Alberta separatists say they delivered 301K signatures on petition for referendum

Alberta’s separatist movement has reached a new milestone as organizers delivered what they say are more than 301,000 signatures calling for a provincial vote on leaving Canada.

Petitioner Mitch Sylvestre, head of the group “Stay Free Alberta,” greeted some 300 flag-waiving supporters as boxes of signatures arrived at Elections Alberta on Monday.

Officials told the crowd the boxes would be weighed, sealed and initialled, marking the end of the handover. Verification remains on hold.

“You guys brought us here. Without you guys, none of this would happen,” Sylvestre told the crowd.

“You stood in the cold, you got abused and people yelled at you.”

A judge must first decide whether Elections Alberta can proceed, after several Alberta First Nations argued the petition violates Treaty rights and sought an injunction to stop the process. That ruling is expected this week.

Sylvestre has previously said the group surpassed the roughly 178,000 signatures required under provincial law more than a month ago, after launching the petition in January.

If the names are eventually validated, Premier Danielle Smith has said a separation question could appear on a provincewide ballot as early as October.

“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.”

In addition to the Treaty rights hurdle, the Centurion Project, a separatist group, publicly distributed a list naming nearly three million electors in Alberta and their addresses. Elections Alberta is probing the matter.

The app was taken down on Thursday after Elections Alberta obtained a judge’s injunction ordering the group to shut it down.

The Centurion Project, led by David Parker, has since said it will comply with Elections Alberta’s investigation, which, among other things, is looking into how the group got a hold of the list.

Sylvestre says Parker offered him use of the app and told him it was legal. Sylvestre says he doubted its legality, so he did not use it.

That situation has created a rift between the two of them, according to Sylvestre.

Such voter lists are only distributed by Elections Alberta to elected officials, political parties and party officials. Provincial law dictates that it can only be used to solicit donations, recruit party members and communicate with electors.