The announcement comes after a Canadian court annulled a popular petition to call for popular consultations that gathered around 300,000 signatures
The government of the Canadian province of Alberta announced on Thursday that it will hold a consultation for a possible binding referendum on separation from Canada.
The announcement was made by the head of the government of Alberta, the populist conservative Danielle Smith, in a televised speech in which she stated that citizens will have to choose between remaining a province of the country or starting the legal process required to “hold a binding provincial referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada”.
Smith, who since coming to power in 2022 has focused his policies on confronting the federal government, has reiterated several times that he will vote in favor of remaining in Canada, considering that “Canada can still function”.
However, he justified the consultation by saying that hundreds of thousands of Albertans want to have their say on the issue.
The announcement comes after on May 13, a Canadian court annulled a popular petition to call for popular consultations that gathered around 300,000 signatures, alleging that the process did not respect the rights of the territory’s indigenous peoples.
The provincial premier, who had facilitated the popular initiative by reducing the number of signatures needed to force a referendum, criticized the court ruling as undemocratic and said Alberta would appeal.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has not yet commented on Alberta’s decision, declared on May 14 that separatists must respect indigenous rights and comply with Canadian legislation, including the Clarity Act. This law, approved after the two separatist referendums in Quebec, stipulates that the Canadian Parliament must approve the question for any referendum and decide whether the result of the vote is sufficient to begin a negotiation process, which must be ratified by the remaining provinces.
According to the provincial government, the consultation announced by Smith would not automatically imply Alberta’s independence: a victory for the sovereignist option would only trigger the process to organize a second referendum, this one binding, on separation.
The announcement comes amid growing tension between Alberta and Ottawa over energy and regulatory issues.
Smith accused the federal government of trying to centralize powers and argued that Alberta has been harmed for years by policies contrary to oil development.
The opposition and several political leaders reacted immediately. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will campaign for Alberta to remain within the “Canadian family.”
For their part, indigenous organizations denounced that any attempt at separation would violate historic treaties signed with the British Crown and protected by the Canadian Constitution.
The October referendum will also include nine other questions related to immigration and constitutional matters.
