The group behind the Alberta independence petition said it has received the 177,732 signatures it needs to force a referendum.
Mitch Sylvestre, head of Stay Free Alberta, confirmed to the National Post that it has met the threshold. The petition still needs official approval from Elections Alberta, which will review the signatures according to the Citizen Initiative Act after the petition is submitted after the official deadline of May 2.
Alberta has proposed a bill that would limit the use of medically assisted dying – also known as voluntary euthanasia – in the Canadian province solely to end-of-life circumstances.
In 2021, Canada expanded access to medically assisted dying, known domestically by the acronym Maid, to people with serious, incurable illnesses or disabilities, even if their death is not reasonably foreseeable.
Canada is also due to expand access next year to people whose only medical condition is mental illness, though that has twice been delayed.
CALGARY – With about six weeks left to collect signatures, supporters of Alberta independence are working to gather enough names on a citizen-led petition that could trigger a province-wide referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada.
But even if the campaign succeeds and a majority of voters backed separation in a referendum, constitutional experts say the vote would only begin what could be a long and complicated process of negotiations with Ottawa, the provinces, and Indigenous nations.
King Charles III “expressed his concern” over the Alberta separatist movement while meeting Indigenous leaders at Buckingham Palace, according to a delegation of First Nations chiefs that travelled to London.
Grand Chief Joey Pete of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations said he and other leaders made the King aware of the “threat” the movement represented to agreements signed by First Nations and the Crown more than a century ago.
He added that the King was “very interested in what we had to say” and had “committed to learning more”.
Most Albertans support Premier Danielle Smith’s immigration-related policy proposals, including a referendum question aimed at restricting non-permanent residents from accessing health care, education and other public services in the province, according to a new Postmedia-Leger poll.
Alberta is not ready to deal with the threat of online disinformation coming from foreign actors in a possible referendum campaign on separation this fall, according to national security experts.
“Alberta is excessively vulnerable to American interference,” Jean-Christophe Boucher, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary, told Radio-Canada.
Boucher, whose research focuses on foreign interference, is unequivocal: “If there were a referendum in Alberta, there would be no one within the Alberta government who could analyze and collect data to ensure that the conversation about the referendum is not being manipulated by foreign actors.”
Alberta is flirting with the Americans again. A few bold souls are down in DC, on their own dime, asking about diplomatic recognition and — bless their pragmatic hearts — a line of credit.
Predictably, the “Forever Canada, Elbows Up” crowd has dropped their avocado toast in horror, screaming “Treason!” with the kind of theatrics usually reserved for a Truckers convoy or a minor dip in Toronto real estate prices.
It appears that the Smith government is taking a “leaf out” of the Quebec playbook with its policy proposal to reduce government benefits to non-permanent residents (NPRs), including asylum claimants, in Alberta. But the difference is that the Government of Quebec is being upfront about the financial support being provided to its asylum claimants, rather than hiding behind a distraction through a referendum.
(Incognito)
The focus in Alberta, less so in the country, has been on the forthcoming referendum regarding independence. But Premier Smith recently called for a different referendum, one that follows the Alberta Next Review Panel. Led by Smith, it toured the province, eliciting views about the role of the province and how to strengthen autonomy within the federation.
Eleven panellists were plucked from the UCP, business, academia, the judiciary (retired), and others from the community with experience regarding a range of social issues.
At many levels, this is brilliant.
(Incognito)
From Mark Carney’s globalist agenda to the ‘climate crisis’ charade, the West is ready to choose dignity and prosperity over the growing mess of the Canadian state.
One of the pleasures of writing columns for the Western Standard is receiving feedback. A recent email from a former law school roommate posed some interesting and relevant questions that, while unable to answer, this column can perhaps provide some perspective and context.
One addressed geography — would independence be just Alberta or also include Saskatchewan and Manitoba? To that, I would include parts of British Columbia.
(Incognito)
A few short years ago, before she had proposed a new set of referendum questions on Thursday aimed at curbing rapid population growth, Premier Danielle Smith was actively courting newcomers to the province. Indeed, with the private sector facing a shortage of skilled workers, the premier could hardly bring in enough people to satisfy her appetite.
Smith’s latest referendum push, then, seems like a dramatic shift in policy. Instead, the premier told reporters on Friday, her change in tone is the result of a stark mismatch between Alberta’s efforts to recruit skilled workers and changes to Canada’s immigration system made under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
CBC's Janyce McGregor admits that Alberta is using the Quebec playbook to seek similar provincial control over immigration "Yeah, it seems like that could be what they're angling for here, using tactics similar to what we've seen used in Quebec,"
But can anyone ever recall… pic.twitter.com/dYQ1pUq1QG
— cbcwatcher (@cbcwatcher) February 20, 2026
Wow, that was a welcome change of direction for federalism, which has for decades now been drifting towards a stronger central government and weaker provincial governments.
The central theme of Premier Danielle Smith’s address to the province on Thursday evening was rebalancing Confederation, giving the provinces more control over matters that affect them most, such as health, education, immigration and judicial appointments.
OTTAWA — Federal officials say they won’t stand in the way of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to put a number of constitutional and immigration-related questions to a referendum in the fall, and say they’re already taking meaningful steps to bring migration down to a sustainable level.
Gabriel Brunet, a spokesman for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said his office was aware of the nine referendum questions Smith put forward to Albertans in a televised address on Thursday evening and didn’t quarrel with her plan to seek input on these matters.
It’s becoming clear that large parts of the Laurentian Elite have suddenly become nervous about the implications of Alberta’s unrest. After decades of turning a deaf ear to low rumblings of discontent, from somewhere beyond the Lakehead, the Andrew Coyne Brigade is in full force waving their law books, warning about why Alberta independence is against the natural law, God’s plan and more. @acoyne Smith has no mandate to hold a referendum… Among many, many other objections.
They couldn’t do it.
It was hoped their cause would make more of an effort than just burping up daily hysteria fuelled by social media.
But they couldn’t resist. And so we get to experience another eruption of phoney outrage.
