Alberta petition that could trigger separation referendum faces looming deadline

The man who has spent months working to collect enough signatures to force a referendum on whether Alberta should remain in Canada hopes it never actually gets to a vote.

For the past month and a half, Thomas Lukaszuk has sat alone behind the wheel of a vintage red and white motorhome dubbed the “Unity Bus” going town-to-town trying to collect nearly 300,000 signatures for a petition Premier Danielle Smith has suggested would send Alberta to its first-ever separation referendum.