First Nation launches legal action against potential Alberta referendum on separation

An Alberta First Nation is seeking to quash a potential referendum on provincial separation, saying they have been treated as “chattel on the land” and that an independence campaign would make Alberta vulnerable to foreign interference.

On Monday, Sturgeon Lake Cree First Nation, a band in northwest Alberta, sued the provincial and federal governments and the province’s chief electoral officer in the Court of King’s Bench, asking for an injunction on a separatist petition approved last week. Sturgeon Lake argues separation is impossible without First Nations consent and that a referendum would open the door to corporate donors and digital campaigns by foreign actors, specifically from the United States.