Organizers of an Alberta sovereignty advocacy organization on Monday unveiled the question that they would like to appear on an upcoming referendum ballot on Alberta independence."Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada?" states the ballot question, indicating people can check either “Yes” or “No.”The question is lifted nearly verbatim from the Clarity Act, a Canadian law passed by Parliament in 2000 that outlines the conditions under which the federal government would negotiate with a province wanting to secede from Canada — in that case, Quebec.The Act requires that if a province seeks independence from Canada, a clear referendum is required, a clear majority must want independence, and the whole process must respect constitutional principles such as the rule of law, minority rights, and the rights of indigenous people.Parliament, under the Act, has the power to judge both the clarity of the referendum question and the clarity of the result before any negotiations on secession could begin..The organization leading the Alberta independence charge, the Alberta Prosperity Project, led by Calgary lawyer Jeff Rath, hopes for a referendum by the end of 2025.With independence achieved “within 12 months of today’s date,” said Rath at a press conference Monday.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, conversely, has said the referendum will be held in 2026. When asked on the matter at her own press conference Monday, Smith emphasized there are several citizen-initiated groups gunning for independence — however, “having people sign up on a website, saying that they will ultimately sign a petition is one thing. Getting the physical signatures signed up is another. That's why we have to wait for the process to play out.”“We haven't yet passed the legislation, and so once the legislation passes, it will be pretty clear what the timeframes are,” said Smith.She said she’ll wait to see if enough signatures are garnered and a petition campaign gets going before commenting on a referendum timeline.“But I've made my position clear — I support a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, and it's my job to see if we can get a new deal with Ottawa so that I can convince more Albertans to feel the same,” said Smith..Rath, however, argues independence from Ottawa would “end all federal regulation,” energy production would double, and Albertans will only have to pay a 10% flat rate income tax.He maintains “there is nothing [Prime Minister Mark] Carney can bring” that would be a good deal for Alberta.Rath and other independence advocates met with members of the Washington State Department about two weeks prior. US officials “very much support Alberta sovereignty,” said Dr. Dennis Modry at the press conference, adding there have even been signs of global support beyond the US.
