Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has opted to present her own referendum question to Albertans in the fall, a move that is likely to divide her party as separatist sentiments in the province have reached decades-long highs.
In a video address to Albertans on Thursday evening, Smith said her government will present its own referendum question to voters, one that copies neither of the questions presented in a pair of petitions that gathered more than 700,000 signatures in recent months. The government’s proposed question does not explicitly offer an option of Alberta independence, and instead essentially asks whether the province should agree to have a later legally binding referendum on whether to separate from Canada.
The question reads: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”
In her remarks, Smith claimed her government was not “kicking the can down the road” with the decision, but said it was an attempt to appease Albertans on either side of the separatist divide.
“This question will also ensure the 700,000 signatories to both the ‘Forever Canada’ petition and the ‘Stay Free Alberta’ petition are respected and the will of Albertans is heard,” she said.
The decision comes as separatist efforts appear to have started causing fractures within Smith’s own United Conservative Party ranks, with two senior cabinet ministers announcing their resignation from the party on Wednesday. At the same time, the pro-separation flank of the party — a key force that helped the premier win her UCP leadership bid — has threatened to pull its support for Smith following a series of legal and public perception setbacks.
Thursday’s decision is unlikely to quell discontent among the UCP’s more pro-separatist supporters, who have demanded that their specific question be added to the October referendum.
Smith has long sought to strike a balance between the pro-separation and pro-federation supporters within her party, repeatedly saying that she favoured an “independent Alberta within a united Canada” rather than an explicit push for independence. At the same time, her UCP government paved the way for a separatist petition by lowering the number of signatures needed to force a referendum.
“Now, I want to be clear,” Smith said on Thursday. “I support Alberta remaining in Canada. That is how I would vote on separation in a provincial referendum. It is also the position of my government and caucus.”
Under the province’s updated laws around citizen-led petitions, proponents have submitted two duelling questions — one in favour of separating and another in favour of remaining in Canada. The first, led by former Alberta MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, asks whether Alberta should “remain in Canada,” and collected more than 400,000 signatures. The second, submitted by Stay Free Alberta, asks respondents whether Alberta should “become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada.” The group claims to have collected just over 300,000 signatures in support.
Smith was long expected to add the separatist question to a planned referendum in October, but those plans were interrupted by a recent court ruling that found the government had failed to properly consult with First Nations on the matter, and that an independence petition threatened Indigenous treaty rights. The decision brought the pro-separation petition to a grinding halt, killing Elections Alberta’s ability to verify the petition’s signatures unless the decision is overruled — a process likely to take months or even years.
The UCP government has vowed to appeal the decision, and Smith on Thursday said she was “deeply troubled by an erroneous court decision that interferes with the democratic rights of hundreds of thousands of Albertans.”
Smith on Thursday suggested that her government’s proposed referendum question would sidestep any further litigation tied to the court ruling, which was written by Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard.
“Because this proposed referendum question does not directly trigger separation, but if successful would ask Alberta’s government to commence the legal process necessary to hold a binding referendum on the matter, the recent court ruling would not be applicable, and the referendum question I outlined, could proceed,” Smith said in her address.
The government’s decision comes as the separatist movement has hit several snags in addition to court rulings. The potential data breach of Alberta’s official list of eligible voters by a pro-separatist organization called the Centurion Project, as well as the Republican Party of Alberta, has also marred efforts to validate the separatist petition. Stay Free Alberta has publicly said that it is not affiliated with the Centurion Project, but the breach nonetheless raised doubts about the reliability of the signature verification process.
Smith on Thursday repeatedly sought to reinforce her position as being in favour of keeping Alberta inside Canada.
“I have repeatedly stated that the position of the UCP caucus, and UCP government is to build a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada. I have never deviated from that position and I will not do so now,” she said.
The premier also pointed to her ongoing discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy policy. Under that agreement, Smith said, Ottawa has promised to remove several policies including tighter electricity regulations that target natural gas and a ban on oil tankers in northern B.C.
Smith also pointed to Carney’s promise to support the construction of a pipeline to the west coast, saying it shows a material improvement in the energy relationship between Alberta and the federal government that could finally unlock the province’s hobbled oil industry.
“We turned the tide,” Smith said. “We are winning hearts and minds to our cause right across the country as many of our fellow Canadians are coming to understand that a strong Alberta — and strong provinces — means a stronger and more prosperous Canada.”
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