Good morning. Alberta separatists plan to submit signatures needed to force an independence referendum. More on the challenges ahead, along with the Prime Minister in Armenia and updates from the Project South takedown. Let’s get to it.
A tractor trailer with an Alberta separatist ad sits just off Highway 2 on April 16, 2026.Megan Albu/The Globe and Mail
TOP STORY
In Alberta, challenges remain for a possible vote on secession
The latest: Alberta separatists have reached their deadline to collect the signatures they need to force an independence referendum, ending a four-month campaign and setting the stage for a possible vote on secession this fall.
Challenges: The process has already been put on hold owing to a lawsuit by First Nations challenging the constitutionality of the question. And the RCMP are now investigating allegations that an independence organization inappropriately distributed personal information from the province’s list of electors, containing data for 2.9 million residents.
Context: The milestone raises the possibility that the country soon could be facing two referendums on provincial secession. In Quebec, the Parti Québécois has promised to hold a sovereignty referendum if it wins a provincial election this fall.
What’s next: The Alberta group plans to formally submit signatures today, and they’ve already said they have gathered the nearly 178,000 signatures required under provincial law. If approved, the provincial government has signalled that the question could be added to a planned referendum in October, which will also include a list of questions related to Alberta’s relationship with the federal government.
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 1.Stringer/Reuters
World
Iran calls for end to the war within 30 days
The latest: Iran’s military warned U.S. forces on Monday not to enter the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. would help get ships stranded in the Gulf moving. Meanshile, the fragile three-week ceasefire appears to still be holding. A cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz said it was attacked by multiple small craft yesterday, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre. Iran did not claim responsibility, but Iranian officials assert that they control the strait and that ships not affiliated with the U.S. or Israel can pass if they pay a toll.
What’s next: Iran’s latest proposal to the United States wants issues between them to be resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire, according to Iran’s state-linked media. Officials reiterated these were not nuclear negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to a deal.
Oil: How the conflict in Iran is reshaping the ways in which the world sources its oil.
Opinion: War and other obstacles force the Saudi kingdom to rethink its place in the world.
Canadian-Palestinian artist Samar Hejazi.Samar Hejazi/Supplied
How We Live
A Canadian-Palestinian artist at the Met Gala
The latest: When New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its highly anticipated Costume Art exhibit at the Met Gala today, the work of Canadian-Palestinian artist Samar Hejazi will be at the centre of it all. The Toronto native spent several years creating intricate artworks of Palestinian embroidery, and she spoke to The Globe about preparing for the biggest moment of her career.
What’s next: Anna Wintour, chief content officer for Condé Nast and global editorial director for Vogue, is getting in bed with the billionaire boys’ club at a moment when resentment toward the ultrarich is peaking. On the eve of the Met Gala, Bernadette Morra asked, can Vogue find its well-heeled footing?
Politics
PM Carney meets with Armenian Prime Minister
The latest: Yesterday, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in his country’s capital ahead of the European Political Community summit, a gathering touching on strategic co-operation in politics, security and infrastructure. Canada is the first non-European country to attend these meetings.
What’s next: This weekend’s visit comes as Canada works to build trade ties with countries such as Turkey, where the PM is expected to visit for the NATO summit in July. Carney will be in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, until Monday and is set to hold bilateral discussions with numerous world leaders during the summit.
Back home: The new Parliamentary Budget Officer will release an analysis of the Liberals’ fiscal update today.
Banking
Regulator to reduce the timeline to become a bank
The latest: Competition in Canada’s banking sector has come under a microscope since Ottawa said in its fall budget that small and medium-sized lenders are “critical for consumer choice.” Peter Routledge, the superintendent of Canada’s banking regulator, started to question whether the country’s tight financial sector regulatory guardrails were holding back competition and, as a result, economic growth.
What’s next: In June, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, is rolling out a pilot project that could strip years off the process to become a bank in a bid to bring more competitors into the market to go head-to-head with Canada’s six largest lenders.
Bookmarked
- At home: The Toronto Police division whose officers’ alleged misuse of law-enforcement databases gave rise to a high-profile corruption probe has a documented history of data breaches.
- Abroad: Ukraine launched drone attacks across Russia on Sunday, hitting the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, stepping up attacks on energy infrastructure.
- For your finances: When will the AI boom end? Nobody knows, and the market doesn’t want to think about it.
- For you pages: The creativity, outrage and dangers that define the work of political cartoonists.
- Conversation starter: The free exploration of library shelves is the essence of childhood reading.
The Quote
But it’s not our moment to be quiet either. We actually have options that are disease modifying, options that did not exist before. So this is about changing the conversation.
— Christina Scicluna, chief executive officer of the Alzheimer Society of Canada
Health Canada has approved a second drug that targets the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but access to the expensive treatment will depend on whether government drug plans opt to cover it.
The Shot
British writer and illustrator Jackie Morris photographed in her loft studio at her home in St Davids, West Wales, in early April.Mark Griffiths/The Globe and Mail
British illustrator Jackie Morris captures the wonders of birds in her most ambitious work yet.