Alberta conservatives delivered a bombshell to Canada’s liberal government Monday — and they did it by the truckfull.
Mitch Sylvestre, the head of Stay Free Alberta, led a convoy of seven trucks to the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton carrying nearly 302,000 signatures demanding a referendum on whether the oil-rich province should break away from Canada entirely.
The group needed just 178,000 signatures to force the province to consider the vote, and they blew past it by more than 120,000.
More than 300 supporters gathered outside, waving the provincial flag and chanting “Alberta strong” as boxes of signatures were carried inside.
“This day is historic in Alberta history,” Sylvestre said. “It’s the first step to the next step — we’ve gotten by Round 3 and now we’re in the Stanley Cup final.”
He confirmed that more than 7,000 canvassers collected 301,450 signatures, and said he was sending Premier Danielle Smith a letter and a sworn affidavit confirming the count.
That means the question of legal separation from Canada could appear on a provincewide ballot as early as October. Smith has pledged to move forward with a referendum if the signatures are verified. She has said she personally does not support separation, but that she will honor the process.
Many Albertan conservatives identify more with the United States than the government in Ottawa, and joining the United States as the 51st state has been floated among separatists.
The grievances driving the movement are decades in the making. Smith has accused successive federal Liberal governments in Ottawa of introducing legislation that deliberately hamstrings Alberta’s ability to produce and export oil, costing the province billions of dollars.
The exact road to a separation vote isn’t entirely clear.
An Edmonton judge is expected to rule this week on a court challenge filed by a group of Alberta First Nations, who argue that separation would violate existing treaty rights with the American Indian tribes.
A yes vote would not trigger independence automatically. Negotiations with the Canadian government would have to follow, and analysts say the path to actual separation is long and complicated — requiring Alberta to establish its own currency, military, customs agency, immigration system, and international embassies, among other things.
For now, the message from Alberta to Ottawa is unmistakable — and it arrived in seven trucks.