Generic ballot box. Wikimedia Commons. CC License
EDMONTON — Only a few days into the New Year and Albertans are continuing to take advantage of recent changes to the province’s referendum rules, as Elections Alberta has formally launched the signature drive for a proposed vote on Alberta independence.
Elections Alberta said Friday that Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure has issued a citizen initiative petition for a constitutional referendum titled “A Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence,” starting the clock on a provincewide signature campaign.
The petition seeks public support for a yes or no vote on whether Alberta should cease to be part of Canada and become an independent state.
The proponent of the petition is Mitch Sylvestre of the Alberta Prosperity Project. Signature collection is set to begin Saturday and will run until May 2, 2026, giving proponents 120 days to gather enough support to qualify for a referendum.
To succeed, the petition must collect 177,732 valid signatures, equal to 10 per cent of the total ballots cast in the 2023 provincial election.
Elections Alberta approved the referendum question before Christmas but said signatures could not be collected until all statutory requirements were met, including the appointment of a chief financial officer for the initiative. Those conditions have now been satisfied.
Only official petition signature sheets issued by Elections Alberta may be used, and signatures collected in any other format will not be accepted.
Under provincial rules, only registered canvassers may collect signatures. Canvassers must be eligible electors and are required to comply with a canvasser code of conduct and guidelines set by the chief electoral officer. Each signature must be witnessed, with canvassers required to verify identification showing that each signer is an eligible elector.
Eligible electors may sign the petition only once and only during the official signing period. Signers must provide either one piece of government-issued photo identification showing their name and current residential address, or two authorized pieces of identification, one of which must include their current address. Only original, handwritten signatures are valid.
All completed signature sheets must be submitted to Elections Alberta by May 2. Any received after that date will not be accepted.
The agency said it will verify the petition within 21 days of submission and publish the results. If submitted on the final day, verification would be completed by May 23.
Recent changes to the citizen initiative process came into force on Dec. 11, 2025, under Bill 14, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, which amended canvassing rules and identification requirements.
The launch of the independence petition comes as opponents of separation are also organizing for a potential referendum campaign. Former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, who leads the pro-Canada group Forever Canadian, has begun mobilizing volunteers and fundraising efforts in anticipation of a provincewide vote in 2026.
Forever Canadian previously collected more than 450,000 signatures over three months on a petition calling for Alberta to remain within Canada, a threshold significantly higher than that required under the new rules for the independence initiative. That petition has been verified by Elections Alberta and referred to a legislative committee.
Lukaszuk has argued that recent legislative changes lowered the signature threshold and extended the collection period for citizen-initiated referendums, making it more likely an independence question will reach the ballot. He has said his organization is preparing a full-scale campaign aimed at persuading voters to reject separation and keep Alberta within Canada.
Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly responsible for administering provincial elections, byelections and referendums.
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