EDMONTON — Stay Free Alberta executive Jeffrey Rath has claimed their initial petition signature counts show greater than 80% support for Alberta independence among UCP voters in rural Alberta communities, though figures based on 2023 election results suggest it may be around 65%. "The simple fact of the matter is that the rural Alberta Independence Signature tally is averaging well over 80% of UCP Voters in every constituency we have looked at so far," wrote Rath in an X post on Thursday. Rath said the group counted 14,000 signatures in the Rocky Mountain House-Sundre electoral district, 11,000 from Olds-Didsbury, and 5,500 from Lloydminster. He claimed there are 18,000 UCP voters in the Rocky Mountain House-Sundre district, 14,000 in Olds-Didsbury, and 8,000 in Lloydminster. Those figues would equal 78% support among UCP voters in the Rocky Mountain House district, 79% in Olds-Didsbury, and 69% in Lloydminster. That would mean a combined 76% support among UCP voters in those three areas. "IF YOU SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE PLEASE BUY A UCP MEMBERSHIP!" Rath wrote in his post. "Let @ABDanielleSmith know that WE ARE THE UCP BASE.""No UCP MLA SHOULD BE NOMINATED UNLESS THEIR SUPPORT OF ALBERTA INDEPENDENCE MIRRORS THE WISHES OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS!".Elections Alberta's results from the 2023 election varied from Rath's figures.They said the UCP got 15,571 of the 18,888 votes cast in the Rocky Mountain House district, 18,228 of 24,209 counted in Olds-Didbury, and 13,097 of 17,604 tallied in Vermillion-Lloydminster-Wainwright.Rath's signature counts equal 65% support for Alberta independence among UCP voters in those districts, based on 2023 election results. With 89% support in Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, 60% support in Olds-Didsbury, and 42% support in Vermillion-Lloydminster-Wainwright.A Mainstreet Research poll commissioned by the Western Standard and published in February found that 62% of respondents who would vote for Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP in a provincial election also said they would vote for Alberta independence..Rath's signature counts are three of Stay Free Alberta's initial tallies, as the group conducts its own calculations before submitting its completed petition to Elections Alberta on Monday for official verification.Elections Alberta will not be able to begin verification immediately, though, after Justice Shaina Leonard issued an injunction on April 10 preventing them from counting the signatures until after she has ruled in a pair of cases claiming the Chief Electoral Officer should not have issued Stay Free Alberta's petition.Stay Free Alberta's petition will need 177,732 verified signatures from eligible Alberta voters to successfully trigger a referendum vote on Alberta independence.
