Alberta separatist group unveils potential referendum question

A group pushing for Alberta separation has come up with the question they plan to ask in a referendum.

The Alberta Prosperity Project held a public event in Calgary Monday night and says the question posed to residents would be, ‘Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada?’

“We’re going to finally live free of all federal taxes, going to thrive,” says the group’s co-founder Jeff Rath. “We’ll be voting Alberta out of Canada, it’s that simple.”

The group says they have around 240,000 online pledges that support the cause and they hope to start a referendum this year.

Currently, they would need 600,000 signatures for Albertans to have an opportunity to vote on independence. The UCP government recently proposed legislation that would lower that threshold to 177,000 signatures in 120 days.

The group says they aren’t waiting and aim to use the old rules of getting 600,000 signatures in 90 days.

Premier Danielle Smith says her government is still working on the bill that would make it easier for a citizen-led referendum to happen. She introduced it right after Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election win, but has said legislation was in the works regardless of the outcomes of last month’s federal election.

First Nations Chiefs from across Alberta have condemned Smith’s legislation as well as any suggestion of Alberta separation, warning their treaties with the Crown predate the province and Alberta doesn’t have the authority to challenge those agreements.

In the lead-up to the federal election, nearly one-third of Albertans (30 per cent) told a pollster they would want to separate from Canada if the Liberals were elected again

For her part, Smith has said she doesn’t support separating from Canada, but said last week she’s willing to risk a separation referendum in part to avert the emergence of a political rival.

Smith cited the high popularity of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in Quebec, saying she doesn’t want to see that happen in her home province.

The premier addressed Albertans via livestream last week where she discussed a “path forward with the federal government” following Carney’s election victory.

The province is planning to appoint a negotiating team to represent Alberta in discussions with the federal government moving forward, and Smith made a list of demands she says her government needs to see from Ottawa. Those demands mostly center around loosening restrictions and regulations impacting the energy sector.

With files from The Canadian Press