Stay Free Alberta submitted nearly 302,000 petition signatures to Elections Alberta on Monday, surpassing the 178,000-signature threshold needed to potentially place a referendum on provincial independence on the October ballot by nearly 70%.
Group leader Mitch Sylvestre arrived in a convoy of seven trucks, met by more than 300 supporters waving provincial flags. Premier Danielle Smith has committed to including the question on the 2026 referendum ballot if signatures are verified, while maintaining she personally opposes separation.
“I do not support Alberta separating from Canada,” Smith said. A yes vote would not trigger independence — it would require negotiations with Ottawa under the federal Clarity Act. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office did not respond.
The petition may never reach verification. An Edmonton judge paused the process on a court challenge from Alberta First Nations, arguing separation would violate treaty rights — a ruling is expected this week.
And the integrity of the signatures themselves is in question, Elections Alberta and the RCMP are investigating the Centurion Project, another separatist group, after it published a database of nearly 3 million Albertans’ personal information traced to an official voter list held by the Republican Party of Alberta.
Read: RCMP Investigates Alberta Separatist Group Over Alleged Misuse of 2.9 Million Voter Records
A judge shut the database down, and Elections Alberta said it will scan Sylvestre’s petition for fake names embedded in that list. Sylvestre said he was approached to use it and refused.
A referendum would face long odds. A pro-unity counter-petition, “Forever Canadian,” had 404,000 signatures verified in December — more than the separatist total. McGill political science professor Daniel Béland put support for independence below 30% and said the vote is likely to lose.
Related: Alberta Separatist Support Stalls at 19% Despite Aggressive Referendum Campaign
“Mark Carney is indeed popular, even in Alberta,” Béland said. “The push for independence predates his prime ministership and it’s related to economic, fiscal, and political grievances about the seemingly unfair treatment of Alberta by the federal government.”
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi accused Smith of enabling separatism rather than rejecting it, saying she “coddles people who want to tear our nation apart” and warning the climate risks deterring investment. He called Elections Alberta “defunded and defanged.”
Smith lowered the signature threshold through legislation passed after Carney’s April 2025 election win. Her first conversation with Carney, which she described as “a positive first step,” focused on Alberta’s energy and resource market access.
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