Separatist supporters gather during a rally in front of the Elections Alberta headquarters in Edmonton.HENRY MARKEN/AFP/Getty Images
An attempt by Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party to get a question about secession on this fall’s referendum ballot crashed into a procedural wall on Wednesday, stalling the latest push to give residents a chance to vote on the province’s future in Canada.
A legislative committee, known as the Select Special Citizen Initiative Proposal Review Committee, met Wednesday afternoon to consider what to do in response to a pro-Canada petition designed to counter Alberta’s separatist movement.
The pro-Canada petition, circulated by a group called Forever Canadian, proposed a vote asking Albertans whether they agree that the province should remain in Confederation. It gathered more than 400,000 signatures last year.
Alberta lawmakers wrap up a spring sitting overshadowed by separatist movement
Debate has swirled over whether the Forever Canadian question should be on the province’s October referendum ballot after a separatist group’s independence petition was thrown out last week by an Alberta judge. Separatists argue that the Forever Canadian petition, even with its nationalist stand, signalled support for a vote on the province’s ties with the rest of the country.
At Wednesday’s meeting, UCP MLA Nate Glubish proposed a motion recommending that cabinet put an independence question to the electorate, based on the success of the Forever Canadian campaign.
But before the MLAs voted, the UCP caucus issued a statement that said the committee had recommended cabinet proceed with an independence referendum. The New Democratic Party accused the UCP, which controls the committee, of presupposing the outcome, arguing the premature statement trampled on the democratic process.
The committee recessed to sort out the NDP’s point of privilege. When the meeting resumed, the UCP MLAs tried to revive the motion, but the time allotted for the meeting expired. The NDP did not consent to extending the session, thus killing the UCP’s attempt to advance an independence referendum via a committee recommendation.
The UCP committee members argued the thousands of Albertans who signed the pro-Canada and separatist petitions deserve to have their voices heard.
“When hundreds of thousands of Albertans engage in a process designed to end in a referendum, we don’t ignore them – we follow through," Brandon Lunty, chair of the committee, said in the statement the UCP erroneously released before the vote.
Alberta NDP House Leader Christina Gray questioned Mr. Lunty’s neutrality as committee chair.
“The absolute spitting in the face of democracy that this is should be dealt with in the most serious potential way,” Ms. Gray said when the meeting resumed.
The UCP caucus issued a note that said it released the initial statement in error.
After the procedural flop, Mr. Lunty scheduled another meeting of the committee, for Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Premier Danielle Smith will shuffle her cabinet Thursday morning.
Opinion: Premier Danielle Smith leads a separatist party
The threat of independence referendums in Alberta and Quebec has escalated tensions around national unity while Canada manages an unstable relationship with the United States, following President Donald Trump’s trade war and 51st state musings.
And Ms. Smith is under intense pressure from separatist leaders to use her government’s prerogative to put independence to a vote. The movement’s leaders are urging disgruntled Albertans to buy UCP memberships, in hopes they can gather the critical mass necessary to force the Premier or her party to proceed with a vote on separation.
In Alberta, the independence debate has been percolating for more than a year. The issue exploded last week, when an Alberta judge tossed out a petition designed to trigger a separation vote because the government did not consult with First Nations before the signature drive was approved. Separatist leaders said roughly 301,000 people signed their petition, clearing the bar that Ms. Smith’s government lowered last year to force a vote under provincial law.
The Premier called the judge’s ruling “anti-democratic” and argued the courts should show deference to legislation the government passed in support of citizen-led petitions pushing for referendum questions.
After the court killed the pro-separation petition, the UCP called a meeting of the Select Special Citizen Initiative Proposal Review Committee.
UCP MLAs on the committee argued Albertans signed the pro-Canada petition under the expectation it would prompt a referendum.
Meanwhile, Thomas Lukaszuk, the former MLA who organized the Forever Canadian campaign, argued against putting the question on the ballot. In recent months, he has instead suggested his question should be voted on by Alberta legislators.
Mr. Lukaszuk, at the committee meeting, said if the UCP proceeds with a separation question, it will be responsible for any fallout.
“If you choose to put any question you want to a referendum, you will be the proponent of a referendum on breaking up Canada, and you will bear all the consequences of that position,” he said.
UCP MLA and cabinet minister Jason Nixon argued that Mr. Lukaszuk initially favoured a pro-Canada question and has since backed down. He said preventing Mr. Lukaszuk’s question from reaching the referendum ballot “would be highly inappropriate” and “undemocratic.”
Mr. Nixon added: ”I’m not the one who travelled around the province promising a referendum and taking signatures."
Ms. Smith has scheduled a referendum for Oct. 19 on nine questions, largely centred on immigration. She had promised to hold an independence referendum if enough voters endorsed a question under the province’s citizen-initiative law.
The Premier on Thursday will name new ministers for two of the most important positions in her cabinet: finance and the department in charge of hospitals and surgeries.
Nate Horner, who has served as Finance Minister since Ms. Smith’s UCP won the 2023 general election, in a statement Wednesday said he will not continue in the role. He said he and Ms. Smith agreed that the next budget should be built by someone who is running in the 2027 election, and that ruled him out.
“I remain supportive of our United Conservative Party and Premier Smith,” he said in a statement. He said he plans to stay in the UCP caucus until the next election, tentatively scheduled for October, 2027.
Matt Jones, who Ms. Smith a year ago named the Minister for Hospital and Surgical Health Services, also issued a statement about his future.
“Recently, I informed the Premier that I will not be seeking re-election and have asked to step back from cabinet to support an orderly transition,” the statement said. “I will continue to represent and serve the constituents of Calgary-South East at this time.”
The statement did not clarify whether he would stay in the role until the next election.
Mr. Jones and Mr. Horner are viewed as serious and stabilizing forces in Ms. Smith’s government, which the NDP and other critics argue has been too willing to accommodate the province’s separatist movement. Neither are considered separatist sympathizers.