CALGARY — Members of the pro-Canada group “Forever Canadian” have openly discussed sabotaging the new Alberta independence citizen initiative petition.On the group’s Facebook page, some members suggested interfering with the petition led by the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), which asks Albertans whether the province should hold a referendum on becoming its own independent state.The group is associated with the pro-Canada citizen petition “Alberta Forever Canada,” led by former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk.Several posts from group members included suggestions such as signing up as canvassers but refusing to collect signatures and tampering with the petition process..“I think we should all sign up as canvassers but not collect signatures,” group member Theressa Hill said.Nick Adams added, “Better yet, collect signatures and then not hand them in.”.Another group member, Kory Fem, chimed in, saying, “That’s a better idea. Then they feel like they already signed, so they don’t sign at another booth.”Elections Alberta confirmed on Friday that the APP petition, initiated by APP CEO Mitch Sylvestre, had been approved.Albertans now have until May 2 to collect 177,732 verified signatures to trigger a referendum.The petition question asks: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”Upon the petition being approved, Sylvestre said, “This is a huge day for every Albertan who believes in faith, family, freedom, and in Alberta’s right to chart its own course.”Tensions between the pro and anti-independence camps are ramping up now as the first official signatures were collected at an APP town hall in Water Valley on Tuesday night, where APP spokesman Jeffrey Rath provided the independence petition’s inaugural signature..Lukaszuk’s pro-Canada petition has already successfully completed the signature verification process, with Elections Alberta confirming that the citizen initiative petition, which required 293,976 signatures, collected 438,568 valid signatures, representing 13.6% of registered electors from the 2023 provincial election.Following the verification, a copy of the policy proposal was submitted to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.Under the Citizen Initiative Act, the Assembly must consider the proposal, and a committee may recommend a referendum, which would take place on or before the next provincial election on October 18, 2027, if approved.
