Alberta separatists gain partial court win on referendum petition

Wooley’s decision is the latest step in a long-running court fight over a referendum petition launched by the group named Stay Free Alberta.

The battle began last year when Stay Free Alberta was given permission by Alberta elections officials to start collecting names, and First Nations groups then went to court to get the process stopped on the grounds they had not been consulted on an issue that affects treaty rights.

In early May, Stay Free Alberta submitted to Elections Alberta what it estimated to be close to 302,000 signatures to force Premier Danielle Smith’s government to consider a referendum on having Alberta quit Canada and become an independent state.

It was far more than the minimum 178,000 required under provincial law.

But just two weeks later, that petition was quashed by a judge who ruled the petition should not have been issued under provincial law and that Smith’s government neglected its duty to consult First Nations.

Both the province and Stay Free Alberta are appealing that ruling, leading to Monday’s decision to allow the names to be counted while the appeal process proceeds through the courts.

Woolley noted there are already questions about the integrity of the petition, referencing how Elections Alberta has committed to a special verification process after a copy of the province’s official voter list had been earlier obtained by a separatist group that wasn’t permitted to use it.

Three separate investigations are ongoing into the leak, including by the RCMP.

Woolley, however, did not grant the separatists everything they sought. She said that even if the petition is found to have more than the minimum required number of names, it cannot be sent to the province for consideration until the larger issues are resolved.

However, Albertans will still be voting on the future of the province’s place in Canada.

After the petition had been thrown out, Smith announced that Albertans will vote Oct. 19 on whether they want to remain in Canada or start the process to hold a second, binding vote on leaving Confederation.

Smith said the question her government came up with was in response to the ruling and the fact that two competing petitions on either side of the separatist debate had generated hundreds of thousands of signatures.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2026.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Alberta separatists gain partial court win on referendum petition

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