Petition to keep Alberta in Canada can start rolling out, says electoral officer

A former deputy premier’s petition to have Alberta declare that its official policy is to remain in Canada can start rolling out across the province.

Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure says canvassers with the Alberta Forever Canada citizen initiative can begin gathering signatures.

Submitted by Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, the petition is for a policy proposal asking people: “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”

Canvassers have three months to gather around 294,000 signatures on the petition.

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McClure has also referred a competing pro-separation referendum question by the Alberta Prosperity Project to a judge to decide if it contravenes the Constitution.

That 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?”

If approved, the Alberta Prosperity Project would need to collect 177,000 signatures in four months to put the question on a ballot due to new provincial rules.