Alberta separatists say they have the 177,732 signatures they need to force independence referendum

The group behind the Alberta independence petition said it has received the 177,732 signatures it needs to force a referendum.

Mitch Sylvestre, head of Stay Free Alberta, confirmed to the National Post that it has met the threshold. The petition still needs official approval from Elections Alberta, which will review the signatures according to the Citizen Initiative Act after the petition is submitted after the official deadline of May 2. 

The milestone means that Albertans will likely get a referendum question in October asking whether the province should form its own independent country. The petition, officially filed on Dec. 11, 2025, proposes a referendum question that asks: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?”

The likely referendum will turn up the dial on the momentum behind Alberta’s separatist movement, which has leveraged long-standing Western resentments to push for independence. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose United Conservative Government lowered the bar for how many signatures are needed to force a referendum — from 20 per cent of the voting population down to 10 per cent — has so far sought to distance herself from the separation question. The premier has repeatedly said she supports the idea of an independent Alberta “within a united Canada,” and has never expressed explicit support for separation. 

News of Stay Free reaching the signatures threshold comes as Smith looks to hammer out the details of her energy deal with Prime Minister Mark Carney, which the pair first signed in October 2025. The agreement, which proposes to roll back a series of Trudeau-era environmental policies and build a new bitumen pipeline to the West coast, is widely viewed as Smith’s attempt to repair relations with Ottawa and reinforce Alberta’s necessary position within the Canadian federation. 

So far, popular support for separation in Alberta appears well below what would be needed to trigger negotiations on separation. A recent Leger poll suggests 70 per cent of Albertans support remaining a part of Canada, while 21 per cent support separation or joining the U.S. Another nine per cent were unsure. 

If Albertans to vote in favour of independence, it would trigger a negotiating period with Ottawa where the province would need to agree to the details of its separation.

Stay Free Alberta is just one of a few citizen-led petitions that could add questions to the coming referendum in October. 

Another, led by country music artist Corb Lund, proposes to outlaw new coal mining activities on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains due to water contamination concerns. A separate petition focused on public funding for schools failed to reach the number of signatures required.

• Alberta's separatists are running into an administrative snag as they look to collect 177,000 signatures
• Canadians open to negotiating with Western separatists as data show underrepresentation in Parliament: report

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