Alberta separatists say they have enough signatures for referendum on leaving Canada

By Greg Norman-Diamond

Stay Free Alberta group says it formally submitted almost 302,000 signatures after needing 178,000 names

Separatists in Alberta declared they now have enough signatures to trigger a vote on the province leaving Canada.

The Stay Free Alberta group said Monday it formally submitted almost 302,000 signatures after needing 178,000 names to force the province to consider such a ballot measure. The question of separation could go on a province-wide ballot as early as October, as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she would move forward if enough names are gathered and verified.

“This day is historic in Alberta history,” Mitch Sylvestre, the head of Stay Free Alberta, said Monday as he arrived at the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton leading a convoy of seven trucks to deliver the names. “It’s the first step to the next step — we’ve gotten by Round 3, and now we’re in the Stanley Cup final.”

Smith has said she personally does not support the oil-rich province leaving Canada, but she has accused previous federal Liberal governments of introducing legislation that hamstrings Alberta’s ability to produce and export oil, which she said has cost the province billions of dollars, and noted that she doesn’t want the federal government meddling in provincial issues, according to The Associated Press.

More than 300 supporters gathered in Edmonton on Monday, waving the provincial flag and chanting “Alberta strong.”

A “yes” vote would not trigger independence automatically, as negotiations with the federal government would have to take place.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, told the AP that despite the independence effort, liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “is indeed popular, even in Alberta.”