EDMONTON — Groups advocating in favour of Alberta independence reclaimed their title atop the referendum third-party advertiser weekly donations leaderboard on Friday, but the most public group fighting for Alberta to remain in Canada has yet to reveal their financials. Alberta independence TPAs collected $39,225 between August 21 and 27, rebounding from the week prior when they were outraised by the federalist groups for the first time since Premier Danielle Smith called the referendum question in May. Federalist contributions dipped $21,537 during the reporting period after picking up steam in the weeks prior. .Federalist contributions dipped $21,537 during the reporting period after picking up steam in the weeks prior. Keith Wilson and Tanya Clemens' Let Alberta Decide carried the week, as they have done throughout the campaign, raising $27,500 during the reporting period and elevating their overall total to $462,559. Political strategist Stephen Carter's Alberta's Voice TPA led the way for federalist groups, gathering $18,112 during the week and pushing their campaign total to $119,491. Alberta's Voice has narrowed the gap with the Pathway to Independence group, now sitting $1,711 behind them for second place among all referendum TPAs. Stay Free Alberta, the group who led the pro- Alberta independence citizen initiative petition, reported $4,273 during the period, their first disclosed contributions for the first time since registering as a TPA with Elections Alberta on June 5. The group's citizen initiative financials are due on September 3. Albertans have donated over $1 million to groups advertising on either side of the independence debate since May, $820,933 to nationalist TPAs and $244,913 to federalist TPAs. The financial contributions leaderboard is skewed, however, as the federalist total excludes funds given to Forever Canadian, which is widely believed to be the highest-funded group after it raised $302,221 during its citizen initiative petition campaign. .Forever Canadian's financial situation is a topic of discussion among individuals on either side of the Alberta independence debate, as Thomas Lukaszuk's group has yet to submit any contribution reports since November, despite seemingly opposing the movement. Alberta independence advocates have screamed about Forever Canadian's lack of financial transparency for months, pointing to their "unity bus" touring over 31,000 km around Alberta, three "campaign" headquarters, 60,000 lawn signs handed out and 40,000 yet to be distributed. Lukaszuk has said his group does not need to submit weekly financial reports because they are campaigning and advertising for "unity," not the referendum question. He also said Elections Alberta has confirmed he does not need to submit weekly reports. "I imagine that if you are a Forever Canadian, I don't have to tell you how to vote in a referendum; you can figure it out yourself," said Lukaszuk at a recent Forever Canadian town hall. “I often share with people how I will be voting.""We may pivot if we decide to do so, but at this point in time, there is no need for that, and there are other campaigns that I think are doing a great job explaining individual questions to Albertans and suggesting how they should vote if they want Alberta to look a certain way."
