have grown since Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney defeated Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre, who also lost his seat in Parliament in the 2025 federal election. In Alberta, almost all of the seats except two went to conservatives.

Carney, like former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said he is opposed to new pipeline projects that would allow Alberta oil and gas to be unleashed. Also, his green agenda, like Trudeau’s, is at odds with Alberta’s main economic driver, its oil and gas industry.