Petition for referendum to ensure Alberta remains in Canada approved by Elections Alberta

A petition asking people if they believe Alberta should remain in Canada is now rolling out across the province.

Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said in a news release Wednesday that Albertans can now begin signing the petition for the "Alberta Forever Canada" citizen initiative.

The petition asks: Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?

Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Progressive Conservative deputy premier in Alberta, submitted the petition in June and has made it clear that this initiative is an attempt to foil any plans for Alberta separatism.

The Elections Alberta website said Albertans who are eligible to vote can use citizen initiative petitions to have a policy proposal introduced in the legislative assembly or to have a constitutional referendum conducted.

Lukaszuk said his primary goal is to avoid a referendum.

"I will tell you I am the last one who wants a referendum on Alberta separating or staying in Canada," Lukaszuk said.

"We don't need to have a referendum. That is why we very strategically filed this petition under the policy stream, not the constitutional stream."

He said his goal is to have Smith call his petition's question in the legislature and have Albertan MLAs vote on it.

However, the signature threshold for Lukaszuk's petition will be higher than any other future citizen initiative petition in the province.

Since Lukaszuk's petition was submitted before the signature threshold for citizen-initiated referendums to get to ballots was lowered to 177,000 in early July, his petition will need to collect around 294,000 signatures from eligible voters over a 90-day period.

The increased figure represents 10 per cent of the total number of all eligible voters, based on figures from the 2023 provincial election.

For the petition, only original physical signatures will be considered valid, and a registered canvasser must witness each signature and swear an affidavit stating to the best of their knowledge the individual who signed was eligible to do so.

Lukaszuk's application states that he wanted the petition because he believes the majority of Albertans "are loyal Canadians opposed to any form of separation."

"Separation will threaten the Canadian as well as the Alberta economy, the personal wealth of [Albertans], the Canadian citizen rights of Alberta residents, the treaty rights of our First Nations, and have many other serious and negative consequences," Lukaszuk said on his petition application to Election Alberta.

A competing pro-separation referendum question is currently before the courts to review its constitutionality.

The proposed referendum question, submitted by Alberta resident Mitch Sylvestre, seeks a yes or no answer to the following: "Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?"

Sylvestre, who submitted the question, is an executive with the Alberta Prosperity Project, a non-profit group that has been touring the province promoting independence.

If approved, this referendum would have 120 days to collect the necessary number of signatures under the new provincial rules.

Lukaszuk said he is not discouraged by the fact that his petition will have to gather more signatures in a shorter period of time than the potential pro-separation petition.

"The response … from Albertans saying 'where is the petition? I want to sign it' is so encouraging. I know that we will not only meet but surpass the number of signatures that are required."

He said his next steps will now be to meet with the chief electoral officer to iron out the rules and logistics of the petition.

Lukaszuk said that anyone interested in helping collect signatures should reach out to the Forever Canadian campaign online, and the organization will assist individuals who want to volunteer in registering with Elections Alberta.

He said he is excited to help give Albertans a chance to express how connected they are to the rest of Canada.

"This is the first time where we actually get to say not only that we love Canada, but we get to put a pen to paper, and put our name next on a petition showing that we love Canada and we want to stay in Canada."