Premier Danielle Smith sidestepped NDP leader Naheed Nenshi’s questions about whether she would hold a referendum on Alberta’s independence during the first Question Period following Monday’s verification of the Alberta Forever Canada petition. “The referendum petition was worded to call for a referendum, and that's part of the reason why we need to, now that it's been tabled, meet as a caucus and a cabinet and decide what the next steps are,” said Smith. Smith’s answer comes in light of a citizen-initiated petition which received 438,293 signatures, calling for a referendum on the question, “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”“We congratulate the group on gathering so many signatures, which asks for a referendum on whether to remain in Canada,” Smith said. “Of course, we've got a couple of options now that the petition has been verified and that it has been tabled here in the legislature, and caucus and cabinet is going to be meeting to discuss how we're going to proceed on that.”.Nenshi believes that Smith has caused the recent turmoil regarding Alberta’s independence. “Her entire political career has been focused on grievance politics with Canada, and now the chickens have come home to roost,” said Nenshi. “As much as she'd like to blame the federal government for this, it is she who has been pandering to separatists.”And while the petition makes it clear that a number of Albertans would like to see a referendum on Alberta’s independence, Smith maintains that she is confident in Alberta’s place in Canada. “I believe that Canada works,” Smith said. “I know that the majority of our members believe that Canada works. The majority of our partners believe that Canada works.”
