Canada’s chief electoral officer refused to register a new Alberta independence party after officials combed through its membership list during a postal strike and ruled it fell short of federal requirements, according to Access To Information records that also show other parties were approved despite not meeting the same threshold.Blacklock's Reporter says Stéphane Perrault declined to grant official status to the Alberta First Party, led by Medicine Hat business manager Barry Knodel, even though the party submitted 370 names — well above the 250-member minimum required under the Canada Elections Act.“I definitely feel they were giving us a hard time,” said Knodel. “The credibility of Elections Canada is not high as far as I’m concerned.”Knodel filed registration papers July 23, asserting the party complied fully with guidance provided by Elections Canada. He said the party only later learned officials attempted to confirm memberships by mail during a Canada Post strike, ultimately validating just 129 members.“It was after we sent in the memberships, we found out they were sending letters by mail,” Knodel said. “Had they made us aware, we would have advised our members. We have a large number of rural members and many of them did not even get Elections Canada’s letter.”.A January 23 briefing note to the chief electoral officer confirms the review process included a single mailout to members. “After completion of the review process including one mailout to members, we have not been able to confirm the Party has a sufficient number of members to be eligible for registration,” it stated.The note acknowledged the impact of a Canada Post strike, saying Elections Canada granted a 75-day extension to allow additional declarations. The party’s chief agent later received a further extension to December 31, 2025. However, a subsequent request to extend the deadline to March 30, 2026 — citing delayed mail — was refused.Records also show Elections Canada registered other parties that did not meet the 250-member requirement, including Stop Climate Change in 2019 and the United Party in 2023. “In rare circumstances parties have become eligible without meeting a membership of 250,” the briefing note stated.Knodel said the uneven treatment raises serious questions. He suggested the party’s focus on Alberta independence may have influenced the outcome.“If Québec can have a party that only looks after Québec, would it not be fair to have an Alberta party that only looks after Alberta?” he said. “I think that is the reason they gave us all sorts of problems.”
