Alberta to ask voters whether they want to remain part of Canada

by · UPI

May 22 (UPI) -- Canada's oil-rich Alberta province took a first step toward a separation referendum after a citizen-led petition was signed by well in excess of the 300,000 people required to trigger a vote on seceding from the federation.

Announcing the decision on TV on Thursday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the referendum, scheduled for Oct. 19, would ask voters a straight-forward binary question, should Alberta remain part of Canada or should her government initiate the process for holding a legally binding referendum.

The decision came despite polling indicating separation is not widely supported and rival Forever Canada "remainers" claiming they had gathered 404,000 signatures.

Smith said she, her government and her caucus believed Alberta should remain Canadian but defended the democratic right of people among the province's four million population who disagreed to have their say.

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"That is how I would vote on separation in a provincial referendum," she said, but referencing a legal challenge that caused a delay that threatened to upend the separation petition, added that she would not stand by and allow Albertans' rights to be trampled.

"As premier, I will not have a legal mistake by a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans. Alberta's future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts.

"Kicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate, and muzzling the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans wanting to be heard is unjustifiable in a free and democratic society," said Smith.

She said it was right to have a vote to gauge where Albertans stood, and then move on.

Smith was accused by some of acting in bad faith over the framing of the referendum question, given the Clarity Act passed in the wake of Quebec's narrowly defeated 1995 referendum, requiring a clear majority and that the wording of the question is unambiguous.

The secession petition was thrown out of court on May 13 after a judge allowed a challenge by four First Nation indigenous groups on the grounds that correct procedures had not been followed in consulting them. The indigenous groups' concerns were around the impact secession would have on treaties their ancestors signed with the Crown in the 19th century.

The "leave" movement argued that the province has long been disregarded by successive administrations in Ottawa amid accelerating moves toward centralization of government power despite the economic contribution made by its oil sands' roughly 159 billion barrels of oil, reserves only exceeded by Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

They are also concerned that the oil and gas industry is being hampered by climate legislation imposed by Ottawa.

Smith said she agreed in part with their position, particularly with regard to moves toward a U.S.-style federal government.

If the October vote goes through, Alberta will become the only Canadian province to have gone down the separatist path other than Quebec which held its first referendum in 1980.

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Wreathes are seen amongst the statues at the Korean War Veterans Memorial during Memorial Day weekend in Washington on May 27, 2023. Memorial Day, which honors U.S. military personnel who died while in service, is held on the last Monday of May. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo