Potential Alberta separation referendum question referred to judge for approval

EDMONTON – A potential referendum question on Alberta separating from Canada has been referred to a judge for confirmation that the question doesn’t violate the Constitution.

The proposed question seeks a yes or no answer to: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?”

Alberta’s chief electoral officer Gordon McClure, in a news release Monday, said provincial laws require potential referendum questions to respect more than 30 sections of the Constitution, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

McClure’s release doesn’t specify which, if any, specific sections he’s unsure about and a spokesperson for Elections Alberta didn’t provide details in response to questions Monday.

The potential referendum question was submitted to the electoral officer earlier this month by Mitch Sylvestre, an executive with the Alberta Prosperity Project, a non-profit group that has been touring the province promoting independence.

Sylvestre, who didn’t immediately respond to an interview request Monday, has said he thinks interest among Albertans in holding a separation referendum increases with every speaking event his group organizes.

“The more people that hear what the message is, the more people that will be in favour,” he said in an interview last month.

The Alberta Prosperity Project said on social media that McClure’s decision was a “delay tactic” and that the group would respond in court if need be.

The electoral officer’s release says the Court of King’s Bench will schedule a proceeding for the matter and that Sylvestre and the provincial justice minister have been notified of his decision to refer the question to a judge.

A spokesperson for Elections Alberta said that once the question is assessed in court, McClure will have 30 days to determine if the proposed question meets other legislated requirements.

If his question is approved, Sylvestre and the Alberta Prosperity Project would need to collect 177,000 signatures in four months to put the question of Alberta separation on a ballot.

In June, the chief electoral officer approved a competing question that seeks to have Alberta make it official policy that the province will never separate from Canada.

That petition, put forward by former Alberta Progressive Conservative deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, was approved before new provincial rules took effect that lowered the threshold for citizen-initiated referendums to get on ballots.

Lukaszuk’s proposal also differs in that it seeks a referendum on a proposed policy — rather than a potential constitutional referendum like Sylvestre’s proposal — and he’ll need to collect nearly 300,000 signatures in 90 days.

The former deputy premier confirmed Monday that signature collection efforts for his proposed policy referendum were expected to begin in the coming days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.