Alberta independence petition claims enough signatures to trigger referendum

CALGARY — Organizers behind the Alberta independence petition say they have gathered enough signatures to meet the referendum threshold, though the claim has not yet been verified by provincial officials.According to several sources, canvassers with the Stay Free Alberta organization were told on Monday night that the petition had reached the number of signatures required to trigger a referendum under Alberta’s Citizen Initiative Act.In order to qualify, the petition had to gather signatures from at least 10% of eligible voters — roughly 177,000 people — based on the turnout from the last provincial election.Signatures must then be submitted to Elections Alberta by May 2 and undergo a verification process before any final determination is made.The proposed referendum question asks: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?”Elections Alberta has not confirmed whether the petition has met the threshold and is not expected to do so until the full submission is received and reviewed after the deadline.If enough valid signatures are verified, the question could be considered for inclusion in a province-wide referendum scheduled for October 19.However, meeting the signature requirement does not guarantee the question will appear on the ballot.The campaign began in January following the opposing Forever Canada petition led by former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk.That petition gathered approximately 439,000 signatures, of which nearly 405,000 have been validated by Elections Alberta.

Alberta independence petition claims enough signatures to trigger referendum

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