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Alberta will have a separation referendum in 2026 if there's a successful citizen-led petition
May 9, 2025
Alberta will have a separation referendum in 2026 if there's a successful citizen-led petition
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while these negotiations with Ottawa are
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ongoing our government will appoint and
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I will chair the Alberta Next panel This
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panel will be composed of some of our
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best and brightest judicial academic and
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economic minds to join with me in a
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series of in-person and online town
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halls to discuss Alberta's future in
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Canada and specifically what next steps
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we can take as a province to better
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protect Alberta from any current or
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future hostile policies of the federal
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government Details of the membership and
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scope of that panel will be released in
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the coming
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weeks After the work of the panel is
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finished it is likely we will place some
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of the more popular ideas discussed with
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the panel to a provincial referendum so
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that all Albertans can vote on them
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sometime in
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2026 To be clear from the outset our
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government will not be putting a vote on
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separation from Canada on the referendum
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ballot However if there is a successful
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citizen-led referendum petition that is
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able to gather the requisite number of
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signatures requesting such a question to
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be put on a referendum our government
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will respect the democratic process and
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include that question on the 2026
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provincial referendum ballot as well
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I also want to state unequivocally that
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as premier I'm entirely committed to
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protecting upholding and honoring the
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inherent rights of First Nations Matei
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and Inuit peoples
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Therefore any citizen initiated
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referendum question must not violate the
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constitutional rights of first nations
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matei and Inuit peoples and must uphold
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and honor honor treaties 6,7 and 8
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should any referendum question ever pass
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This is
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non-negotiable Now let's talk about the
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elephant in the room that being
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separation We are well aware that there
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is a large and growing number of
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Albertans that have lost hope in Alberta
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having a free and prosperous future as a
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part of Canada Many of these Albertans
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are organizing petitions to trigger a
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citizen initiated referendum as I
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mentioned earlier The vast majority of
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these individuals are not fringe voices
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to be marginalized or vilified They are
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loyal Albertans They're quite literally
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our friends and neighbors who've just
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had enough of having their livelihoods
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and prosperity attacked by a hostile
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federal government They're frustrated
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and they have every reason to be I want
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to talk directly to those Albertans I
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know how frustrated so many of you have
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become with our country and the feeling
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of having politicians living thousands
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of miles away passing laws and rules
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that have cost you your loved ones jobs
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careers dreams and opportunities for a
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brighter future As most Albertans know I
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have repeatedly stated I do not support
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Alberta separating from Canada I
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personally still have hope that there is
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a path forward for a strong and
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sovereign Alberta within a united
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