Alberta musician Corb Lund has announced that the Water Not Coal group will likely seek a judicial review after Elections Alberta rejected its petition to ban new coal mines along the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Lund expressed frustration with the verification process, calling it 'completely unreasonable' and designed to fail.
Petition Rejection and Next Steps
On Friday, Elections Alberta declared the petition unsuccessful, prompting Lund and his team to consult with administrative lawyers about a potential court challenge. 'We're in intense meetings with admin lawyers right now, determining whether or not this is worthy of a judicial review,' Lund told Postmedia on Monday. 'Everyone that I've talked to said it is.'
The Water Not Coal campaign gathered more than 205,000 signatures before the June 10 deadline. However, Elections Alberta rejected thousands of signatures during validation and verification phases, citing incomplete elector information, invalid dates, duplicate signatures, and incomplete canvasser declarations.
Criticism of Verification Process
Lund slammed the verification process as overly burdensome and unique to Alberta. 'It seems like it's designed to audit Albertans at a granular level nowhere else does, and it seems to me that's intended to fail and impossible to succeed at,' he said. The group's lawyer, who served as a scrutineer, has compiled a 'laundry list' of issues to challenge in court.
Until the matter is resolved, Water Not Coal is urging the province to impose a moratorium on all new coal mining activity. The petition specifically targeted projects like Northback Holdings' proposed Grassy Mountain steelmaking coal mine in the Crowsnest Pass.
Industry Response
Coal Association of Canada spokesperson Rina Blacklaws argued that the petition's failure shows Albertans recognize the complexity of coal development. 'The path for coal development moving forward should be, and deserves to be, one that's rooted in evidence and transparency and respect and confidence in our regulatory system,' she said.
Lund has been fighting the Grassy Mountain project for six years. In May 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator approved Northback's exploration program, though it noted this did not constitute project approval. Northback CEO Mike Young has indicated the company will submit a scaled-back proposal later this year.
