Alberta Separatists Collect Enough Signatures To Force Vote on Leaving Canada

Backers of a separatist movement in Alberta — an oil and cattle-fueled province more akin to Texas than the rest of Canada — say they have enough signatures to force a referendum on forming its own country.The separatists needed 178,000 signatures and they say they collected more than 300,000 by a May 2 deadline. A group called “Stay Free Alberta” turned in the petition on Monday and must now wait for the names to be verified.That process normally takes 21 days from the date of submission but there is a legal challenge that is delaying the process. A court order is pausing verification as a group of Alberta First Nations wage a court fight against the separation movement. They claim that if Alberta breaks away from Canada, it would violate their treaty rights.Until the court rules on the challenge, the petition can not be certified. The separatist group expects a court decision this month.Supporters hope to be on the ballot for an October 19 province-wide referendum that already includes nine questions. Among the topics that residents of Canada’s most conservative province are already voting on include whether they think the country is admitting too many immigrants, offering too many social benefits to new arrivals, and should require proof of citizenship before allowing people to vote.Premier Danielle Smith has said that she is not in favor of Alberta seceding but said she would add it to the referendum if enough names are verified.The wording of the question would be very clear: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”A “yes” vote would not immediately trigger independence as officials from Alberta would need to negotiate with the federal government.Residents of the province have long railed against federal environmental policies that they feel are holding back the province’s oil industry. President Trump’s return to the White House last year, and his support of the oil industry, have invigorated efforts by the separatists. Supporters at an independence rally last summer wore “Make Alberta Great Again” hats.Most of the roughly 5 million barrels per day extracted in Alberta now goes to American refineries, but Mr. Carney has sought to shift more of that production to China and other Asian countries in response to American tariffs. A Washington-aligned independent Alberta would be more likely to send all the oil south.Organizers of the campaign say they have met with Trump administration officials in Washington three times and are asking the United States Treasury for a $500 billion line of credit to bankroll a new country if they are successful.Prime Minister Mark Carney warned the Trump administration from interfering in Canadian politics. “I would expect the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty,” Mr. Carney said after January meetings with the premiers. “I’m always clear with my conversations with President Trump to that effect and then move on to what we can do together.”The separatist movement was hit last week by allegations that laws were broken after “extremely sensitive” information on nearly 3 million voters was posted online. The information may include voters’ names, addresses, postal codes, telephone numbers, unique identifier numbers, electoral divisions, and voting areas.The data was then hosted by a pro-independence group called the Centurion Project. Elections Alberta says it wasn’t linked to a data breach but the information appears to have been wrongfully distributed by someone who was authorized to access the database.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is investigating the matter but Elections Alberta said it should not affect the verification process of the separation initiative.

Alberta Separatists Collect Enough Signatures To Force Vote on Leaving Canada

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