Stay Free Alberta, the group advocating for Alberta's secession from Canada, has submitted 301,000 signatures in support of a citizen initiative petition. The signatures were delivered to Elections Alberta headquarters in Edmonton on Monday afternoon by Mitch Sylvestre, the group's leader, surrounded by supporters waving Alberta flags.
Signature Verification Process
The signatures were collected over a 120-day period and must now be verified by Elections Alberta within 21 days. However, this timeline may be affected by a court challenge and a recent leak of the provincial voters list. Last month, an Alberta justice issued an initial ruling temporarily blocking the chief electoral officer from certifying the petition results, following arguments from two First Nations that the petition breached their treaty rights. A further ruling is expected this week.
Data Breach Complicates Efforts
The verification process may also be delayed due to a data breach last week, where the provincial electors list was posted on a public website maintained by the Centurion Project, a separatist group led by Take Back Alberta founder David Parker. The list included names, addresses, contact details, and electoral divisions of 2.9 million Albertans. Elections Alberta, which provides the list to political parties under strict confidentiality, secured an injunction prohibiting the Republican Party of Alberta from further accessing or using the list. The RCMP has opened an investigation, and the province's information and privacy commissioner has called for updated privacy laws.
Political Implications
Stay Free Alberta needed 177,732 signatures to trigger a referendum and claimed to have surpassed that mark in March. Premier Danielle Smith has indicated she would add the secession question to nine planned provincewide referendums scheduled for October 19 if enough signatures are gathered and verified. David Parker, who has not yet addressed the data breach allegations, posted on social media that the signature count represents 10% of the voting population and nearly 17% of those who voted in the last election, declaring that "Alberta is changed forever."
Elections Alberta stated that amendments to government legislation last year limited its ability to investigate the breach, though the province disputes this characterization. The coming weeks will be critical as legal and procedural hurdles are addressed.
