Jeffrey Rath shows his support for Mitch Sylvestre as he submits signatures for a separation referendum to Elections Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday, May 4, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason FransonJASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer and prominent voice in Alberta’s separatist movement, won’t oppose the extension of a court order that has temporarily frozen more than $8.5-million in assets belonging to him and his law firm after a First Nation alleged the misappropriation of funds that he was overseeing as the band’s trustee.
Edward Halt, counsel for Mr. Rath, wrote in a Tuesday letter addressed to Court of King’s Bench Justice John Gill that his client will not file evidence in advance of a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning, where the judge will consider whether to extend the freezing order.
The order, known as a Mareva injunction, was issued last Friday by Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Marion. The order is a rare but powerful legal tool that freezes a person or company’s assets – often to prevent them from moving money before a judgment is made.
Justice Marion made his ruling last week in response to an application by Northern Alberta’s Tallcree First Nation to temporarily remove Mr. Rath and his company, Rath Professional Corp., from overseeing the band’s roughly $15-million trust.
Mr. Rath’s public profile has ballooned over the past year as a vocal advocate for Alberta’s separatist movement. While he is one of dozens of people in a fragmented ecosystem of influencers, advertisers and groups pushing for sovereignty, his numerous meetings with U.S. State Department officials over Alberta’s potential secession have made him a key figurehead.
Currently, separatists are trying to muster support ahead of Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum where voters will be asked to pick between remaining in Canada or beginning the legal process to hold a second, binding referendum on independence.
According to court documents first reported by The Globe and Mail, Tallcree alleges that Mr. Rath moved $8.5-million in November, 2025, from the trust to his private corporation – the same amount an Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge ordered him to repay Tallcree over a previous fee dispute.
The funds from the trust – created after the nation reached a settlement with the federal government in 2017 over broken agricultural promises made around the time of Confederation – are meant to be distributed to Tallcree members when they turn 18 years old.
In a separate document filed on Tuesday, Mr. Rath’s counsel proposes circumstances under which the Mareva order would be lifted.
One suggests the order continue until Mr. Rath deposits $5.5-million into a court account or the trust account belonging to Mr. Halt’s firm, Peacock Linder Halt & Mack LLP. The document says Mr. Rath recently deposited $3-million into the firm’s trust account.
It otherwise suggests the order be rescinded once Mr. Rath provides “sufficient alternative security in a form and amount as determined by this court” or agreed to by Tallcree First Nation, the band that proposed the freezing order.
Separately, Mr. Rath’s counsel proposes that he deliver records by July 24 for all payments in and out of bank accounts from the trust between Feb. 1, 2025 to July 2, 2026, including the basis for each payment.
The Alberta NDP on Tuesday called on Premier Danielle Smith to revoke Mr. Rath’s United Conservative Party membership to “make it clear that separatism has no place in her party.”
Mr. Rath received a standing ovation at last year’s UCP convention when he asked the packed crowd how many of them support independence.
Sam Blackett, spokesperson for Premier Smith, pointed The Globe to the party for comment. An unsigned statement from UCP communications said the party does not confirm the membership of any members and would not comment on Mr. Rath given that the case is before the courts.